Death in the Dales returned for a second year, ably organised by Jean Briggs and Sedbergh Book Town. Tucked away beneath the brooding Howgills and heavy grey skies, Sedbergh hosted a weekend of talks and thoughful entertainment with crime at its heart.
Jean Briggs introduced the opening conversation between Martin Edwards and M W Craven. It contained a fascinating thread on the hard realities of being top-selling crime writers; discussions with publishers, decisions on covers and how titles and characters evolve.
Over the Hills and Far Away. Marsali Taylor, Lea O’Hara, Angela Wren and David Beckler chewed over the joys and challenges of writing books set in exotic locations. Marsali allows the low murder rate in Shetland to be quietly forgotten in her books. Angela is starting to spread her stories beyond a small French village to maintain plausibility and allow the characters to move and grow. In David’s China stories his hero is an outsider who can view the country as a stranger – whereas Lea knows Japan intimately and weaves its customs into her stories.
Julia Chapman was in conversation with Jean Briggs over her Dales murders series. Again the question of high murder rates in a small (fictional) town was discussed. One idea Julia put forward was that her recurring minor characters offer scope for expanded roles in future stories as their pasts and backgrounds are underdeveloped. A panel on the Golden Age of detective fiction inspired a great question from the audience whether the ‘last full stop of a novel is really a comma’. The book may be over, but the surviving characters must deal with the trauma, the guilt and the ramifications beyond it.
Matthew Booth kicked off the whole weekend by introducing the Fritz Lang 1945 film noir Scarlett Street as the Friday night warm up, then on Saturday presented his one man show on Agatha Christie, as well as being a panellist.
On Saturday evening we were mystified by the Case of the Late Cook, written and directed by Kate Ellis. Marsali Taylor, Fiona Veitch Smith, Dea Parkin and Antony Johnston gamely donned 1930s garb to act the part of suspects-cum-witnesses before the audience got to work on the solution.
Sunday morning added Martine Bailey and Caroline England to the cast of panellists, discussing their books and the writing journey. Former Detective Superintendant Vanessa Smith walked us through the opening hour of a muder investigation, then posed a scenario; the audience debated choices and priorities facing the investigative team.
Veronica Bird, former prison governor, related stories from her career. Olga the Prison Guard (Priscilla Masters) featured in her visit to a Russian jail.
It was a great weekend, with a packed hall of crime readers mixing with a strong contingent of northern crime writers. A book stall, pizza and plentiful home-made cake fuelled mind and body. And of course there was the opportunity to meet old friends and talk over the progress of our writing projects. Red wine flowed, of course – this was a crime writing conference! There is already talk of ‘Next Year’ so keep an eye on your calendars for October 2026.
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