Death in the Dales, held in Sedbergh, Cumbria is possibly the friendliest crime writing festival on the circuit. Strange, you might say when we’re talking gruesome death, dark intrigue and high peril. It attracts a strong following of crime writers and plus-ones as well as a regular audience of regional book fans. I’m going to let pictures tell the story this year.
Jean Briggs was the mastermind behind the weekend. Here she opens proceedings before a fascinating discussion of the puzzle in detective fiction between Martin Edwards and Antony Johnston.Ex-cops Simon Dinsdale, Nick Oldham and Roger A Price talk about how their experiences feed into their writing.Carrie De Silva reviewed a set of historical crimes where truth can be stranger than fiction.David Beckler, Simon Michael and Matthew Booth discussed aspects of crime writing including creating characters and setting out the plot.Rehearsal time for Saturday’s interactive murder-mystery. The cast and creator needed space away from festival-goers so crowded into the gazebo in Sedbergh’s park. The rehearsal was a hoot, we were in fits of laughter. And a local cat came to join us too.Martin Edward’s mystery ‘Murder at Monksdale Manor’ with an all-crime writer cast. Jason Monaghan as the dodgy solicitor, Dea Parkin as the feisty widow Lady Monksdale, writer Martin Edwards, Fiona Veitch Smith as ‘old coot’ Miss Marple and Antony Johnston as the bumbling private secretary. I won’t spoil whodunnit as you may see it at other literary events. Fiona enhanced the photo.Ladykillers Marsali Taylor, Fiona Veitch Smith, Deborah Swift and Priscilla Masters discuss (among other things) ‘equal opportunity murders’.Dolores Gordon Smith related the true case of the Gorse Hall Mystery, a Victorian murder in Stalybridge.
Matthew Booth book-ended the event. On Friday night he introduced the B-movie film noir ‘Detour’. He closed he event with cunning misdirection as he narrated a history of crime fiction and the now-forgotten golden age writer Crispin Darke.
It was a terrific weekend, in which the writers and audience bonded over lunch, pie n pea supper, Thai dinner and of course a few drinks in the Black Bull and the Dalesman. Unfortunately as we had to get into costume for the play we missed the final session of Saturday afternoon on ‘Haunted Places’.
I’d had my hair cut short and grew a moustache for the role in the play – my first acting of any kind for a decade. The moustache was shaved off in the morning and the curly locks are growing back nicely! A huge thanks to Jean Briggs and her team of helpers at Sedbergh Book Town for a fabulous weekend.
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Looks like a brilliant weekend!