Thriller writer, archaeologist and traveller
It's been a couple of rollercoaster months in the crime-writing world. First we had the Sykehouse Festival, quickly followed by the launch of Crime Reading Month in York. My contribution to the latter was to join a panel at Murder in the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield. Next it was off north for Shetland Noir. This... Continue Reading →
Britain's most northerly crime writing event took place for the third time in Lerwick this June. Organised by Shetland-based author Marsali Taylor and 'Shetland' author Ann Cleeves it ran under the auspices of Shetland Arts. Two dozen items over three days of programming is too much to cover, but here are some highlights. Stewart Bain... Continue Reading →
#sykehousefilmfest2026
Long time, no blog, as the year has ended in a flurry of travelling. Just like most of 2025, in fact. I spent around 120 nights away from home, splitting the year more or less into equal thirds of writing, archaeology and travel. January was mostly spent recovering from the flu, but following the successful... Continue Reading →
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.... Continue Reading →
The name's Monaghan, Jason Monaghan. Conference Season morphs into Crime Reading Month and I was off around Yorkshire talking at library events. First stop was Wakefield, with panel sessions in the main library and useful chats with fellow writers out in the lobby where several of us set up stalls. Curiously for a crime writing... Continue Reading →
June is National Crime Reading Month, with events being held at libraries and bookshops all over the country. I'll be appearing at three events. The first is a free all-day event at Wakefield Library with a host of other authors - I'm on the 'Murder Mystery' panel. It will be a popular day so booking... Continue Reading →
Four days of panels and author interviews, up to three parallel sessions and a lively atmosphere where writers and readers of crime fiction mingle in equal quantities; that's Crimefest. I could fill the blog with simply a list of speakers and topics, but instead will focus on a few inspiring writing ideas coming from the... Continue Reading →
Conferences and festivals come thick and fast this time of year. Normally, April sees the Crime Writers' Association annual conference, but it wasn't to be held this year. As soon as we heard the news, half a dozen of us in the conference bar decided to bag the now vacant slot in the calendar. Over... Continue Reading →
Suddenly we’re out of winter and into conference season. It’s a joyful time of travel, meeting friends and colleagues, and talking writing or archaeology (and sometimes both). Conferences and festivals tumble one after the other in the run-up to Easter, which is why I haven’t been blogging and now have a backlog to report on.... Continue Reading →