Bay Tales Live to return to Whitley Bay in 2023 with Cleeves, Wood and more confirmed

Authors Ann Cleeves, Trevor Wood, Brian McGilloway and more have been confirmed for Whitley Bay’s one-day crime-writing festival Bay Tales, taking place on 4th March 2023 at Whitley Bay Playhouse.  

Also set to be attending are Abir Mukherjee, Ruth Ware, Jack Jordan, Lin Anderson, Jo Callaghan, Fiona Cummins, Alex North, C J Tudor, Laure Van Rensburg, Lia Middleton, C M Ewan, Jonathan Whitelaw, Nasheema Lennon and Karen Woods.

Simon Bewick, co-director of Bay Tales, which was held for the first time in February 2022, said: “We’re thrilled with the authors joining us. We’ve got Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, Richard and Judy Pick authors, award winners as well as several with work coming to BBC, ITV, Netflix and Paramount Plus soon.”

Vic Watson, co-director, added: “Bay Tales Live 2023 will be even bigger and better, with more community involvement. We’re not just focusing solely on household names. Feedback from our first show indicated that audience members enjoyed being introduced to writers they weren’t already familiar with. Simon and I remain committed to giving writers that readers may not yet know a platform to be discovered. In addition to the five main panels, we’re also planning extra elements to ensure that we shine a spotlight on as many authors as possible.”

The pair are confident that their audience will enjoy the 2023 show even more than this year’s inaugural event.

Bewick continues: “About a third of the audience at the first show was people coming from outside the North East. And they loved Whitley Bay – we even had one couple tell us they’re intending to move up here permanently! 

“We worked closely with several local businesses for that event, but we’re going to be doing much more for 2023. We’re working with pubs, restaurants and cafes to provide offers for show attendees, we’ve got The Bound bookshop on site all day selling books, and between now and March we’re working with local charities on some special elements for the show.”

Cleeves, who has taken on the official role of patron, said: “The first Bay Tales was a delight from start to finish and the whole town can’t wait to welcome everyone back in 2023.” She will be kicking off the show alongside special guest, Northern Irish award-winning author, Brian McGilloway. Details of the full line-up and tickets can be found here.