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CrimeFest to end after 16 years
CrimeFest has announced that 2025’s event will be its last, with the Bristol-held festival set to end after 16 years. Adrian Muller, co-founder, co-host and director of CrimeFest, said: "It is with sadness—but great pride—that we announce that our 16th CrimeFest [...] will be the final one."
CrimeFest, the first of which was held in June 2008, is a convention run by fans of the crime genre, initially organised by Myles Allfrey, Liz Hatherell, Adrian Muller, and Donna Moore and more recently hosted by the latter two.
Unlike other crime fiction festivals, which are invite-only with a fixed programme of authors, CrimeFest allows any commercially published author to sign up to appear on a panel.
Taking place across four days, each year CrimeFest, which is sponsored by Specsavers, showcases around 150 authors across more than 50 panels. Over the years, 1,100 authors will have appeared at the event.
Muller said: "CrimeFest provides many authors with a platform they would not have been offered elsewhere in the UK. And, subsequently, readers discover and meet writers they otherwise may never have heard of. During CrimeFest, all delegates—be they authors or readers—come together as equals to celebrate the genre they love."
Over the years, authors including Cathy Ace, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Martina Cole, Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Deaver, Sue Grafton, Anthony Horowitz, P D James, Lynda La Plante and Ian Rankin have all appeared at the festival. Child attended the very first convention and was a featured guest at the fifth and 10th anniversaries of CrimeFest.
He said: "Sadly, all good things come to an end—and Adrian Muller’s Bristol CrimeFest was one of the very best things ever. It was a warm, friendly, relaxed and inclusive festival, hugely enjoyable for authors and readers alike. Myles, Liz, Donna and Adrian, their team of volunteers—and Dame Mary from Specsavers—have my sincere thanks for many delightful weekends over the years."
Co-founder of Specsavers, Dame Mary Perkins, who will be attending again next year, praised the event: "I am an avid reader and fan of the genre, and I always look forward to CrimeFest. It is so friendly, and it feels like all who go are welcomed as part of a big family, connected by a love of books and reading. We are proud sponsors and I will miss CrimeFest and the camaraderie very much."
Adrian added: "Thanks to the support of Specsavers, our highly valued sponsor, we introduced reduced cost community passes for UK school and public librarians, students and for people on benefits. In 2021 we also created an annual bursary for crime fiction authors of colour. We’ve run community projects at local schools in the community; donated books to many schools and libraries across Bristol and the UK; our anthology, Ten Year Stretch, and our raffles each year have raised thousands of pounds for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the seven awards we present each year celebrate crime fiction, non-fiction, TV and crime fiction for children and young adults—the latter two being the first in the UK. We are immensely proud of these initiatives."
Author and co-host of CrimeFest Moore said: "CrimeFest is a labour of love for us and our volunteers. We are immensely grateful to the authors, readers, publishers, booksellers, sponsors, volunteers and a whole host of other people who have supported us over the years."
The organisers promise to say goodbye "in style" with the attendance of some big-name authors to celebrate its 16 years. The final CrimeFest takes place 15th to 18th May at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel.
