Hodder to celebrate 30 years of DCI Banks

Hodder & Stoughton is running a 30th anniversary campaign for crime writer Peter Robinson’s lead character, DCI Alan Banks, with 30 events to unfold over 30 days in his honour.

The first novel to feature the character, also Robinson's debut, was A Gallow's View published in 1987. This year, Robinson's 24th installment in the series, Sleeping in the Ground, in which Banks investigates a mass murder at a church wedding, publishes in July.

The celebrations will kick off in Robinson's home city of Leeds, where the book has been selected its "Big City Read", and spread out across the UK. At each of the 30 events will be talks, many in which Robinson will be interviewed on stage about the character. They will take place either in libraries, bookshops or outside venues. There will also be opportunities for the audience to ask questions and book signings at each, with more details to follow.

The events will be accompanied by nationwide outdoor and digital display advertising for the latest book in the series, with a "major" outdoor campaign planned in Leeds, according to Hodder, "to make sure that Banks makes a splash in his home county".

Orion is another publisher celebrating a character's 30th this year, with Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin set to mark the 30th anniversary of his first John Rebus novel at RebusFest at the end of this month (30th June - 2nd July).