Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke to appear at CrimeFest 2024

Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke have been announced as the featured guests at CrimeFest, the Bristol-based crime fiction convention. 

Sponsored by Specsavers, the convention will run from 9th to 12th May 2024 at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel with more than 150 authors scheduled to appear in over 50 panels. 

This year La Plante and Burke were both awarded the Diamond Dagger by the Crime Writers Association (CWA), for the first time in the group’s 70-year history. La Plante and Burke join the roster of already announced guests including Denise Mina and Laura Lippman.  

Adrian Muller, co-host of CrimeFest, said: “Each year, CrimeFest invites the CWA Diamond Dagger winner as a featured guest. This is the first time in the CWA’s 70-year history that two authors received the Diamond Dagger, so it is a real honour to be able to host both.”

Before writing, La Plante began her career as an actor in television and theatre and has since received a CBE for services to literature, drama and charity. La Plante’s current book series, published by Bonnier Books, features Detective Jack Warr and she is also due to publish the final book in the young Tennison series and a memoir this year. La Plante will be interviewed by author and chair of the CWA Daggers’ committee, Maxim Jakubowski, at the event. 

After falling out of hardback print, Burke’s third novel The Lost Get-Back Boogie (Orion), published in 2012, was submitted for the Pulitzer Prize. During his career he has been awarded two Edgar Awards and a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Burke will join the convention remotely for a live interview with Vaseem Khan, chair of the CWA.