Mick Herron, Mark Billingham and Lisa Jewell shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel

Mick Herron, Mark Billingham and Lisa Jewell are among those vying for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2024 while “MasterChef” star Orlando Murrin is shortlisted for the inaugural McDermid Debut Award.

The six-strong shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year “take readers on a roller-coaster ride from serial-killer stalked fairgrounds and Blackpool backstreets to the Houses of Parliament, as established bestsellers compete with talented newcomers for the coveted awards,” organisers said.

Billingham is nominated for The Last Dance (Sphere) and Herron for The Secret Hours (Baskerville) alongside Jewell’s None of This is True (Cornerstone). Making up the shortlist for the prize – now in its 20th year – are Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent (Sandycove; Penguin Ireland), In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster UK) and Killing Jericho by William Hussey (Zaffre, Bonnier).

The Crime Novel of the Year 2024 is presented by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones and the Daily Express. The winner will receive £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd. 

Fans can vote for the winner here.

Meanwhile the shortlist for the inaugural McDermid Debut Award showcases six new voices writing gritty thrillers, cosy crime, locked-room mysteries and historical crime.

There are two contenders from HarperCollins - Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey and Mrs Sidhu’s Dead and Scone by Suk Pannu – along with “MasterChef” star Murrin’s Knife Skills for Beginners (Bantam, Transworld).

The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé (Sphere) is also nominated as is Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Bonnier Books) and Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley (Orenda Books).

The prize honours Val McDermid, who helped co-found the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in 2003, and aims to continue her legacy, celebrating and platforming the best debut crime writers in the UK. 

She said: “Curating the New Blood panel over 20 years exposed me to an extraordinary range of crime fiction I might otherwise have missed. I’m hoping that this new award will do the same for the army of avid readers out there looking for new talent.”

The shortlist was selected by an academy of established crime and thriller authors and the winner will be chosen by a panel of industry experts. All shortlisted authors receive a full weekend pass to the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and the winner will receive a £500 cash prize.

The winners of both awards will be revealed on the opening night of the festival in Harrogate on 18th July.