Vintage presents 'Harry-gate' at Harrogate to celebrate Nesbo's new novel

Vintage will transform Harrogate into ‘Harry-gate’ at this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival with a major outdoor advertising and festival sponsorship campaign celebrating the return of Jo Nesbo’s Oslo detective Harry Hole.

Now in its 17th year, the festival takes place at Agatha Christie’s old haunt, the Old Swan Hotel, in Harrogate from 18th to 21st July.

Harrogate train station will be re-branded ‘Harrygate’, with ‘Welcome to Harrygate’ banners and posters, and festival-site marketing including reusable coffee cups and tote bags to herald the publication of Knife - to celebrate Oslo detective Harry Hole - with Nesbo’s headline event taking place on Friday (19th July).  Nesbo will be interviewed on stage by fellow crime writer Denise Mina.

Vintage will also host a Ruth Ware-inspired escape room in the Library Lounge at The Old Swan on Saturday (20th July) in honour of the thriller writer. Festival-goers are invited to solve a locked-room murder mystery inspired by Ware’s new psychological thriller, The Turn of the Key, for a chance to win a pre-publication copy of the book and other prizes including spa vouchers and an afternoon tea at Betty’s Tearoom in Harrogate.

Ware and Jo Jakeman are both shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader Awards, which take place at the festival on Friday (19th July), and Vintage will introduce debut crime author C C MacDonald and its lead debut for 2020, Happy Ever After, with “a twisted game of Guess Who”.

Other Vintage authors speaking at the festival include Stuart Neville and "Line of Duty" screenwriter Jed Mercurio - whose novels Bodies, Ascent, and American Adulterer have been reissued by Vintage this summer.

Penguin Random House stablemates Century and Arrow are celebrating James Patterson at the crime festival by recreating Susie’s Restaurant, the Caribbean hangout from the author's Women’s Murder Club series. Susie’s Restaurant will be serving tropical cocktails and snacks on Friday (19th July) at The Library Lounge at The Old Swan Hotel. Tables can be reserved on jamespatterson@premiercomms.com or visit #JamesPattersonHarrogate for more information.  

Meanwhile Simon & Schuster will present thriller author Robert Crais, who has travelled from LA to appear on ‘The Underworld’ panel on Saturday 20th July. He began his career writing scripts for “Miami Vice”, “Hill Street Blues” and “LA Law” with his latest novel, A Dangerous Man, due to be published on 8th August.

It was revealed last week that Little, Brown will also feature at the festival with its crime vault – an online crime book portal – to be unlocked by Val McDermid with signings from Mark Billingham, Clare Mackintosh, MW Craven, Chris Brookmyre and Mark Griffin. Little, Brown will also launching lead crime debut of 2020, Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay – which was snapped up in a seven-figure deal in February - with a special edition proof giveaway.

Other highlights at the four-day festival include thriller writer James Patterson will be joined by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Rankin, as unveiled on the line-up in April.