Preston’s first crime fiction festival is nearly here: where, when, what to expect & ticket information

Preston’s first crime fiction festival is nearly here — and organisers are calling on readers across the North West to get in at the beginning of a bold new literary moment.

The countdown is on for the inaugural Preston Crime Fiction Festival, taking place from Friday, September 25 to Sunday, September 27 2026 at Preston Masonic Hall.

With under two weeks to go, we’ve put together a full explainer for you, including information on how to secure your tickets...

What can we expect from the Preston Crime Fiction Festival?

With three full days of panels, Q&As, readings, workshops, book signings, Noir at the Bar, intimate book discussions and a pop-up bookshop, the festival is set to bring more than 40 outstanding crime writers to the heart of the city.

Created by Preston’s own award-winning thriller author Christie J. Newport, author of The Preston Murders series, alongside co-founders Amy Newport and Samantha Brownley, the festival is a bold, home-grown celebration of storytelling, art, access and community.

Backed by Preston City Council and officially badged as part of the National Year of Reading 2026, it arrives at a time when the national campaign is urging people to “Go All In” on reading and rediscover the joy, creativity and connection that books can bring.

Who will be at the festival?

Among the headline guests is Alex North, author of the No. 1 bestselling thriller The Whisper Man.

• With the Netflix adaptation now streaming globally and starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan, North arrives in Preston fresh from Hollywood attention surrounding the film. The movie is directed by James Ashcroft and produced by AGBO, the company founded by Avengers filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, making his appearance one of the most exciting literary-to-screen moments on the festival programme.

Festival Goers will also have the chance to see global bestsellers, Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, award-winners, rising stars and celebrated Northern voices, including Dorothy Koomson, M. W. Craven, Mari Hannah, Trevor Wood, Vaseem Khan, Anna Mazzola, Jo Callaghan, Lesley Kara, Bob Bridgestock, Carol Bridgestock and Kate Bendelow.

The programme also features professionals whose real-life experience has shaped television, podcasts, books and more.

• Bob Bridgestock is a former Murder Detective Superintendent with 30 years’ experience at West Yorkshire Police, having worked on major cases including the Yorkshire Ripper investigation and the Birkby House Fire. He now supports writers and television creators to write authentically and has written two popular series with his wife, Carol Bridgestock, a former Civilian Police Supervisor with 17 years’ experience. Together, they will appear on a panel and run a small-room Q&A session for a maximum of 14 attendees.
• Kate Bendelow spent 23 years as a Crime Scene Investigator and now works as a Coroner’s Officer. She has written a factual guide for crime writers, praised by Lynda La Plante as a book “every crime writer should have a copy on their desk”, as well as a fictional trilogy featuring a crime scene officer as its protagonist.

Writers looking to sharpen their craft can also book small-room sessions on plot, pace and research.

• Vaseem Khan, a major internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning author, will lead a session on how to make a novel “sizzle” with plot and pace, while published author Donna Gowland will explore how to use real research to write unputdownable historical fiction.
• Readers can also join intimate “In the Room With…” sessions with bestselling and award-winning authors, giving them the chance to ask questions and take part in lively discussion.
• In the ballroom, authors will appear on professionally interviewed panels exploring what sparks their imagination, what keeps them writing and how stories travel from page one to readers’ hands.

Where can I get tickets and how much are they ?

Tickets are available via Eventbrite now: they can be bought here.

Organisers say that the festival is strictly not-for-profit and has been designed to be welcoming, inclusive and accessible.

Ticket income goes directly towards event costs, including author and moderator fees, helping the team create a high-quality festival while keeping access at the heart of the programme.

Ticket options include full-weekend passes, local resident and concession tickets, disabled and chronically ill tickets, low-income tickets and free essential carer or companion places, with booking available through Eventbrite.

A standard weekend pass costs £98.22 but there is currently a 2 or 1 deal on so they cost £49.46 each.

Standard tickets entitle you to entry to the main events listed in the schedule but individual workshops, in the room with events and the manuscript assessment service are priced separately.

What else has been said about the festival?

Organisers are calling on readers, writers, students, book groups, crime drama fans and curious first-timers from Preston, Lancashire and the wider North West “to show up, fill the room and prove that this region is ready to stand proudly on the literary map”.

They add: “With interest in the festival already strong enough to prompt a move to the larger Preston Masonic Hall, which can accommodate 200 attendees, the message is clear: this is a chance to be part of the first chapter of something special, from the ground floor upwards.”

Christie J. Newport, festival co-founder and co-director, said: “This is a moment to show up for Northern stories. Festivals like this should not be reserved for elsewhere. They should be here, for us, now. This is more than a venture; it is a passion project with deep personal meaning. We are three Northern women from working-class backgrounds, all living with lifelong, debilitating illnesses, and we understand what it can take for people to push through, travel, pay for tickets and access experiences that are too often out of reach.

“As a woman of colour living with a condition that causes extreme inflammation that impacts my self-esteem and is exceptionally painful and with a wife who even while struggling with terrible Multiple Sclerosis symptoms has managed to become a multi-prize-winning artist and painter of our iconic logo, I know how powerful it can be simply to be in the room.

“There are no egos here — just three women willing to spend our ‘well enough’ time taking on the workload unpaid because we believe the North West deserves this. We want people to get in at the beginning, grow with us, and be able to say they were with us all the way to the top.”

Preston Crime Fiction Festival runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September 2026 at Preston Masonic Hall, Saul Street, Preston. Registration opens at 10.00am on Friday and the programme runs until 6.30pm on Sunday.

Follow Preston Crime Fiction Festival 2026 on Facebook for announcements, guest spotlights and programme updates. You can also check out the website: www.prestoncrimefictionfestival.co.uk.