To mark the end of Britain’s long-standing crime fiction convention, CrimeFest, organizers have compiled a new anthology, with proceeds of its sale going the Royal National Institute of Blind (RNIB) library.
The anthology ‘CrimeFest: Leaving the Scene’ is published by No Exit Press and features authors who have had a close relationship with CrimeFest over the years.
The book features a story from the acclaimed American author Jeffrey Deaver, also a long-standing, and regular face, at CrimeFest.
Contributing authors include the historical novelist Lindsey Davis, the playwright, author and producer Simon Brett, CWA Diamond Dagger winner Martin Edwards, and Canadian-Welsh crime writer, Cathy Ace.
Also featured are the current chair of the Crime Writers’ Association – Vaseem Khan – and the renowned editor, author and critic, Maxim Jakubowski, who is also advising editor of the anthology.
The co-host of CrimeFest, the author Donna Moore, contributes a short story, and her fellow CrimeFest co-host Adrian Muller contributes an Afterword.
The book will be available for general sale on 28 August 2025, with an early copy exclusively gifted to each of the first 450 registered Full Pass Holders at the final CrimeFest, which is hosted in Bristol from 15 to 18 May.
Adrian Muller said: “The final CrimeFest this May will be a big celebration. We wanted to do the anthology as a way to thank our delegates – authors, readers, sponsors, and those in the publishing industry – who make up our CrimeFest family.”
Donna Moore said: “CrimeFest has been a real labour of love over the years and it’s wonderful to be able to go out in celebratory fashion with this anthology. I’m delighted to have a story of mine included amongst authors whose writing has kept me entertained, whose work I admire and who I’m delighted to be able to call friends, thanks to CrimeFest.”
The anthology features a foreword by Lee Child, who attended the very first convention, and was a Featured Guest at the fifth and tenth anniversaries of CrimeFest.
Lee writes that CrimeFest is ‘one of the best’ conventions: “I have been many times, and always come away with my spirits lifted, and with new enthusiasm for my chosen trade – plus a little apprehension, given the tsunami of new talent chasing after me.”
Lee continued: “Sadly, May 2025 will see the last Bristol CrimeFest. To honour the occasion, readers and writers from around the world will gather for one last great weekend extravaganza. And to mark the occasion, those kind, generous writers have donated their talents to this anthology, designed to benefit the Royal National Institute for the Blind.”
Other contributing authors are: Mike Ripley, Samantha Lee Howe, Dolores Gordon-Smith, Jørn Lier Horst, Leigh Russell, Peter Gutridge, David Penny, Jane Petersen-Burfield, Ruth Dudley-Edwards, Nadine Matheson, Zoë Sharp & John Lawton, and Sarah Ward.
Despite on-going support from its headline sponsor, Specsavers, alongside sponsors Free@Last TV and HW Fisher, organisers felt it was time to end the convention, which has been hosted in Bristol for the last 16 years, on a high.
Dame Mary Perkins, a long-time fan and supporter of CrimeFest, praised the event as a “big family, connected by a love of books, and reading.”
CrimeFest began in 2008 as a spin-off to the American crime fiction convention, Left Coast Crime.
It is famed as the most inclusive and friendliest of crime fiction events, thanks to its democratic set-up, where all published UK authors register to participate.
The convention also supports up-coming talent, with a bursary for crime fiction authors of colour, and its Specsavers Debut Novel of the Year award with a £1000 prize. It also offers community passes to librarians, students, and those on benefits.
CrimeFest leaves a lasting legacy too, as it has gifted thousands of books over the years to inner city schools and libraries across Bristol and the UK.
The anthology is being supported by benefactor Jane Burfield, who supported the convention’s last published anthology, Ten Year Stretch (published by No Exit Press) to mark its tenth anniversary.
Profits from the book and its annual raffles have raised thousands of pounds for the Royal National Institute of Blind (RNIB) library.
Adrian added: “We’d like to give our heartfelt thanks to Jane Burfield and the team at No Exit Press, including Ion Mills and Jamie Hodder-Williams, who have returned to support our farewell anthology.”
No Exit Press is an award-winning crime imprint of Bedford Square Publishers with a 30-year history and impressive roster of quality authors, including multiple CWA Dagger Award recipients.
Jamie Hodder-Williams, CEO of Bedford Square Publishers, said: “No Exit Press is excited to collaborate with CrimeFest to celebrate its16th anniversary and mark its final meeting. This special collection of brand-new stories brings together a prestigious group of crime and thriller writers who have all had significant involvement with the festival – a fitting tribute to CrimeFest’s legacy and lasting influence on the crime fiction world.”
The final CrimeFest takes place 15-18 May at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel featuring Lee and Andrew Child, Simon Brett, Lindsey Davis, Martin Edwards, Felix Francis, Yrsa Sigurdardottir and John Harvey, as well as Ghost of Honour John le Carré (represented by his two sons).
