Crime fiction and Klopp tribute at Smithdown LitFest

Crime writer Ann Cleeves, historian Fern Riddell – and a love letter to Jürgen Klopp are among the headliners at this year’s Smithdown LitFest.

The annual festival of the written word takes place at venues along the Smithdown Road corridor from September 24-29.

Author talks and readings will be staged at locations including Toxteth Library, Sefton Park Palm House, Mossley Hill Church and Smitdown Social Arts Hub.

It opens on September 24 with An Evening with Poet and Musician Tom George at Smithdown Social Arts Hub.

Tom George has been performing his work – inspired by modern life, human connection and the natural world - in Liverpool for more than 20 years. Meanwhile his recently published book Keys to the Forest has been described as ‘touching and true’.

Bestselling Liverpool crime fiction writer, and LitFest patron, MK Murphy appears at Toxteth Library on September 25, to talk to fellow crime author Daniel Sellers about her writing and to launch her latest book Blood Debt.

Murphy – a past chairman of the UK Crime Writers’ Association and founder of Murder Squad - producers internationally acclaimed psychological thrillers and, under the pseudonyms Ashley Dyer and AD Garrett, she also writes forensic thrillers.

The festival continues on September 26 with the chance to join historian Fern Riddell at Sefton Park Palm House and hear the until now untold story of radical suffragette Kitty Marion.

Riddell specialises in sex, suffrage and culture in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and her book Death in 10 Minutes uses Marion’s personal diaries to explore her work which saw her being sent across the country by the Pankhurst family to carry out a nationwide campaign of bombings and arson attacks in the militant fight for Votes for Women - including, aptly, an attempt to bomb the Palm House.

Above: Sefton Park Palm House. Top: Ann Cleves and Anthony Quinn.

Then on September 27 critically acclaimed, award-winning crime author Ann Cleeves returns to the LitFest.

Cleeves is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. The TV series, and the books they are based on, have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide. In 2022 she was awarded an OBE for service to reading and libraries.

An Evening With Ann Cleeves at Ullet Road Unitarian Church will see her talk about her latest book The Dark Wives, her eleventh Vera book.

He may have left Liverpool now, but the footballing great that is Jürgen Klopp takes centre stage at the LitFest on Saturday, September 28 when bestselling author Anthony Quinn is ‘in conversation’ with Ragnhild Lund Ansnes at Mossley Hill Church about his newly-updated book Klopp: My Liverpool Romance.

The lifelong Liverpool fan has crafted a memorable love letter to Jürgen Klopp. Taking in all the drama of LFC’s disrupted, but ultimately triumphant, 2019-20 season, it offers unique insight into one of football’s most charismatic figures.

Quinn’s many novels include Curtain Call – which renamed as The Critic has been filmed for the big screen, starring Ian McKellen and Gemma Arterton, and is due for release later this year. His next novel The Mouthless Dead is based on the Wallace murder case in 1930s Liverpool and will be published in March 2025.

September 28 also sees a crime fiction writing seminar at Liverpool Arts Bar with expert advice from author Catherine Cole, a visiting professor at LJMU, Carol Cox who heads the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, and retired American police detective Heather Panter who is programme leader of LJMU’s MSc in Policing and Criminal Investigations.

And Patrick Graham will lead a magical free storytelling session for children in Greenbank Park, reading from his latest work-in-progress, a fantasy adventure called House of Almost All Known Things.

Then on Sunday, September 29, Catherine Cole will join Jenny Newman in a writing workshop at Smithdown Social Arts Hub.

Patron MK Murphy.

Smithdown LitFest is the brainchild of Ian Skillicorn who runs his own independent publishing company and whose family connections to Smithdown Road go back to the 1800s.

Proceeds from ticket sales go to good causes - this year it is Smithdown in Bloom.

Meanwhile Patron Margaret (MK) Murphy says: I’m honoured and thrilled to have been invited to be a patron of the Smithdown Litfest.

“The Smithdown corridor couldn’t be closer to home for me: I was born just off Smithdown Road, grew up and attended school, made my first forays into storytelling there. Mum nursed in Sefton General Hospital, and Dad was taxi driver. Several of my novels are set in Liverpool, mostly around Toxteth, and I’ve just started a new series with a Detective Sergeant who lives – you guessed it – off Smithdown Road.

“Libraries give people of all ages and walks of life access to new worlds, so it’s fitting that the beautifully restored Carnegie Library in Toxteth will be one of the festival venues. And with author talks for all ages, the week-long programme of stimulating literary events is a fantastic opportunity to experience the culture and heritage of the area, from Penny Lane to Liverpool 8.

“Smithdown LitFest is for those who are passionate about books and those who are just starting on their journey as readers, it is for proud locals, and for visitors exploring our special corner of south Liverpool.”

Smithdown LitFest runs from September 24-29. Full details and booking information HERE