Our Events
Alderney - a Hotspot for Crime in June
Saturday, 10 June 2023
Hard on the heels of its most successful Literary Festival ever, in June 2023 the tiny island of Alderney is hosting a unique one-day festival exploring the ‘Anatomy of a Crime Thriller’.
Organised by The Alderney Literary Trust and sponsored by Ravenscroft, best-selling authors Kate Rhodes, Elly Griffiths and Jane Casey will talk about their latest books and the crucial ingredients of their gripping stories.
The mini festival will take place on Saturday, June 10th in the Island’s Methodist Church, with three hour-long sessions in which the authors will reveal the inspiration for their atmospheric settings, complex characters and twisty plots.
Kate Rhodes is also offering a ‘Starting to Write Crime Fiction’ workshop on the Saturday morning at nearby La Frette Farm. The course is limited to 20 people. All talks and the writing course are free to 16-year-olds and under.
For more info, visit our Anatomy of a Crime Thriller page.
An Alderney Literary Trust Murder Mystery
MURDER AT THE HEDGEHOG
Saturday, 26 November 2022
An entertaining evening of murderous mystery and intrigue all alongside a fabulous 6-course meal took place at The Blonde Hedgehog, with dinner guests throwing themselves into their roles and embracing their inner sleuths.
It was a huge success, only marred by the absence of our Ravenscroft sponsor guests, whose flights to Alderney were cancelled due to weather. If you did not attend, our video noir (click on the image) gives you an idea of what you missed.
Tish Delaney Book Launch
Thursday, 25 March 2021
Tish Delaney launched her debut novel "Before My Actual Heart Breaks", to a packed room of her Alderney fans at The Georgian House Hotel.
Following a brief introduction by Alderney Lit Trust Trustee, Dr Isabel Picornell, Tish performed a short reading and then proceeded to sign copies of her book, which completely sold out.
Dr Picornell said of the book, "It is much more than a love story. It speaks to me of the lives of real people in very difficult times, of Mary Rattigan, 16 years old, pregnant, Catholic, growing up in Northern Ireland during the time of The Troubles. Mary is as complex a character as the North and its Troubles.
The Suspense Event - “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
14 November 2020
A packed audience joined bestselling thriller-writer Rachel Abbott in a creative writing workshop, The Suspense Event, to explore some of the techniques of successful suspense writing.
The workshop started on the Friday evening with the film showing of the iconic 1940s version of Rebecca, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. Using Rebecca as a guide, Rachel and forensic linguist Isabel Picornell took the workshop participants through the basics of building suspense into their stories and described how linguistic choices could enhance their characters and create richer, more believable and enthralling scenarios.
It was such a success that we promised to run a similar workshop exploring another classic novel in the future.
Louis de Bernières in Alderney
08 September 2018
International best-selling novelist, Louis de Bernières, visited Alderney in September, providing Islanders and visitors with a rare opportunity to meet this master storyteller in two events: at a Book Club at The Georgian House in the morning, and then in conversation with Alderney LitFest chairman, Anthony Riches, at the Alderney Cinema later that afternoon.
On the Sunday evening, Louis then joined local musicians at The Georgian House where he treated the crowd to an excellent display of his guitar skills and folk songs of his own composition.
When he left on the Monday, Louis said he would love to return to Alderney and hoped we would invite him back. That we will!
Ann Cleeves in Alderney
22-23 June 2017
Sunday Times bestseller and creator of popular TV series Vera and Shetland, Ann Cleeves, visited Alderney in June, providing Islanders and visitors with a rare opportunity to meet the UK's "Queen of Crime" in two events: at The Alderney Cinema for a talk on 22nd June, and at The Georgian for a Murder Mystery dinner on the 23rd June.
At Alderney Cinema, Ann entertained the packed house, in conversation with QuayFM presenter Tony Le Blanc, discussing the blending of fact and fiction in crime writing and the accuracy of forensic methods demonstrated in the series, together with her forensic pathologist adviser, Professor James Grieve, who appears as himself in Ann's most recent Shetland book.
On the Friday, Ann hosted a sell-out Murder-Mystery Dinner, Bannocks and Blood, on script based on her latest Shetland novel, Cold Earth, at The Georgian House. Only one person accurately guessed the murderer and the reasons behind it, but everyone had a good time trying to figure it out.