GREAT DUNMOW BOOKFEST AUTHORS
CRIME,
THRILLERS
& ROMANCE
Linda Stratmann
Adult Fiction
Historical Crime
Linda is the author of three Victorian crime fiction series and loves historical research. Her current series is The Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, his adventures before meeting Watson. She has also written non-fiction historical crime and biography. She lives in London with her husband and enjoys cooking and knitting.
A. J. Campbell
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
AJ Campbell is a bestselling author of twelve psychological suspense thrillers and promises stories full of twists, turns and torment. She is a dog lover, Netflix junkie, and a wine and Asian food enthusiast. And, either reading, watching TV or writing, AJ enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into a twisty story!
Faye Brann
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
Faye is an Essex-born author and winner of the 2020 Comedy Women in Print Prize for her debut novel Tinker, Tailor, Schoolmum, Spy. She is passionate about writing stories featuring strong, feisty and fun women, particularly women aged 40+ who are under-represented in commercial and crime fiction.
Robert Chandler
Adult Fiction
Crime
Glasgow-born Robert Chandler has spent time in the USA and Canada, but now lives in East Anglia. An award-winning short-story writer, he’s the author of the Kezia Lee mysteries, ‘fair play’ whodunnits set in and around Norwich. His earlier work includes a supernatural mystery: A Conspiracy of Ravens. He is also a member of Dead East, an Anglian Crime Writers Collective.
Lizzie Chantree
Adult Fiction
Romance
International bestselling author Lizzie Chantree has been featured on television and radio. She writes feel-good romantic novels packed with friendship, laughter, and heart. Often set in Essex, her stories celebrate women discovering their strength, love, and happy endings – usually when they least expect them.
Jody Cooksley
Adult Fiction
Historical Crime
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Jody Cooksley is the author of four novels and a writer of all kinds who loves dark stories. Her chilling historical gothic, The Small Museum (2024), won the Caledonia Novel Award. Its companion novel, The Surgeon’s House was published this year. Both explore the boundaries between science, medicine, morality and monsters.
N.R. Daws
Adult Fiction
Crime
Neil Daws is an ex-civil servant who spent twenty years in security and counter-terrorism. His Kember & Hayes mysteries are set in WW2 and he contributed to the CWA anthology, Music of the Night. His new cosies – Murder at the Palace and Murder at the Tower – feature his royal housekeeper sleuth.
Carrie Elks
Adult Fiction
Romance
Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance full of heat, heart, and unforgettable characters.From small towns to sweeping cities, her stories blend emotional depth with addictive chemistry. When she’s not writing, she loves travelling, drinking coffee, and hanging out with her family at the beach.
Michelle Harrison
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
Michelle Harrison is a bestselling children’s author, published in twenty-five countries. Her debut novel, 13 Treasures, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Previously a bookseller, then an editor at Oxford University Press, Michelle now lives in Essex and writes full time. Two Little Liars is her first novel for adults.
Julie Haworth
Adult Fiction
Romance
Julie writes uplifting stories about friendship and community, bursting with romance and charm. Her debut novel, Always By Your Side, won the RNA's Katie Fforde Debut Romantic Novel award and her second novel, New Beginnings at the Cosy Cat Café, was shortlisted for the RNA’s Popular Romantic Novel award.
Samantha Lee Howe
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
Samantha Lee Howe is a USA Today bestseller and a multi-award-winning screenwriter. A prolific writer of more than 28 novels, her latest, A Thorn in The Rose, is the first in a new post-war mystery series, Mel Greenway Investigates, published by Bedford Square Publishers imprint No Exit Press.
P.N. Johnson
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
As a TV reporter and producer for BBC East and ITV Anglia, Phil covered everything from tracking down criminals in Spain and going on high octane-police chases, to interviewing pop stars, politicians and celebrities. Writing as PN Johnson, Phil’s books are entertaining, thriller, crime mysteries set in exciting locations.
Member of Dead East, an Anglian Crime Writers Collective.
Michelle Kidd
Adult Fiction
Crime
Michelle Kidd is the writer of the bestselling London-based DI Jack MacIntosh crime series, and also the Bury St Edmunds based series featuring DI Nicki Hardcastle. After a career in the law and the NHS, she now writes full-time and lives in East Anglia. Member of Dead East, an Anglian Crime Writers Collective.
Susan Mac Nicol
Adult Fiction
Romance & Fantasy
Susan’s journey as a storyteller began with a love of words and a belief that everyone deserves a happy ending. She writes contemporary romance with a twist—stories that are as emotionally rich as they are entertaining. When she’s not writing, or creating award-winning screenplays, Susan enjoys exploring the English countryside, supporting LGBTQ+ causes, and connecting with her readers.
Laz Newton
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
Originally from Basildon, Essex, Laz now lives in Rutland, England, with her partner, Tim, and two rescue border collies. She loves playing the hand pan in the forest, going for long walks, and people-watching from coffee shop windows. Finch’s Arms is her debut novel, and she is currently working on a thriller titled Marzipan, about a man who spends his retirement pretending to be deaf.
C. Osborn
Adult Fiction
Romance
Carley-Ann Osborn BSc(Hons) is author of two adult-themed contemporary romance novels and wrote/illustrated two children’s picture books greatly inspired by her day job working in a school alongside children with educational and behavioural needs. Further she has co-written a young adult fantasy novel with her 11-year-old son based in a fictitious world of dragons.
Lizzie Page
Adult Fiction
Contemporary Fiction
Lizzie Page is the bestselling author of historical fiction books, heart-warming stories featuring women struggling (and triumphing) against the odds. Her two favourite films were Dr Zhivago and The Sound of Music, so it makes sense that she now writes twentieth century fiction.Lizzie's most popular book is The Orphanage, the first in the Shilling Grange Children's Home series. Her latest is The Airline Girl.
Emma Robinson
Adult Fiction
Contemporary Fiction
Emma Robinson is a USA Today Bestseller with a passion for stories which explore the power of family and friendship in the most challenging circumstances. Her new novel – The Night Before the Wedding – is set in Sorrento and is full of family secrets and life-changing revelations.
Julia Stone
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
Julia Stone is an award winning author with a background in psychology. She writes psychological suspense novels, focusing on ‘why dunnit’. She lives in Essex and is the co-convenor of Dead East, an Anglian Crime Writers Collective. She is also author-in-residence at Sudbury Arts Centre.
T.G. Trouper
Adult Fiction
Thriller, Suspense & Mystery
T G Trouper lives with his wife in Essex, England. He worked in the live music industry for many years dealing with the requirements of some of the biggest recording artists in the world, and only left reluctantly to care for aging parents. However, this gave him time to take up writing, something that he has always wanted to do. T G is also a singer and guitarist in a couple of bar bands.