Harrogate International Festivals has announced the shortlist for the McDermid Debut Award for new UK and Irish writers. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 23 July.
The shortlist for this year’s McDermid Debut Award showcases "original and assured" new voices writing across a broad range of subgenres - including serial killer thrillers, detective fiction, cosy crime and dystopian chillers - and introducing a range of unforgettable protagonists, including a 12-year-old Glaswegian dog walker and a Windrush generation retiree who is Birmingham’s answer to Miss Marple. Now in its third year, the award has established a successful track record for discovering emerging talent, with the two previous winning books, Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (2024), and A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman (2025), going on to become bestsellers.
The full McDermid Debut Award 2026 shortlist (in alphabetical order by surname) is:
- A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Transworld, Penguin Random House)
- The Exes by Leodora Darlington (Penguin Michael Joseph)
- Innocent Guilt by Remi Kone (Quercus)
- The Quiet by Barnaby Martin (Pan Macmillan)
- A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant (Baskerville, John Murray)
- How to Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson (Transworld, Penguin Random House)
Honoring internationally bestselling crime writer, Val McDermid, who co-founded the Theakston
Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in 2003 and whose dedication to fostering new voices in crime
fiction is legendary, this Award seeks to continue her legacy, celebrating and platforming the best
debut crime writers in the UK. The shortlist was selected by a panel of established crime and thriller
writers, and the winner will be decided by a panel of expert judges, chaired by McDermid. All
shortlisted authors receive a full weekend pass to the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
and the Winner will receive a £600 cash prize and an engraved, handcrafted beer barrel from T&R
Theakston.
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