Hillingdon readers get bigger crime festival line-up

By Hiyastar local culture desk

Hillingdon’s crime-writing festival returns on Saturday 13 June 2026 with its largest author line-up to date, bringing more than 15 bestselling writers to the Winston Churchill Theatre for a full day of talks, book discussion and writing insight.

The Hillingdon Libraries Crime Festival will run from 10am to 5pm, with tickets priced at £12. The event is aimed at crime fiction readers, book groups, aspiring writers and library users looking for a focused day with authors working across thrillers, mysteries and psychological suspense.

The 2026 edition follows last year’s sell-out festival, when more than 200 visitors heard from nine crime writers. Hillingdon Council says the expanded programme has grown out of the regular Coffee and Crime events held through Hillingdon libraries.

Festival details for readers

The festival is being staged at the Winston Churchill Theatre in Hillingdon on Saturday 13 June. Doors and individual session arrangements should be checked when booking, but the council has confirmed the overall festival runs from 10am until 5pm.

Practical details confirmed so far:

The source announcement directs readers to the council’s Discover Hillingdon booking page for tickets and to its author events page for more library-based events during the year.

Bestselling authors on the bill

The confirmed line-up includes Tom Hindle, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, TM Logan, Louise Candlish and Araminta Hall, alongside more than 10 other bestselling authors.

That gives the festival a broader range than its first year, with names associated with contemporary crime, suspense and page-turning mystery fiction. For readers, the appeal is not only hearing authors talk about new and recent books, but also getting closer to how plots are built, how twists are handled and how crime fiction keeps pace with modern anxieties.

For aspiring writers, a one-day festival can also be a practical route into the craft. Panels and author conversations often reveal how writers approach structure, research, pacing and character, which are harder to pick up from a standard book signing.

Why Hillingdon libraries are expanding the event

The festival sits inside Hillingdon’s wider library programme for the National Year of Reading 2026, a UK-wide campaign designed to promote literacy, reading for pleasure and stronger reading habits across age groups.

That wider context matters because the event is not being presented as a one-off celebrity author visit. It is part of a larger push to get residents into libraries for talks, reading groups and family activities throughout the year.

Readers interested in the broader national library theme may also find useful context in how other councils are marking the National Year of Reading with children’s books and library events.

Daniel Kennedy, Hillingdon Council’s Corporate Director of Residents Services, said the festival showed how libraries are finding new ways to connect people with reading. He described Hillingdon libraries as welcoming community spaces and said residents and visitors would have more chances in 2026 to discover authors and share a love of books.

More reading events in 2026

Hillingdon Council has also highlighted further author events across its libraries during 2026. Families with younger readers have another date to note: the 2026 Summer Reading Challenge for children aged four to 11 launches on Saturday 4 July.

For the crime festival, the immediate next step is booking a £12 ticket and checking the latest author-event listings before the June date, as individual session details and availability may change closer to the festival.

Source: Hillingdon Council