Range of top writers lined-up for Morpeth Book Festival 2025

The organising committee of the festival, which is co-presented by Greater Morpeth Development Trust (GMDT) and Northumberland Libraries, has announced that the 2025 event will take place over the weekend of March 22 and 23 at a variety of venues around Morpeth – including St George’s Church and the new leisure centre.

Heading the list will be Mari Hannah, one of the North’s ‘Queens of Crime Writing’, who also happens to be the Patron of the Morpeth Book Festival.

Mari is best-known for her crime thrillers featuring her characters DCI Kate Daniels, Ryan and O’Neil and Oliver and Stone, all of which are based around the North East.

Making a return visit to Northumberland will be journalist, broadcaster, television executive and prolific author of books about his beloved Scotland, Alistair Moffat.

They will be joined for the first time at the event by author, poet, broadcaster, educationalist and after-dinner-speaking guru Gervase Phinn, whose books on his warm-hearted reminiscences about his life as a schools’ inspector in the Yorkshire Dales are hugely popular, and also making his festival debut will be James Naughtie – a BBC radio legend of 21 years as an anchor-man on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

New York Times and Sunday Times best-selling author of suspense thrillers B. A. Paris will be appearing at the festival along with Mrs Justice Cockerill and former Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin, three times a minister in Tony Blair governments and a celebrated author in his own right.

Local playwright Ed Waugh will not only be talking about his books, but also his latest play that will be on tour later this year.

It is about a notorious incident in 1926 that led to a group of men being dubbed the ‘Cramlington Train Wreckers’.

Ed has written a number of other successful plays including ‘Wor Bella’ about a young lady footballer from Blyth many years ago who was dubbed the Alan Shearer of her day.

Other local authors being lined-up to take part in the festival include Morpeth’s own Bridget Gubbins, David Wiliam, Alex James, Colin Green, Jessica Smith, Miles Hewitt and Alan Wilkinson, and again children’s authors will be running events for young readers.

Two whole days of poetry with some high-profile names will also be included in the festival in the new home of the Northern Poetry Library at Morpeth.

Frank Rescigno, GMDT’s arts and cultural director, said: “Our third book festival is some way off yet, but we wanted to very early get people excited by revealing some of the top writers, poets and broadcasters who we are bringing to the town next year.

“As an organising committee, we are so excited by the big names and high-profile writers who have told us they are delighted to be coming to Morpeth to take part in our event – the reputation of which is steadily growing.

“Over the coming months, we will have plenty more news to announce about the Morpeth Book Festival 2025.”