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Promoting literacy and community across the region
The Reader-in-Residence promotes literacy and community through engaging, accessible reading initiatives. Highlights include the Big Read, a touring book club designed to develop reluctant readers into active ones, support libraries, and spark conversations about great crime fiction in towns and cities across the north of England.
These activities create inclusive spaces, particularly for reluctant readers, those in low-literacy areas, and adults at risk of rural isolation. By making literature welcoming and accessible, the programme breaks down barriers, builds communities and fosters a shared love of reading and storytelling.
By leading reading groups over the Festival weekend, the Reader-In-Residence helps ensure that readers remain at the heart of the programme of events.
Past Readers-in-Residence include award-winning author Ann Cleeves and #TheakstonsCrime Creative Thursday alumna and former Festival Programming Chair Mari Hannah.
Meet our Reader-in-Residence
Bestselling crime novelist Luca Veste is our current Reader-in-Residence and host of the Big Read. An author of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, Luca is the author of eight novels, including the Murphy & Rossi series, and standalone novels The Bone Keeper and You Never Said Goodbye. Veste’s writing often explores themes of identity, fear, and the impact of the past on the present. With a background in criminology and a passion for storytelling, he has become a respected voice in contemporary crime fiction.
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