Bella Mackie at literary festivals

Last checked: 28 October 2026

Bella Mackie writes dark comic novels about families, money and the stories people tell to excuse themselves. Her books also include non-fiction about her experience of running. The 2026 festival programme connects those different strands with the publication of Claws Out! Her Stratford appearance was part of the autumn 2026 programme. If you are choosing an event because you enjoyed an earlier book, read its description closely: a conversation about a novel can have a different focus from an interview about memoir or journalism.

Quick facts

Best known for: How to Kill Your Family and dark comic fiction
Genre or subject: Fiction, social satire and non-fiction
Latest book: Claws Out! (2026)
2026 festivals: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Stratford Literary Festival

About Bella Mackie

Mackie has written for the Guardian, Vogue and Vice. Her publisher describes her bestselling novels and non-fiction, and notes that she judged the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2023. How to Kill Your Family was her debut novel; What a Way to Go followed it. Her fiction brings murder plots into settings shaped by wealth, resentment and family expectations.

The books discussed here have different central characters. A reader coming from one novel does not need to approach the others as a detective series. A more revealing comparison might be how each story distributes sympathy. Who controls the account of events? What does money allow a character to hide? When does a narrator’s explanation begin to look like an excuse? Those are questions to carry into a festival conversation without asking the author to reveal a twist.

Her non-fiction offers a separate way into her work. The programme title should help you choose the subject you want to hear discussed.

A question about writing morally compromised characters can stay spoiler-free. You might ask how Mackie gives a character a persuasive voice while allowing readers to question it, or how she decides where a comic observation belongs within a mystery. Keep your question brief enough for the interviewer to develop it.

The 2026 Stratford conversation had a one-hour slot focused on the new novel. A later appearance can have a different subject or format. Check each event for its chair, running time and any audience questions or signing, particularly if those details affect the rest of your visit.

Where to start with their books

Claws Out!

Diana Leyland has been widowed three times and is pursuing a new wealthy partner, David Farrand. His daughter Cat becomes suspicious and starts investigating Diana’s past. This was the book named in the Stratford conversation. While reading, consider how the promise of wealth changes the characters’ dealings with one another. The premise gives material for a question about class or family power without discussing who ultimately deserves belief. Leave the solution for the reading experience.

How to Kill Your Family

Grace Bernard is on a mission of revenge against her wealthy family, before finding herself imprisoned for a crime she did not commit. The novel’s central voice is a route into Mackie’s combination of murder and social satire. When reading, separate what Grace tells you from the judgement you make of her. A festival question could explore that distance between narrator and reader without assuming that the author shares a character’s views.

What a Way to Go

Anthony Wistern is dead, and his wife and four children each have a motive. A true-crime enthusiast outside the family is also pursuing answers. This offers another family mystery, with a different cast and spread of suspicion. Compare the attention paid to inheritance and public reputation with the motives in the other novels. You can discuss recurring concerns without approaching the book as a sequel or importing information from one fictional family into another.

Jog On: How Running Saved My Life

This non-fiction book describes Mackie’s experience of running in relation to anxiety and depression. Its personal subject and approach differ from the novels above. Choose it if you want to explore her autobiographical writing, while recognising that an event centred on Claws Out! may concentrate on fiction. A question about moving between personal experience and invented voices can connect the books without expecting a novelist’s festival session to cover every part of her private life.

Festival appearances

For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.

2026

Bella Mackie: featured events in 2026
Festival	Date	Event and venue	Official source
Edinburgh International Book Festival	18 August 2026	Bella Mackie: Claws Out Venue NW	Official programme
Stratford Literary Festival	31 October 2026	Bella Mackie: Claws Out! with Clare Clark Crowne Plaza Stratford Upon Avon	Official listing

What their events are like

Edinburgh’s 2026 programme included Bella Mackie: Claws Out on 18 August, from 15:15 to 16:15, at Venue NW. That event has finished.

Stratford’s programme included Bella Mackie: Claws Out!, talking to Clare Clark, on 31 October 2026, from 16:00 to 17:00, at Crowne Plaza Stratford Upon Avon. Use the official organiser’s page for 2026 event details. Stratford’s autumn festival ran from 29 October to 1 November 2026.

2026 event details.

Where to see them next

No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.

The Stratford conversation was an October 2026 event. Published dates for a later festival do not by themselves confirm that Mackie will appear there.

Plan your trip

Our Stratford festival and stay guides cover the setting of the 2026 conversation. Use the venue on the ticket when comparing accommodation, and check the journey after the session as well as your arrival.

If you are combining the event with another booking, leave time to leave the room, find the next entrance and have something to eat. A ticket for one author does not provide admission to other sessions. For a visit with friends, decide whether the conversation is the shared part of the day or one choice within separate programmes.

Keep the room’s cancellation deadline alongside your event and transport reservations so that you can review the whole trip if plans change. If you need to leave luggage after checkout, ask about collection before choosing the train home. Those details can matter more than a broad description of an accommodation area.

Edinburgh International Book Festival: festival guide · Where to stay · 2027 programme
Stratford Literary Festival: festival guide · Where to stay · 2027 programme

Find a room in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire ↗Paid link: we may earn a commission if you book.

Crime festivals

Your questions about Bella Mackie

Which book was the 2026 Stratford event about?

The 2026 official description named Claws Out! Choose that for the closest connection with the conversation, or read an earlier novel to compare her fictional voices.

Are the novels one continuing series?

The books described here use different central characters and premises. You can select the one that interests you without working through a continuing detective story first.

Can I book a signing separately?

Check the organiser’s current information. A conversation does not guarantee a signing afterwards, and each event can have different conditions about bringing books.

Can festival dates predict another appearance?

Wait for a programme that names Mackie and gives the individual event details before making a trip specifically to see her. Festival dates alone do not confirm speakers.

Should I bring several books?

First check the event’s conditions. If a signing is announced, look for any limits about books and allow for carrying them during the rest of your visit.