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Author · 2 festivals in 2026

Denise Mina at literary festivals

Last checked: 28 October 2026

If what keeps you reading crime fiction is the voice as much as the solution, Denise Mina gives you a strong reason to choose a festival conversation. Her Glasgow novels follow people under pressure, and her work also includes stand-alone thrillers and graphic novels. In 2026, Harrogate offered a panel about language, while Bloody Scotland paired her with another leading crime writer. Those are different ways to spend time with the writing.

Quick facts

Best known for
Garnethill, Paddy Meehan and Alex Morrow
Genre or subject
Crime fiction, thrillers and graphic novels
Latest book
The Good Liar (2025)

About Denise Mina

Mina’s Glasgow crime series follow Maureen O’Donnell in the Garnethill trilogy, newspaper worker Paddy Meehan and detective Alex Morrow. The series provide different routes into the city and into the choices people make when a crime disrupts ordinary life. A reader can begin with the character or working world that interests them most without needing to approach the bibliography as a single long sequence.

Garnethill was published in 1998 and won the Crime Writers’ Association’s John Creasey Dagger for a first crime novel. Later awards include the Gordon Burn Prize and the McIlvanney Prize for The Long Drop, with another shared McIlvanney award for Conviction. The End of the Wasp Season and Gods and Beasts won consecutive Theakston awards. That recognition spans series fiction and novels that can be approached on their own.

Two Paddy Meehan books became the BBC television drama The Field of Blood. Mina also adapted Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy into graphic novels, alongside writing plays and work for television and radio. If you first encountered her through a screen adaptation, the books give you the opportunity to stay with the language and the character’s perspective at your own pace.

The latest published novel is The Good Liar, first issued on 31 July 2025, with a paperback in the following year. Its central character is a forensic specialist confronting the consequences of testimony that helped convict the wrong man. That premise turns a crime story towards responsibility, authority and what it costs to admit an error. It is a stand-alone option for someone who wants a complete book before a festival trip.

Where to start with their books

Garnethill

Maureen O’Donnell wakes after a night out to find her psychotherapist lover murdered in her living room. Suspected by the police, she searches among people who cannot or will not speak to the authorities. This opens the trilogy and is a choice for readers who want a central character outside the investigating police force.

The Field of Blood

Paddy Meehan works as a newspaper copygirl and wants to become a reporter. A child’s disappearance leads her to question whether the boys blamed acted alone, bringing her into conflict with family and community. Begin here for the first novel in her sequence, with reporting ambition and an investigation pulling the story forward together.

The Dead Hour

Paddy attends an apparent domestic dispute and takes money to keep it quiet, then learns the injured woman has died. The case threatens her credibility while the police account also becomes unreliable. This is the second book in the reporter’s sequence; choose it after the opener if you enjoy following the consequences of a character’s choices.

The Good Liar

Claudia O’Shiel is preparing to make a public speech while knowing her forensic testimony helped convict a man wrongly. The tension lies in what she will do with that knowledge. Try this if expert authority, responsibility and the damage done by a lie appeal more than beginning a recurring-detective series.

Festival appearances

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

2026

Denise Mina: featured events in 2026
FestivalDateEvent and venueOfficial source
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival2026 programmeDenise Mina in the 2026 programmeOfficial listing
Bloody ScotlandIn Conversation: Val McDermid and Denise Mina
The Albert Halls		Official listing

What their events are like

At Bloody Scotland on 20 September, she and Val McDermid shared a conversation at the Albert Halls. Two days earlier she presented Lee Child there in a retrospective of his career. The presenter role connects the writers, while the joint crime-writing conversation gave readers another reason to make the Stirling visit.

Where to see them next

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

Plan your trip

If the language panel appeals, take a passage you admire in mind on the journey. Think about what the voice lets you see or hear, keeping any question short enough to leave space for the answer. You need not bring a technical vocabulary to enjoy listening to writers discuss how a sentence works.

Find a room in Stirling ↗

Read more

Explore Denise Mina’s official writing information and the publisher’s author page.

Authors you might also like

Val McDermid in 2026

Val McDermid

Her partner in the festival’s joint crime-writing conversation.

Lee Child

She presented him at Bloody Scotland, connecting two crime-writing careers.

Abir Mukherjee in 2017

Abir Mukherjee

Another Harrogate and Bloody Scotland writer for readers building a wider crime-reading list.

Photo: Marlene Landu / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Photo: TimDuncan / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your questions about Denise Mina

Which Denise Mina series should I begin with?

Garnethill introduces Maureen O’Donnell, while The Field of Blood begins the Paddy Meehan novels. The reading section also includes a stand-alone forensic thriller. Choose whether you want a continuing character, the newspaper setting or one complete story before your trip.

Did she present another writer at Bloody Scotland?

She presented the Reacher creator in a career retrospective. That event is linked above and in the official sources. Her own joint conversation at the festival is a separate reason for readers of her crime fiction to explore the programme.

What was her Harrogate panel about?

Use the festival links on Denise Mina’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.

Are the Paddy Meehan books connected with television?

Two were adapted for the BBC as The Field of Blood. Reading the opening novel gives you the newspaper world and the aspiring reporter on the page. You can approach it whether television led you to the author or you are meeting the character for the first time.

How do I get tickets for a future appearance?

Use the festival links on Denise Mina’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.

Sources