Mick Herron’s readers come for espionage, damaged careers and the company of characters who are hard to forget. Some arrive through the books, others through television. A live conversation is a chance to hear the novelist behind that world and to think about what a spy story asks of its supposed heroes.
Quick facts
Best known for
The Slough House spy novels, adapted as Slow Horses
Genre or subject
Espionage fiction, crime fiction and short stories
Herron writes crime and espionage fiction. The Slough House novels are the basis of television’s Slow Horses, with Gary Oldman playing Jackson Lamb. The continuing cast provides a reason for readers to return, but his writing also includes shorter fiction, standalone novels and another crime sequence.
The Zoë Boehm novels take readers into a different investigative world, with the opening book also adapted for television. That breadth means you can try Herron through a first investigation or a standalone before entering a long series. It is a career that gives an audience more to discuss than a single screen version.
His awards include Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold, Steel and Diamond Daggers. Clown Town, published in 2025, is the latest novel highlighted in the quick facts. The Slough House novella collection Watch the Quiet Snow had a publisher date of 22 October 2026, after the July festival appearance below. The collection gives readers another length of story to try alongside the novels.
Where to start with their books
Slow Horses
Disgraced intelligence officers have been sent to a shabby office where paperwork replaces the operations they wanted to run. Begin here to meet the first Slough House team and discover the written voices behind the television characters. Their wish to return to the action gives the story its starting tension.
Down Cemetery Road
An explosion in an Oxford suburb leaves two adults dead and a girl missing. Neighbour Sarah Tucker turns to Zoë Boehm’s investigation agency when she cannot let the disappearance go. This is the opening of the other series, for readers who want to discover Herron beyond his spies.
The Secret Hours
A stalled government inquiry into the Secret Service is shaken by a file connected with long-concealed events in Berlin. This standalone offers espionage without asking a new reader to begin a sequence, while giving established fans another view of the institutions and concealed histories around Herron’s fiction.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
For a reader attached to his fictional spies, the subject opens a conversation about loyalty, conduct and the sort of person who can carry a spy novel. It is an appealing reason to hear the novelist without expecting the event to reveal the next plot. Readers and viewers can each bring their own response to those characters.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
If you are still working through the series, save detailed conversations about later endings for another day. Make time to browse after the talk if a shorter work or a different strand of Herron’s writing catches your interest. For the hotel-based festival, use its guide to settle the day’s practical details around the ticket you want.
Can I attend if I have only watched the television series?
Yes. You already have a connection with Herron’s characters, and hearing the writer can encourage you to try the books. You do not need to catch up on every novel before enjoying a discussion of espionage fiction.
Where should I start reading Mick Herron?
The first Slough House novel introduces its displaced spies; the first Zoë Boehm story offers a different investigation. There is also a standalone option below if you want to meet the writing without beginning a series.
How do I buy tickets to hear him?
Use the festival links on Mick Herron’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
Is there a sister site about his books?
The Slough House Files is the sister site to follow for deeper reading about that series. This page keeps the attention on festival visits, while the reading suggestions offer a few starting points for choosing what to read next.
