08:45 Doors Open
Playhouse Whitley Bay will open their doors for the 2025 show to give you around thirty minutes to browse our independent festival bookstore’s brilliant display of books, grab a coffee and visit the Bay Tales merchandise store – or just to get to your seat early and make yourself comfortable!
09:25 – 09:30
Welcome and Introduction
Festival organiser, Vic Watson, will give you a quick introduction to the day’s events.
09:30 – 10:30
Patron’s Pick: Ann Cleeves in Conversation with Louise Welsh
Ann Cleeves, OBE
Our patron, Ann Cleeves, is the international bestselling author of the Vera, Shetland and Two Rivers series. Ann was chosen as the 2017 recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers’ Association for “sustained excellence” in crime fiction. In addition to her many accolades for writing, Ann’s commitment to public libraries was recognised in 2024 when she was presented with the first Public Library Champion award at the Libraries Connected 2024 Awards Ceremony.
Louise Welsh is the author of eleven novels including The Cutting Room, Plague Times Trilogy, To the Dogs and The Cut Up.
Louise has received several awards and international fellowships, including the Saltire of Saltires, an honorary fellowship from the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and honorary doctorates from the Open University and Edinburgh Napier University.
She is a regular broadcaster and has appeared on many BBC Radio 4 & BBC Radio 3 programmes. Louise is co-presenter (with Jude Barber) of the podcast, ‘Who Owns the Clyde’.
Louise is Professor of Creative Writing at University of Glasgow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Literature.
Moderated by Tim Rideout
Bay Tales regular Tim Rideout, PhD, is back running the Patron’s Pick session. Kind, gracious and incredibly well-read, Tim is the perfect host for our first session of the day.
10:30 – 11:00
Break and Book Signing
Ann & Louise will be available to sign copies of their books at our signing table (location TBC).
You can also use this opportunity to grab refreshments, enter our charity raffle and pick up your 2027 Bay Tales tote bag (while stocks last!) from the merch stand.
11:00 – 12:00
TBC
12:00 – 12:30
Break and Book signing
Panel authors will be available to sign copies of their books. You could also use the break to pick up some merch (if there’s any left!) or to enter our charity raffle, proceeds of which will be donated to The Bay Foodbank.
12:30 – 13:30
Pan Macmillan Panel
Jo Murray, Jeffrey Boakye & Fiona Cummins
Jo Murray grew up in Teesside during the 1990s when working-class girls were told they probably shouldn’t try to become barristers. Thankfully, she ignored everyone. After studying Classics at Newcastle University, she went to law school and was a criminal barrister before leaving the profession to look after her two children. Her debut novel Dissection of a Murder was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.
Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, educator and journalist with a particular interest in issues surrounding race, masculinity, education and popular culture. Originally from Brixton in London, Jeffrey has taught secondary English for fifteen years. He is a senior teaching fellow at the University of Manchester and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester. Jeffrey’s books include Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials and the Meaning of Grime; Black, Listed: Black British Culture Explored; What is Masculinity? Why Does it Matter? And Other Big Questions; Musical Truth: A Musical Journey Through Modern Black Britain and Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer. He is also the co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s double award-winning Add to Playlist. He now lives in Yorkshire with his wife and two sons.
Fiona Cummins is the international bestselling author of eight critically acclaimed novels, including Rattle, her acclaimed debut, and Richard & Judy Book Club bestseller, All of Us Are Broken. An award-winning journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy, she has won praise from authors such as Lisa Jewell, Chris Whitaker, Val McDermid, Lee Child, and David Baldacci. Fiona lectures in and teaches creative writing and works closely with the Reading Agency, visiting prisons and delivering writing workshops. Three of her novels have been optioned for television, while Into The Dark was shortlisted for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2023 and Some Of Us Are Liars was longlisted for the CWA’s Twisted Dagger in 2026. Fiona is published in several international territories and has been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Essex with her husband and children.
Moderator TBC
13:30 – 14:45
Lunch Break and Book Signings
As well as giving you time to get your books signed by, we’ve allocated seventy-five minutes for our lunch break to give you the chance to get out and stretch your legs in Whitley.
Be sure to check out which local establishments are offering deals for ticket holders.
Our friends from Cullercoats RNLI will be in the foyer to chat with you about the work they do and how you can help.
*Please note, this will be your final opportunity to buy raffle tickets.*
14:45 – 14:55
Take 10 to Read
In 2026, we welcomed Lucy from The Literacy Trust to talk about The National Year of Reading. As part of her visit, Lucy encouraged our audience members to crack open a book for ten minutes and you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium as over 500 people enjoyed the power of a good book.
And because we enjoyed it so much in 2026, we’re going to do it again in 2027!
14:55 – 15:55
Viper Books Panel
Janice Hallett, C.E. Hulse, Oskar Jensen & William Cook
Moderator TBC
Keep checking back for further updates. Guests will also be announced on our social media channels, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Bluesky.
15:55 – 16:15
Break and Book Signing
Janice, Caroline, Oskar and William will be available to sign copies of their books. The bookshop will, of course, still be open for all your bookish needs as will our merch stand.
16:15 – 16:30
Raffle Draw
With goodies provided by authors, publishers and local businesses, we’re confident we’ll raise plenty of money for our chosen charity: The Bay Foodbank.
Last year’s raffle raised almost £2,000, can we beat that total this year?
Buy tickets for the raffle throughout the day (ticket selling ends at 2:45pm) and be in with a chance of winning one of our fantastic prizes.
16:30 – 17:30
2027’s Special Guests interviewed by Steph McGovern
Bay Tales pal Steph is an award-winning broadcaster, champion of vocational qualifications and author of the pacy thriller Deadline.
17:30 – 18:00:
Signing & Raffle Prize Collection
Immediately after the final session, our special guests will be signing copies of their books upstairs while winners can collect their raffle prizes from the Bay Tales merchandise stand.
