Bay Tales 2025

I took the plunge and attended my first book festival on 1st March 2025. As I'm based in the north-east Bay Tales, which takes place in Whitley Bay, was an ideal starter festival. The event is held in The Playhouse, a 630 seater auditorium, only a couple of minutes walk from the seafront. We were very fortunate that the weather was a perfect spring day so there was ample opportunity for a walk either before the event or during the lunch break.

The festival organisers, Vic Watson and Ann Cleeves (yes, THAT Ann Cleeves), pride themselves on Bay Tales being the friendliest festival going and I immediately started chatting to people as soon as I entered the building. This was lovely as I was on my own, at my first festival, and I'm quite shy too. I'm also rubbish at remembering names so apologies for not including any shout-outs.

In the foyer, there was a merchandise stall selling a variety of goodies, everything from filled goodie bags and hoodies, through to pens and mugs. Having such a wide range of products meant that there was something to suit every purse if you were after a souvenir. Alongside this Forum Books had a stall selling books by the authors appearing on the panels. The selection of books was plentiful and rotated throughout the day. Volunteers were also selling raffle tickets for some fantastic prizes with all proceeds going to the local foodbank. Refreshments were available in the foyer from a cashless bar where the service was slick. Ladies' toilets were nearby and there were plenty of cubicles so there was no need to queue.

On to the main event. Vic gave a lovely warm welcome and even let us in on a Vera secret (I've put the spoiler on a separate page, link here). I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be sat in the second row, I felt that I could reach out and touch the authors.

I'd decided I was going to write a blog post before going to the event, hoping to enthrall you with inciteful comments from all the speakers. But that's not going to happen, I didn't make any notes, I just sat back and enjoyed five hours of fascinating discussion.

The first panel featured Ann Cleeves and William Shaw in conversation with Tim Rideout. This was then followed by the Viper panel featuring Tariq Ashkanani, Janice Hallett, Oskar Jensen and Guy Morpuss, moderated by Emma Flint. The last panel of the morning session was from Pan Macmillan. Moderated by Steph McGovern, it featured Sarah Hilary, Tracey Whitwell and the writing duo Ellery Lloyd (husband and wife Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos).

 

The moderators skillfully managed the discussions to ensure each author had an equal opportunity to speak and to keep the conversations flowing and snappy. There was also the opportunity for audience members to email questions to the moderator; the end of each session featured these audience questions. After each session, there was a thirty-minute break. This allows attendees to get books signed by the panel, stretch their legs or purchase refreshments.

During the lunch break, I took the opportunity to get some fresh air and wander along the seafront. Thanks to the beautiful weather the place was packed. There were plenty of places to buy food and drink. The festival organisers had also arranged discounts with some local businesses. If you didn't want to venture outside there was ample seating in the foyer of the Playhouse, with the merchandise and book stall continuing to operate.

There were two panels on the afternoon. The first, from Orion, was moderated by Chris McDonald and featured authors Anna Mazzola, John Sutherland, Emma Kavanagh and Mari Hannah. Final panel of the day was a conversation between C. L. Taylor and Mark Billingham. Before the second panel, the organsiers held the draw for the raffle. There were some fantastic prizes available such as book bundles, gift cards, your name to appear in an author's next book, a Fortnum & Mason hamper, and even a chance to have your worst enemy killed off (in a book, obviously). It was wonderful to hear that the raffle raised £1000 for the local foodbank.

And before we knew it the day was over, the eight hours had flown by. Whilst I didn't make notes there were quite a few things that really stood out for me.

• The expertise of some of the authors is phenomenal. From the law, the police force, psychology, or hostage negotiation, these people really know their stuff.
• Not everything is intricately researched at the beginning of a novel. Many prefer to get the story written and then do research.
• Plotting a story varies widely, some have spreadsheets, others have post-it notes, and many use nothing at all. The overall message was simply to write, and get something on the page.
• We laughed a lot, especially during the conversation between Cally Taylor and Mark Billingham.
• Dragon porn is so last year, the next big thing is parrot porn! (You had to be there).

I want to say a huge thank you to the organisers, volunteers and Playhouse staff for making the event so welcoming. Everything was beautifully organised. If you're dithering about attending, particularly if you are on your own, you don't need to worry, everyone is very friendly.

On a side note, although this is a day event there are other events on Friday and Saturday night and  Sunday morning. Friday night is "Noir At The Bar" and Sunday morning was "Voices Of The North East" at Whitley Bay Library, both of these events were free. Saturday night was "Whose Crime Was It Anyway?", which is a ticketed event. You could also take part in a bar crawl and check out the favourite cocktails of some of the authors.

If I've tempted you to attend then tickets for next year's event are now on sale. Bay Tales 26 will take place on Saturday 28th February 2026.