Elly Griffiths, author of the Dr Ruth Galloway series, won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 for her novel The Frozen People. The award, supported by the Daily Express, was presented at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
Record nominations finally rewarded
Griffiths had been shortlisted for the award eight times previously and was Highly Commended in 2023 for The Locked Room. She received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in 2025. The Frozen People introduces Detective Ali Dawson, a cold case investigator who travels to Victorian London to solve murders with modern-day implications.
Griffiths, 62, from West Sussex, received £3,000 and an engraved beer cask from sponsor Theakston’s Brewery. The ceremony was hosted by Steph McGovern at the Old Swan Hotel.
Griffiths thanks family and editor
Griffiths said she was “blown away” by the win. She thanked her husband Andy, an archaeologist who inspired the story, their two children, and her long-time editor Jane Wood. She told the audience of 800 aspiring authors to “never stop believing”.
Griffiths is also author of the Brighton Mysteries and the Detective Harbinder Kaur series. Her novels have sold over five million copies worldwide.
Shortlist and other winners
The shortlist for the main award also included The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani, The Death of Us by Abigail Dean, Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, Clown Town by Mick Herron, and Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan.
The McDermid Debut Award, named after Val McDermid, went to Scottish writer Frances Crawford for A Bad, Bad Place. The novel is set in 1970s Glasgow and follows 12-year-old Janey Devine, who discovers a murdered woman's body. Crawford, 63, graduated from Glasgow University aged 60 and received £600 and an engraved beer casket.
Crawford said winning was “a dream” and that every book on the shortlist reflected “all that was good about crime writing”. She added that the award bearing Val McDermid’s name made it “extra special”.
Playwright Mel Pennant was Highly Commended for A Murder for Miss Hortense, featuring a retired nurse turned amateur detective.
Baldacci receives Outstanding Contribution Award
US novelist David Baldacci received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award. In a video message, fellow author John Grisham paid tribute, noting that lawyers were generally boring but not the “sleazy guys and corrupt judges that me and David write about”.
Baldacci, 65, said: “Having cut my youthful teeth on British crime fiction, this award has special significance for me. … To join a group of some of the finest writers of any genre is humbling but also immensely thrilling.” He added that he had been “reading British crime fiction most of my life and I consider it the gold standard”.
Baldacci’s first novel, Absolute Power, was published 30 years ago and adapted into a film starring Clint Eastwood. He has sold more than 200 million books worldwide.
Festival organisers comment
Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said: “Congratulations to all of our brilliant winners. This was another outstanding year for crime fiction.” Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said: “Elly Griffiths’s ‘The Frozen People’ is a corker of a mystery and a huge achievement by a writer at the top of her game.”
