đ Currently powering through this incredible pile of books from the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Longlist.
Between @bookmadbarlow@nic_thebookworm and myself we are tackling the entire longlist and this is the stack of books Iâll be reading ready to cast my vote before it closes on the 28th May.
The Impossible Thing â Belinda Bauer
The Midnight King â Tariq Ashkanani
Human Remains â Jo Callaghan
What Happens in the Dark â Kia Abdullah
Beautiful Ugly â Alice Feeney
What the Night Brings â Mark Billingham
The Good Liar â Denise Mina
The Death of Us â Abigail Dean
We Live Here Now â Sarah Pinborough
Iâve already managed to tick off four of these, where should I go next?
If you are a crime/thriller reader have you placed your vote yet?
And finally, the Overall winner for The Batsford Prize 2026 goes toâŚ
Torso 28.08.25 by Anna Mays @nnamays
An exceptional piece and a unanimous decision by our judges.
The full shortlist of works is on display at @batsfordgallery From Friday 15âSunday 24 May, donât miss it!
#BatsfordPrize #UKprize #artprize #universities #UKUniversities
Follow along to see what team EDPR got up to last night at the @batsfordgallery celebrating The Batsford Prize 2026 awards! The Batsford Prize is the UKâs leading awards for British-based undergraduate and postgraduate art students and celebrates four disciplines: Fine Art, Applied Art & Textiles, Book Illustration and Architecture, with this yearâs theme focused on âconnectionsâ. Congratulations to all the winners and shortlistees, with a special mention for the overall winner, Anna Mays, for her life-size sculptural print Torso 28.08.25 inspired by a head to pelvis CT scan Anna had after a bike accident.
An exhibition of all the incredible shortlisted work will be showcased at the gallery until Sunday 24th May so hurry along to catch a glimpse of their outstanding talent!
#BatsfordPrize #BatsfordPrize2026 @batsfordbooks
âExquisitely rendered as a Holbein masterpieceâ is there any greater description than that! Out June 2026 from @mountainleopardpress #TheQueensPainter is a gripping Tudor revenge drama starring Henry VIIIâs court artist Hans Holbein, and tracing the rise and tragic fall of Anne Boleyn. #Tudors #historicalfiction
This is Dorothy Koomson: Episode 3 of Books on the Beach.
If you havenât read a Dorothy novel yet, make The Quiet Girls the one you go in on.
Dorothy is a consistently brilliant writer, real page turners.
Sheâs also a lovely person and makes me laugh a lot đ¤Ł
I really enjoyed recording with her and youâre gonna love listening to her wisdom.
Itâs on Apple, Spotify & Amazon Music (plse PRESS FOLLOW on your preferred audio platform) and in full glorious 4kUHD on YouTube - subscribe to the channel via link in bio.
Enjoy! Lose yourself in a book and reap the mental health benefits.
The wonderful Dorothy Koomson is my next guest on Books on the Beach.
Sheâs lovely, funny, warm, hugely engaging BUTâŚ. But, if you cross her, you will find yourself in one of her books and not as the hero !!
Full Ep lands EVERYWHERE tomorrow morning: Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify & YouTube in glorious 4KUHD.
Last but not least on our @carnegiemedals shortlist deep dive:
đ Wiggling Words, written and illustrated by @katerolfeart , gives readers an insight into dyslexia. With striking high contrast colours and illustrations that develop from panicked chaos to boundless creativity as a child learns to get playful with words, it's a fun and vibrant celebration of neurodiversity. This is the second year in a row Kate has made it to the Medal for Illustration shortlist. Published by @twohootsbooks
đ Birdie by @jprosewriter is shortlisted for the Medal for Writing. Set in a 1950s Yorkshire mining town, this beautifully written story features a determined pit pony and an even more tenacious young girl struggling with racism and the meaning of home in a new town with her estranged grandparents. Whilst there are important themes, ultimately it's a joyful and heartwarming read that celebrates friendship, unconditional love and belonging. Published by @andersenpress
Which one will you be voting for to make the shortlist?
The longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 is here, and voting is now open until Thursday 28th May. See the link to vote in our bio!
Weâd love to know which titles youâve already read, tick them off your bingo card and share tagging @harrogatefestivals
#TheakstonsAwards #TheakstonsCrime
đ¨The wait is over! We reveal the 18 nominees for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2026.
Discover the longlist and have your say at harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com
Link in the bio
@theakstonbrewery@dailyexpress@waterstones@ed.pr
#TheakstonsAwards
Next up on our @carnegiemedals deep dive:
đŹď¸ The Paper Bridge tells the story of a young girl determined to save her delicate paper town from great gusts of wind, inventing a paper bridge to journey to a neighboring mountain. Told through captivating kirigami scenes created by Seng Soun Ratanavanh, this special picture book celebrates connection and working together to protect our shared world. Shortlisted for the Medal for Illustration, The Paper Bridge is written by Joelle Veyrenc, translated by Katy Lockwood-Holmes, and published by @florisbooks
đ Twenty Four Seconds From Now by former winner @jasonreynolds83 is shortlisted for the Medal for Writing. A story full of heart about the moments leading up to a young man's loss of his virginity, Reynolds uses a fresh framing device, telling the story backwards in time from 24 seconds, 24 minutes, all the way up to 24 months prior to the tender moment. The result is a perfectly pitched, humorous & heartwarming YA read. Published by @faberbooks@faberchildrens
#Carnegies2026
Weâre delighted to announce the shortlist for The Batsford Prize 2026!
Now moving to our Applied Art and Textiles shortlist!
Sense of Place by Ebberley @ebbs_textiles
Murmur by Ruby Higgs @rubyhiggs.textiles
Occupied Minds by Isobel Honeywood @isobelhoneywood
Pres at Seven by Alice Rose @alicerosetextiles
A Library in Thread by Twig Searle @wyrd.wyld.woven
âGrief is a Thing with Feathersâ by Laura Wong Wei Yan @thelaurfirm
A big thank you to everyone who entered and a big congratulations to our shortlistees! Winners to be announced at this yearâs awards event on the 13th May.
Stay tuned for a full post on this yearâs shortlist over on our blog very soon!
#BatsfordPrize #UKprize #artprize #universities #UKUniversities #Textiles @batsfordgallery@falmouthuni@aubtextilesdesign@inspiredaub@uwebristol@ed.pr
