Join us for an evening of sparkling conversation, as two of the UK’s bestselling and most popular authors chat about their work. Their latest novels are sure to feature, as M W Craven’s The Final Vow was published on 14th August, and Abir Mukherjee’s The Burning Grounds comes out on 13th November.

Multi-award-winning author M W Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a social work degree. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. He is an instant Sunday Times bestseller and, for his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, a recipient of the 2019 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, the 2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 and the Fingerprint Award for Crime Novel of the Year 2025. The series has now been translated into twenty-nine languages.

Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham and Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India and the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025, Hunted. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. He also co-hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast which takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons.

Event starts at 7.30pm. Seating is unreserved and doors will open at 6.45pm.

The festival bookshop is run by Bookends, Carlisle’s independent bookshop.

For queries, email borderlinescarlisle@gmail.com

This event is part of the Borderlines Carlisle Book Festival.