Ann Cleeves is the author behind ITV's Vera and BBC One's Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez - characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold millions of copies worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series.

Some of her other novels include the popular Vera Stanhope series, The Crow Trap, Telling Tales, Hidden Depths, Silent Voices, The Glass Room, Harbour Street and The Moth Catcher. In 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside.

Chris Simms' novels include the DI John Spicer and the DC Iona Khan series. His books have received nominations for Crime Writers' Association Daggers and the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year award.

Cath Staincliffe is an award winning novelist, radio playwright and creator of ITV's hit series Blue Murder. Cath's books have been shortlisted for the CWA Best First Novel award.

She was joint winner of the CWA Short Story Dagger in 2012. Letters To My Daughter's Killer was selected for the Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club on ITV3 in 2014.

Cath also writes the Scott & Bailey books based on the popular ITV series. She lives with her family in Manchester.

John Baker was a hotelier and rock ’n’ roll promoter in the eighties era of Midnight Oil, INXS and Cold Chisel. He became a wine merchant creating a number of fine wine stores, including Quaffers Double Bay Cellars and the Newport Bottler, as well as the importing business Bordeaux Shippers.

He likes wine from anywhere (as long as it’s very good) and is now more involved with a mixture of projects including the business of olive oil, as he says it’s good for his health and less punishing the next day.

Martin Edwards was born in Knutsford, Cheshire. He read law at Balliol College, Oxford and trained as a solicitor. He is the author of the legal mysteries featuring Harry Devlin adnd writes the popular crime series set in the Lake District. He is also a critic and has edited various short story collections and writes The Martin Edward's Column on BookNoir.

Martin Edwards is an award-winning crime novelist whose Lake District Mysteries have been optioned by ITV. Elected to the Detection Club in 2008, he became the first Archivist of the Club, and is also Archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association. In addition to 17 crime novels, he has published eight non-fiction books and is a noted commentator on the genre. Renowned as the leading expert on the history of Golden Age detective fiction, he won the Crimefest Mastermind Quiz three times, and possesses one of Britain’s finest collections of Golden Age novels, including unique inscribed books and manuscripts, notably the previously unknown handwritten study made by Dorothy L. Sayers of the case of Constance Kent and Inspector Whicher.