Mark Billingham is an English writer known for his bestselling Inspector Thom Thorne novels, which Sky 1 adapted into a hit series. He has twice won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel of the Year. In his latest standalone thriller, Rabbit Hole, Billingham follows ex-cop and long-term patient Alice Armitage as she investigates a murder in her acute psychiatric ward. Will Alice be able unravel the mystery without succumbing to her lingering PTSD? Get the scoop on this latest novel as he sits down with Canadian bestselling author Linwood Barclay in person at MOTIVE.

Mark Billingham will participate in the following event:

Rabbit Hole: Mark Billingham with Linwood Barclay
Saturday, June 4 at 5pm ET, Harbourfront Centre Theatre

Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers in Concert
Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm ET, Concert Stage at Harbourfront Centre

The Re-Read: Mark Billingham on Dashiell Hammett
Sunday, June 5 at 1pm ET, Main Loft in Harbourfront Centre

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year Award and the CWA Golden Dagger Award, Scottish author Val McDermid has sold over 17 million books around the world. In her newest novel, 1979, McDermid introduces rookie reporter Allie Burns, who must navigate the newsroom boys’ club while investigating a terrorist plot close to home. Join Scotland’s Queen of Crime in person at MOTIVE for discussions about her writing, Agatha Christie and a special performance.

Val McDermid’s Festival appearance is generously supported by Scottish Books International.

Val McDermid will participate in the following events:

The Re-Read: Val McDermid on Agatha Christie
Saturday, June 4 at 1pm ET, Main Loft in Harbourfront Centre

Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers in Concert
Saturday, June 4 at 7:30pm ET, Concert Stage at Harbourfront Centre

1979: Val McDermid
Sunday, June 5 at 1pm ET, Brigantine Room in Harbourfront Centre

Irish author Adrian McKinty has written over a dozen crime novels and is the winner of the Edgar Award, the International Thriller Writers Award and the Ned Kelly Award. In The Island, his latest novel and soon to be Hulu series, McKinty explores a family vacation gone horribly wrong. Separated from her new husband and surrounded by murderous locals, what will one woman do to keep her step-children safe?

Adrian McKinty will participate in the following event:

The Island: Adrian McKinty
Saturday, June 4 at 11:30am ET, Lakeside Terrace at Harbourfront Centre

Winner of the Stuttgart Crime Fiction Award, Melanie Raabe is a German author and journalist whose work has been published in over 20 countries. Her latest novel, The Shadow, spent 18 weeks on the Der Spiegel bestseller list. After a homeless woman prophesises the date when Norah Richter will kill a man “with good reason and of your own free will,” Norah must decide whether she should hate someone she has never met.

Melanie Raabe’s Festival appearance is generously supported by Goethe-Institut.

Melanie Raabe will participate in the following event:

Chiller Killers: Melanie Raabe & Max Seeck
Saturday, June 4 at 11:30am ET, Brigantine Room in Harbourfront Centre

Book & Brötchen with Melanie Raabe & Elizabeth Renzetti
Sunday, June 5 at 11:30am ET, Goethe-Institut Toronto 

Lilja Sigurðardóttir is an award-winning Icelandic author, playwright and scriptwriter. The first novel in her bestselling Reykjavík Noir Trilogy, Snare, was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger, while the third, Cage, won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book of the Year. Her latest thriller, Cold as Hell, follows Áróra as she returns home to find her estranged sister, who has gone missing in the midnight sun of the Icelandic summer.

Lilja Sigurðardóttir’s Festival appearance is generously supported by Icelandic Literature Centre.

Lilja Sigurðardóttir will participate in the following event:

Sisters in Search: Kellye Garrett & Lilja Sigurðardóttir
Saturday, June 4 at 2pm ET, Studio Theatre in Harbourfront Centre

Javier Cercas is an internationally acclaimed Spanish novelist and columnist. Cercas’s books have been translated into over 30 languages, while Soldiers of Salamis has sold more than a million copies worldwide. In his latest novel, Even the Darkest Night, convict-turned-cop Melchor Marín must uncover the truth about a brutal double murder in the remote town of Terra Alta. Learn from this master storyteller from the comfort of home as Cercas discusses his elegantly constructed thriller.

Javier Cercas will participate in the following event:

Even the Darkest Night: Javier Cercas
Saturday, June 4 at 8pm ET, Virtual Event

Bestselling Dutch crime novelist Tica Morgan brings her experience as a police-investigator to her acclaimed Inspector Zoe Janssen thrillers. In the series’ upcoming fourth novel, Hell’s Gate, Inspector Janssen must investigate a new mystery on the small islands of southern Netherlands. Join Tica Morgan for this special event, presented by Kobo Plus, as she discusses her new book, fascination with the crime genre and experience being published in multiple languages.

Tica Morgan will participate in the following event:

Hell’s Gate: Tica Morgan
Friday, June 3 at 5pm ET, Virtual Event

Fuminori Nakamura is a Japanese author best known for The Thief (2010), his critically acclaimed first novel to be translated into English. Winner of the prestigious Ōe Prize and David L. Goodis Award, Nakamura creates fascinating puzzle box narratives that feature tantalizing strangers and enigmatic acquaintances. “Turn this page, and give up your entire life,” he writes in his latest novel, My Annihilation, a disturbing dissection of what motivates a killer. Join the master of the literary noir virtually as he discusses this journey into the darkest corners of the human mind.

Fuminori Nakamura will participate in the following event:

My Annihilation: Fuminori Nakamura
Sunday, June 5 at 12:30pm ET, Virtual Event

Ilaria Tuti is an Italian author and winner of the Gran Giallo Città di Cattolica literary prize for her short story The Pagan Child. Tuti’s novels evoke her love of nature and Italy’s rich history. In The Sleeping Nymph, her highly anticipated next instalment of the Teresa Battaglia series, Superintendent Battaglia must travel to one of Italy’s most untouched regions to investigate a decades-old murder.

Ilaria Tuti’s Festival appearance is generously supported by Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

Ilaria Tuti will participate in the following event:

The Sleeping Nymph: Ilaria Tuti
Saturday, June 4 at 10am ET, Virtual Event

Critically acclaimed Australian author Emma Viaskic has won the Ned Kelly Award, five Davitt Awards and has twice been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger Award. Her books are published worldwide and are frequently listed among the best crime novels this decade. In Those Who Parish, the hotly anticipated conclusion to the Caleb Zelic series, Viskic places her Deaf protagonist on an isolated island community under threat from a sniper. Will Caleb find his drug addicted brother before the sniper does?

Emma Viskic will participate in the following event:

Those Who Parish: Emma Viskic
Sunday, June 5 at 8pm ET, Virtual Event