Paul Cleave appearing at Nelson Arts Festival

I grew up in a terrific place, the Nelson region of New Zealand. Nelson is a small city with several small towns spread across some pretty glorious coastal countryside, with beaches, mountains, orchards, vineyards, lakes, rivers, and streams. Three national parks (golden sandy beaches and superb coastlines in Abel Tasman, snowcapped mountains and alpine forest in Nelson Lakes, and verdant Kiwi bush in Kahurangi) are in the area. Nelson is known for several things, including being the craft brewing capital of New Zealand, and one of the most 'artsy' areas of the country. There are so many artisans - potters, painters, sculptors, and all manner of other interesting creative people, in an otherwise small population. Each October some of that is celebrated with the Nelson Arts Festival, and I'm very pleased to say that for the first time in my memory, crime fiction has been included in the readers and writers part of the festival this year!

2011 Ngaio Marsh Award winner Paul Cleave will be attending for an event where he will be in conversation with Nelson journalist Karen Stade. Cleave divides his time between his hometown of Christchurch, where he sets his dark thrillers, and London. His latest novel, JOE VICTIM, sees the return of Joe Middleton, the intelligent if skewed-view serial killer from Cleave's international smash hit debut THE CLEANER. In that first book, Joe pretends to be mentally challenged while working as a janitor at the Christchurch Police station, allowing him to keep an eye on the investigation into his own killings.

JOE VICTIM was shortlisted for the Edgar Award in the United States, and is also a finalist for the upcoming Ngaio Marsh Award in New Zealand (winner to be announced on 30 August in Christchurch).

Cleave's novels have been translated into 15 different languages, been #1 bestsellers in multiple countries, won awards in Europe and Australasia, and the film rights to THE CLEANER have been sold to a European producers who are famed for movies like Taken. It should be a fun session, and it's great to see some crime writing coming to the Nelson Arts Festival. You can find out more and buy tickets here.