David Mark

After fifteen years as a specialist crime journalist, I accomplished my long-held goal of securing a publishing deal. That novel, Dark Winter, was a Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard & Judy pick, translated into several languages and lauded by luminaries such as Val McDermid for bringing a distinctive new voice to the genre.  Since then I have been a full-time novelist, producing the internationally successful DS McAvoy series and becoming a regular at literary festivals at home and abroad. This has allowed me the privilege of participating in numerous community writing and reading projects and to become an advocate for the importance of access to the creative arts. I have published twenty-six novels, including the Dagger-longlisted Dead Pretty and Sunday Times Historical Novel of the Year, Zealot’s Bones. My memoir dealing with my mental health challenges was praised for its honesty and insight. I have been an RLF Fellow at Teesside University.