Chiltern Kills

All ticket sales in aid of CENTREPOINT Youth Homeless Charity & The Big Issue. Dozens of top crime authors. Celeb TV guests. Saturday 4th October 2025, 9am-11pm, Gerrards Cross, 20 mins from Marylebone.
Thanks to our sponsors Sacla’ UK, Vaaroom Motorhome Hire, Ewing Law & Quantaco.

Chiltern Kills really is the BEST crime festival out there – Robert Thorogood

Chiltern Kills is an incredible festival – Roxie Key

Arguably best one-day crime festival on the planet – Craig Sisterson

The best one-day crime fiction festival I’ve been to. Looking forward to next year already! – Alex North

For me the best one-day festival going – Andy Wormald

Chiltern Kills 2025: Lisa Jewell · Rev Richard Coles · Steph McGovern · Claire Douglas · Robert Thorogood · Jeremy Vine · Mark Edwards · Ed James · Dorothy Koomson ·Tony Kent · Paul Waters · SJ Fleet · Sarah Pinborough · Mark Billingham · Gytha Lodge · Vaseem Khan · Imran Mahmood · Stig Abell · Michael Cordy · Neil Lancaster · Colin Sutton · Craig Robertson · Erin Kelly · Nikki Smith · Roger Corke · Helen Fields · Jane Casey · Janice Hallet · Olivia Kiernan · Cass Green · AA Dhand · Phil Williams · Natalie Jamieson · Natasha Knight · Graham Bartlett · Stuart Neville · Will Carver · Nicola Williams · Linda Calvey · Stevyn Colgan · Lisa Hall · Russel McLean · Jemma McDonagh · Daisy Parente & Nicky Lovick (& watch this space…) 

Farewell to Frederick Forsyth, pilot, spy, author, reporter & Chiltern Kills patron.

Frederick Forsyth opening Chiltern Kills, with festival organisers Aneysha Minocha, Paul Waters, Tony Kent & Victoria Christian. Plus Neil Child-Dyer of Centrepoint. We’ll miss Freddie’s humour & support this year, but we’ll be celebrating his life & work – plus his new book, The Revenge of Odessa, jointly written with Tony. (Meanwhile, if anyone has seen those golden scissors since Freddie snipped the tape, let us know. That mystery continues…)

Chiltern Kills is the single most intense one day of crime & thriller writing entertainment, with many of the biggest names in crime writing & celeb moderators, all together with @centrepointuk & The Big Issue to help homeless people.

Tickets are still only £40 (including booking fee) – with ALL proceeds to Centrepoint and The Big Issue. (Our costs are covered by our generous sponsors. All authors appear for free.) Or choose an enhanced special ticket which gets you a one-to-one face-to-face consultation with a top literary agent for £70.

NB: All tickets give all-day access to both stages, the signing bookshop, the bars, the food court & mingling areas, but each panel event is first-come-first-seated, & NOT everyone will fit into each panel. Both stages will be running panels at the same time, the bookshop will be hosting signings & crime authors will be pulling pints behind the bar – so plenty to enjoy.

  • Dozens of top authors.
  • Celebrity Moderators from TV and radio.
  • Law and Order professionals.
  • 16 panels across 2 stages.
  • TV Crime Drama Stars
  • Book your 1-2-1 session with literary agents Nicky Lovick, Jemma McDonagh & Daisy Parente. (One of our agents signed up a new author at last year’s festival. This year? It could be you.) 
  • Unique karaoke – Murder a Song – led by crime writing legends Mark Edwards & Ed James.
  • A food selection to make Borough Market blush.
  • 1-2-1 interviews with crime and thriller writing legends.
  • The WhoDunHim Inn – the Windsor and Eton beer tent to end all beer tents – with bar staff in crime-themed costumes.
  • Pick up signed books from your favourite authors at the festival Chiltern Bookshop.
  • Swag galore in your festival tote bag with every ticket.

Schedule

To be confirmed…

Please use public transport. We’re only 20 minutes from Marylebone by train, and then a short walk from the station. Unmissable.

Chiltern Kills crime writing fest, Gerrards Cross

Chiltern Kills is at historic Colston Hall, (GXCA Memorial Centre), 8 East Common, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, SL9 7AD.

  • By train: 20 mins from London Marylebone via Chiltern Railways, then 11 mins walk to the venue.
  • By car: 5 miles from Junction 2, M40 – free parking.

Get the last train home or stay at one of our lovely local hotels. We recommend The Bull Hotel. But you might also consider The Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross, The Ethorpe Hotel, The Greyhound Inn, The Rioshouse George Inn, or The Ibis Budget Beaconsfield.

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