David Baldacci in Conversation at Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
By Sarah Morgan, August 2026
He’s the superstar author with a movie star’s megawatt smile, a former lawyer whose novels have been translated into 45 different languages, selling around 130 million copies of them have been sold around the world.
Having had such success, coupled with his slick look, you might expect David Baldacci to be an over-confident, brash individual, but not a bit of it. Instead, he exudes old world charm and humility and, 30 years on from the publication of his first book, he remains as thrilled as ever by the writing process.
As a result, he was as pleased as punch to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction award at Harrogate’s Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Thursday evening.
“It means everything,” he claims. “When I say that British crime writing is the gold standard, I really mean that. And being rewarded by your peers is an amazing thing. They know how the sausages are made and that they’re not always pretty!
“I’m just thrilled that we have 20,000 people attending a writing festival somewhere on the planet. That’s incredible. I’m going to go home and tell everyone about it.”
It’s not his first visit to the event – that came in 2011, but it was a whole different ballgame back then: “There were no tents, that I can tell you. There were still thousands of people, but nothing like this.”
Although he practiced law in Washington DC for nine years, it seems he was destined to become a writer from an early age.
“I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and I never shut up,” he grins while remembering his early years. “My job in the neighbourhood was to create all our adventures. When I was eight, my mom gave me a journal and said, ‘here honey, I know you like reading, why don’t you try writing some stories down?’
“So I started and never stopped. It was like a revelation to me. Years later, after I was published, I thanked her. She said, ‘I’m glad it worked out for you, but really, I just wanted to shut you up!’”
David started out with short stories, but had little success. “Then, after a friend who was trying to be a director gave me a screenplay, I wrote four screenplays, but eventually, everyone passed on them.
“So I was in DC, walking around… I knew all about JFK’s affairs, so I thought, ‘what would happen if the President’s mistress was murdered but someone saw it happen?’ I flipped everyone around, the good guys became bad and the one moral guy was a burglar.”
“I feel as energetic and creative as ever”
The resulting book was Absolute Power, his first novel. The movie rights were quickly snapped up, although the film bears little resemblance to his work – when Clint Eastwood signed on to direct, produce and star, key points were changed to suit his image. Not that David bears him any ill will.
“I like him, he’s a good guy. I saw him years later at an event where he was getting a lifetime achievement award. He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Absolute Power guy’. I felt all warm and fuzzy!”
Since then David has written between 50 and 60 other books (nobody seems to know the exact number). Some are parts of series, others are standalones; he’s written children’s books too. He’s one of the world’s most prolific writers.
“When I’m inspired by something, I just hit it and go,” he explains. “I’ve written some of my best novels in a couple of months. It sounds crazy, but you can do it if the through line is strong.”
He isn’t, however, one for being too organised.
“I’ve tried to write an outline but it doesn’t work. How can you know where you’re going if you haven’t met the characters yet? But the thing is, you find the method that works for you – there’s no rule.
“I’m a thriller writer. I’m only bound my plausibility. But after Trump was elected, even that went out of the window, because clearly anything can happen.”
It’s fair to say that David is not a Trump fan. He dislikes AI too, and is leading the fight against the companies using the work of writers like him to fuel their technology. “It’s tough, but I have to do this,” he says, with obvious passion. He and his wife are involved in various charitable causes too – they’re keen to use their money to help others.
But if you think that means Baldacci is stepping back from writing to concentrate on other things, you’re very much mistaken. For a start, he’s promoting his latest novel, Hope Rises, while he’s in Harrogate.
“I’m in my mid-sixties now so I’m no spring chicken, but I feel as energetic and creative as ever,” he claims. “But I’m choosing my stories carefully these days because I’ve only got so many opportunities left. So if there’s an important story I want to tell, I’ll try to do it.”
And with a final flash of that smile, he’s gone – probably to start thinking about the next half a dozen books to roll off his impressive personal production line.
images: Gerard Binks
Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.
