Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 31st March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Help launch the South Coast’s newest crime fiction festival — celebrating great stories, supporting authors, and welcoming new readers.
Hi, I’m Alex Stone, a psychological thriller author and the Festival Director of the Coastal Crime Fiction Festival, taking place in Southampton on 26th September 2026.
After volunteering at several literary events and co-organising the Romance Writing Festival Bournemouth 2025, I’ve seen first-hand how powerful it can be when writers and readers come together — confidence grows, ideas spark, and creativity thrives.
Coastal Crime Fiction Festival is a brand-new festival celebrating crime fiction in all its forms, from dark psychological thrillers to cosy mysteries. It will bring together bestselling authors, new writers, and passionate readers for a day of storytelling, discussion, and community.
Alongside the reader-focused programme, the festival will feature a dedicated Industry Hub, designed to support authors at any stage of their career. Whether you write crime, romance, fantasy, or non-fiction, many of the challenges we face are the same: building visibility, reaching readers, and understanding the ever-changing publishing landscape.
The Industry Hub will bring together experienced voices from across the publishing world, including marketing, finance, design, and editorial, to share practical advice, insight, and encouragement in a welcoming, accessible environment.
My vision is to create a festival that opens doors— inspiring readers, supporting authors, and celebrating storytelling at every level.
Coastal Crime Fiction Festival is entirely independent, with a strong focus on accessibility, fairness, and sustainability.
Crowdfunded support will help subsidise the direct costs of delivering the festival (e.g. venue fees, travel costs, etc) and will ensure the people who make it possible are supported properly.
Funds raised will be used cumulatively on:
1) Access & inclusion ( Our first priority)
Helping to subsidise the direct costs of attendance — including venue hire, catering, and technical delivery — so writers and readers with financial challenges can take part.
With crowdfunding we hope to cover core costs that would otherwise make attendance impossible for some.
2) Paying authors and speakers fairly
Once access support is secured, funding will go towards speaker fees for the authors and industry professionals taking part in the festival. We want our contributors to participate enthusiastically without personal financial cost, supporting a diverse and inclusive programme.
3) Supporting our unpaid volunteers
Donations will then help cover the cost of food, refreshments, and basic expenses for our volunteers who will be keeping the festival running smoothly on the day.
4) Festival growth and outreach
Any additional funds will support outreach activity before the festival, travel expenses for contributing authors coming from further afield, and wider promotion to help more readers discover new and emerging voices.
These milestones show how your support can strength our exciting new festival. Each level builds on the previous one as it's reached.
£500 raised
Helps subsidise access and inclusion by covering core venue and catering costs.
£2,000 raised
Supports subsidised access places and contributes towards paying author and speaker appearance fees.
£5,000 raised
Covers speaker fees to support the quality of the programme and helps meet volunteer expenses.
£7,500+ raised
Enables additional outreach events, more access to subsidised participation, and travel support for contributing authors.
Every contribution, however large or small, will help make the Coastal Crime Fiction Festival more accessible and more sustainable.
Please note: final designs for mugs and totes may include sponsor branding.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made