Fancy a Pint with M.W. Craven?

Join us at Jennings Brewery on Friday 4 December for a chat with one of Cumbria’s biggest authors. M.W. Craven will appear alongside Val Armstrong, the fabulous Cumbrian broadcaster, for a Q&A and book signing.

Where: The Maltings, Jennings Brewery, Cockermouth

When: 7pm start, Friday 4 December 2026

Cost: £15pp

Handy things to know:

We’ve called this ‘Fancy a Pint’ but you will be buying your own beer – the Jennings bar will be open!

The Maltings is a working brewery space so, though we will be able to provide some heating, it’s advisable to wear layers.

There will be no parking at the Brewery for this event – the closest car parks are Bitterbeck and Riverside, off Market Place. Due to the preparations for the weekend’s Taste Cumbria Christmas festival, these car parks will be accessible from Castlegate Drive. Follow CA139NR via Isel or Embleton.

Tickets for this event are non-refundable.

M.W. Craven, the multi-award-winning, multi-million copy selling writer, is famed for his crime novels, many of which are set in the Cumbrian landscapes we know and love.

M.W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army, leaving 10 years later to complete a social work degree, then became a probation officer in Cumbria. After 17 years, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. He is a Sunday Times, New York Times and Der Spiegel bestseller and, for his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, a recipient of the 2019 Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger, the 2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the 2025 Fingerprint Crime Book of the Year. The series has now been translated into thirty-one languages.

His latest book, The Killer’s Mark, is part of the Washington Poe series and will be available to buy on the night.

A Pint with M.W. Craven is organised by Cumberland Council and is supported by The New Bookshop and Kirkgate Arts & Heritage.

The Taste Cumbria festivals are organised by Cumberland Council and the sponsors of the Christmas event are Cockermouth Town Council, The Coffee Kitchen Bakery, Jennings Brewery and Milburns Solicitors.