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Mel Pennant

@mel_pennant

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Debut novel 📖 A Murder for Miss Hortense published June 2025 🎉 📖 Miss Hortense and the Last Rites out 2nd July 2026 🎉
Agent: Nelle Andrew
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Miss Hortense is back! 🕵🏾‍♀️ We’re thrilled to reveal the cover for MISS HORTENSE AND THE LAST RITES—this time, the beloved senior sleuth is investigating one very puzzling question: what happens when a man who can’t die… dies? 👀⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Do you have a favorite amateur detective? ⁣ ⁣ On sale 02/09/27 and available for pre-order now at the coming soon link in our bio!⁣ ⁣ #cozymystery by @mel_pennant
She’s back!!!! Miss Hortense and the Last Rites is out on Thursday 💃🏾 💃🏾 💃🏾 #amurderformisshortense #misshortenseandthelastrites #crimeandmystery #followyourdreams❤️ by @mel_pennant
✨I’ve never been a cover girl before! 💫 So thrilled to be on the front cover of @_thebookseller !!!!! Thank you so much @laurenbecca95. It was great being interviewed by you! And shout out to @gemmadayphoto for the lovely photo 🤩 by @mel_pennant
🫆 Crime Day was the perfect way for crime fiction fans to spend Halloween. 🍷 Hosted in Cargo Wines, the audience heard from two author panels, each offering them an insight into the lives, careers, books and story creation techniques of the writers. 🤔We discussed moral dilemmas with @ilona.bannister and @jomurraywrites revealing that despite how different their books are, they have hugely interesting shared themes that make readers question their own moral compass and reflect on how we judge strangers. 📝 @jesskitchingwrites @mel_pennant @clairebethquinn and @deakin.leona talked about the secrets and lies within their novels and offered up a sneaky peak into the writing community. 🥜 The day was rounded off with a fun, interactive workshop with @antonyjohnston who led the audience in an investigation where they had to deduce the killer. It was a fantastic introduction to Antony’s choose your own story murder mystery series. 🙏 A big thank you to all the authors for joining us and to the audience for getting involved and taking part in this fascinating themed day. #crimefiction #authorevent #booksigning #farsley #leeds by @mel_pennant
October has been…some kind of wonderful 💫 💫 🌟 , from spending time with @marxia1, @lisa4884smith and @drtimrideout at Lincoln Library to more events with Lisa at Leicester and Carnegie Library, to having a gorgeous conversation with @ammanbrar curtesy of @calicoprojects to meeting Hassan (and his dad )at@better_botwellgreen to speaking with Jamie at West Library Islington. Not forgetting seeing the brilliant Blood of my Blood and @jodiercampbell at the Royal Court and finally being part of @trumanbooksleeds Crime Day today and meeting @jesskitchingwrites , @clairebethquinn and @deakin.leona. The panel was chaired by the brilliant Amanda and I got to meet @antonyjohnston as well! Wow what a month! Met fabulous authors, library staff, festival organisers, booksellers and readers! #amurderformisshortense #misshortenseandthelastrites followyourdreams❤️ crimeandmyst by @mel_pennant
This week we chat with author Mel Pennant about her brilliant Miss Hortense books, including her inspiration, her process and the surreal situation of finding herself in a publishing auction. Plus a reading from her latest novel Miss Hortense and the Last Rites. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or link in story 🎧 #cozycrime #writersofinstagram #forthwrite by @mel_pennant
🎟️ Book for the full day or by the event… 👮‍♀️ Crime Day at @oldwoollen is made up of three events. Come to all three for £30 or pay £15 for individual events. ℹ️ Head to the Events Page on our website for more info and to book. 🎟️ 🧭 11.30am – 12.30pm: MORAL DILEMMAS with @ilona.bannister & @jomurraywrites We’re discussing books that might just make you question your own moral compass. 🤐 1pm – 2pm: SECRETS AND LIES with @mel_pennant @deakin.leona @jesskitchingwrites & @clairebethquinn How secrets and lies create suspense, up the stakes and add character depth. 🔍 2.30pm – 3.30pm: Can You Solve the Murder? LIVE! with @antonyjohnston It’s time for a NEW exciting interactive experience, where guided by award-winning author Antony Johnston, you are the detective. Work alone or in groups to examine crime scenes, analyse hidden clues and interrogate suspects to piece together the puzzle and figure out who the culprit is. #crimefiction #authorevent #booksigning #farsley #leeds by @mel_pennant
Mel Pennant is a playwright and novelist. In 2013, Mel won the Brockley Jack Write Now 4 award with her play “No Rhyme”. Mel has written various audio plays with Tamasha Theatre Company and the National Archives, including “Smile”, “A Stranger in a Strange Place” and “A Story Told Three Times and Still Unfinished”. In 2017, Mel was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagan Award for her play “A Black Fella Walks into a Bar”. Mel’s play “Seeds”, produced by tiata fahodzi and directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, was developed for a national tour and a three-week run at Soho Theatre in 2020 before the Covid lockdown halted its run. In 2018/2019, Mel was awarded a place on the Hachette/Tamasha pilot scheme for aspiring playwright-novelists. In 2024/25, Mel was selected as one of the best emerging playwrights in the UK and awarded a place on the Women in Theatre Lab scheme. Mel’s debut novel, A Murder for Miss Hortense, the first in a new crime series, was published in June 2025, was Highly Commended in the Val McDermid Debut Award 2026 and won the 2026 CWA Whodunnit Dagger. The second in the series, Miss Hortense and the Last Rites, was published in July 2026. @mel_pennant by @mel_pennant
Jamaica Road with Lisa Smith Join Lisa Smith in conversation with Lisa Pennant to discuss Jamaica Road, a transformative love story about two best friends from a tight-knit British-Jamaican community 📆Tuesday 13 October 📍Carnegie Library 🕡 7 to 8.30pm 💷Free 🎫 Ticket link in bio Join Lisa Smith to discuss Jamaica Road a transformative love story about two best friends who fall for each other, fall apart, and try to find their way back together in their tight-knit British-Jamaican community. Daphne is the only Black girl in her South London class in 1981. Her quiet life changes when Connie arrives from Jamaica. As their bond deepens against a city’s unrest, family tensions and a perilous secret force them to navigate love, loyalty, and belonging over a turbulent decade. Lisa Smith is a prizewinning writer from South London. She will be joined in conversation by Mel Pennant, author of A Murder for Miss Hortense Event organised with the Friends of Carnegie Library. #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BlackHistoryMonthInLambeth #Lambeth #LambethLibraries #CarnegieLibrary #HerneHill #LisaSmith #MelPennant #JamaicaRoad Image description: Information about the event with a background image of the cover of Jamaica Road and a photo of Lisa Smith and Mel Pennant, two Black women by @mel_pennant
👮‍♀️ Have you signed up for Crime Day yet? 📚 A day to celebrate the fantastic genre of crime fiction and the art of the psychological thriller. 7️⃣ authors over two exciting panels AND a new, fun interactive crime solving workshop. 🗓️ Sat 31st October ⏰ 11am - 4pm 📍 The Old Woollen, Farsley, Leeds 💰 £30 🎟️ Head to the Events Page on our website * 11.30am – 12.30pm: MORAL DILEMMAS with @ilona.bannister & @jomurraywrites * 1pm – 2pm: SECRETS AND LIES with @mel_pennant @deakin.leona @jesskitchingwrites & @clairebethquinn Quinn * 2.30pm – 3.30pm: Can You Solve the Murder? LIVE! with @antonyjohnston #crimefiction #authorevent #leeds #booksigning #litfest by @mel_pennant
Great Bookish 📕 weekend! Spending time with @marxia1, @lisa4884smith and @drtimrideout at @lincsbookfestival. Then onto @leicesterlibraries with Lisa and @merishaspeaks. Finally today at @bbbookfestival. Just wonderful! by @mel_pennant
🚨 SOUTH EAST LONDON BOOK LOVERS! 🚨 What happens when Miss Hortense and Mr Sidhu “meet” in real life? Let’s find out! Join Mel Pennant (Miss Hortense and the Last Rites) and debut author Amman Brar (Mr Sidhu’s Post Office) for an incredible evening of conversation. From cozy murder mysteries in Birmingham to community secrets in a local post office, we’re diving deep into character building and community roots, and finding out what inspires both writers stories. 🗓️ Tuesday, 6th October 2026 ⏰ 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM 📍 Manor House Library, 34 Old Rd, London SE13 5SY 🎟️ FREE attendance, but booking is essential! Books will be available to purchase on the night courtesy of Crofton Books. 👉 Tap the link in our bio to grab your free tickets. #LewishamEvents #SE13 #ManorHouseLibrary #LeeGreen #Blackheath HitherGreen LondonBookstagram MelPennant AmmanBrar BlackHistoryMonth2026 SouthEastLondon LocalAuthorTalk by @mel_pennant

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