Debbie Young
{{Short description|British writer}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=November 2012}}
{{Notability|1=Biographies|date=August 2023}}
{{Self-published|date=April 2025}}
}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Debbie Young
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1960}}
| birth_place = Sidcup, Kent, England
| nationality = British
| occupation = Author, tutor, event organiser
| years_active = 2012–present
| known_for = Author of 16 cozy mystery novels and other fiction; founder of Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival
| notable_works = Best Murder in Show, Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's, Death at the Cotswold Curiosity Shop
| website = {{URL| https://www.authordebbieyoung.com/}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date= August 2019}}
Debbie Young (born 1960) is a British writer of 16 cozy mystery novels, former advice blog editor for Alliance of Independent Authors, course tutor for Jericho Writers' Simply Self Publish course, and founder in 2015 of the now annual Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival. Her debut novel, Best Murder in Show, a cosy mystery set in the Cotswolds, was published in 2017. She also writes short stories and non-fiction.
Published Books
Young's first nine novels were self-published under her own imprint, Hawkesbury Press. She has since licensed these novels and been contracted to write 10 more by Boldwood Books.{{Cite web |title=Boldwood signs nine more authors |url=https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/news-story/169491/ |access-date=2025-06-05 |website=Boldwood |language=en-GB}} The lists below show her original publication dates and titles, with a note of revised titles applied to the Boldwood Books editions.
=Sophie Sayers Cosy Mystery Novels, set in the Cotswold village of Wendlebury Barrow=
- Best Murder in Show {{Cite web |title=Best Murder in Show |url=https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/book/best-murder-in-show/ |access-date=2025-06-05 |website=Boldwood |language=en-GB}}
- Murder at the Vicarage (first published as Trick or Murder?)
- Murder in the Manger
- Murder at the Well (first published as Murder by the Book)
- Springtime for Murder
- Murder at the Mill (first published as Murder Your Darlings)
- Murder Lost and Found
- Murder in the Highlands
- Driven to Murder
=Gemma Lamb Cosy Mysteries, set at St Bride's School=
- Dastardly Deeds at St Bride's (first published as Secrets at St Bride's)
- Sinister Stranger at St Bride's (first published as Secrets at St Bride's)
- Wicked Whispers at St Bride's
- Artful Antics at St Bride's
=Cotswold Curiosity Shop Cosy Mysteries, set in the Cotswold village of Little Pride=
- Death at the Old Curiosity Shop
- Death at the Village Chess Club
- Death at the Village Christmas Fair
= Novellas & Novelettes =
- Mrs Norris Changes Lanes
- The Clutch of Eggs
- The Natter of Knitters
= Short Story Collections =
- Quick Change
- Marry in Haste
- Stocking Fillers
- Christmas with Sophie Sayers
=Books for Authors=
- How To Get Your Self-Published Book into Bookstores: Volume 4 (with Orna Ross), Font Publications, 2017
- How to Work More Effectively with the Book Trade with Dan Holloway, Font Publications
=Books about Type 1 Diabetes=
- Coming to Terms with Type 1 Diabetes: One Family's Story of Life After Diagnosis (Foreword by Justin Webb), Hawkesbury Press, 2014
=Collected Columns and Essays=
Since 2010 Young has written monthly columns for two local magazines, the Tetbury Advertiser and the Hawkesbury Parish News. These articles and columns have since been republished in four books.
- All Part of the Charm: A Modern Memoir of English Village Life: Volume 1 (Collected Essays), Hawkesbury Press, 2016
- Still Charmed: A Modern Memoir of English Village Life: Volume 1 (Collected Essays), Hawkesbury Press 2021
- Young By Name: Whimsical Columns from the Tetbury Advertiser Volume 1 (Collected Essays), Hawkesbury Press, 2016
- Still Young By Name: Whimsical Columns from the Tetbury Advertiser Volume 2 (Collected Essays) Hawkesbury Press, 2021
Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival
Young was for many years involved in the UNESCO-led World Book Night as one of thousands of volunteer "book givers". In 2015, she set up a local event on the evening of 23 April (World Book Night) in The Fox Inn in Hawkesbury Upton. This grew into an evening event with authors, poets and illustrators, celebrating reading with panel discussions and public readings.{{cite news |url=https://www.cotswoldlife.co.uk/out-about/events/the-brand-new-hawkesbury-upton-literature-festival-this-april-1-4015456 |title=The brand new Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival this April | date=30 March 2015 | access-date=22 August 2019}}
In 2016, the festival returned, this time for a full day's programme in multiple venues. The festival will have its tenth anniversary on Saturday 27th September 2025.{{cite news |url= https://worldbooknight.org/events/hawkesbury-upton-literature-festival-2019 |title= Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival | date=27 April 2019 | access-date=22 August 2019}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.authordebbieyoung.com/ Official Web Page of Debbie Young]
- [https://hawkesburypress.com/who-we-are/ Profile on Hawkesbury Press website]
- [https://selfpublishingadvice.org/cozy-mystery Cozy Mystery Writer Debbie Young Gives Back to the Indie Community, Inspirational Indie Authors podcast with Howard Lovy, 8 September 2019]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xofWBleDf4 Getting Your Self-Published Book Into Bookstores And Libraries With Debbie Young], interview with Joanna Penn
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWJ2Kfpzom0&index=1&list=PL34UJERFnglihALczexb6a-YkfM3ntkvu Are You A Plotter vs Pantser?], podcast
- [https://youngbyname.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/welcombe-radio-stratford-words-with-nick-le-mesurier-18-april-2018-mp3.mp3 Interview on Stratford Words with Nick le Mesurier], 2018
{{Portal|Biography|England}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Debbie}}
Category:20th-century British women writers
Category:21st-century English novelists