Graham Bartlett

After thirty years of policing, whereby Graham Bartlett became Brighton and Hove police’s chief superintendent, a senior homicide detective and a public order and firearms commander, he is now a best-selling crime fiction and non-fiction author and police and crime advisor.

His debut non-fiction, Death Comes Knocking, written with Peter James, was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, and Peter and Graham followed this up with the critically acclaimed Babes in the Wood. Since then, Graham has had three solo crime novels published; Bad for Good (Sunday Times Top Ten Best Seller, Winner of Crime Fiction Lover Editors’ Choice Award 2022 and Nominated for Specsavers Debut of the Year 2022), Force of Hate, and City on Fire.

As a police procedure and crime advisor, Graham works with over 150 authors and TV writers (including Peter James, Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, Ruth Ware, Mark Billingham and the BBC), helping them inject authenticity into their work. He runs live and online crime writing courses and is a regular speaker at crime writing festivals.

Specialises in: Crime fiction, non-fiction about crime, and police procedure and crime advisory.

Graham provides tuition for our Mentoring Service.

Having struggled on my own journey to become a published author, I know the value of having a trusted and supportive ally while battling through the loneliness and self-doubt of writing, whether that’s a debut or, as in my case, having several titles already out there.

I already work with authors at all stages of their careers, from those just starting out to international best sellers, and am passionate about helping them develop routines and styles that work for them, emphasising small wins and marginal gains along the way. I am particularly passionate about character development, authentic and relatable dialogue and making every word count. Whilst a crime specialist, I can apply these approaches across all genres.

I help people I work with see their first draft as the starting point and have a number of techniques to help build and polish until the manuscript becomes the best it possibly can be, ready for outside eyes!

As a former senior leader in the police I know the benefits of encouragement and empowerment, finding the positives in setbacks and motivating people to success. With my new career as a writer, I will do this and we will go on your writing journey together, learning from the mistakes I made and using your strengths to write a book you will be proud of.

Being a Board member of the Crime Writers’ Association, and having worked with two agents and two publishers, I have a deep knowledge of the publishing world. My connections, particularly on the crime writing world, are extensive and therefore I am well positioned to help you take the next step.