Crime Publishing Q&A with Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books

I've invited Karen Sullivan, Founder & Publisher at Orenda Books to join us for a conversation about crime publishing right now. If you're writing a novel aimed at crime readers, I hope you'll join in.

Orenda Books is an award-winning independent publisher, based in South London, specializing in literary fiction, thrillers, and crime, with a heavy emphasis on international fiction in translation. Not one but seven books from Orenda have been shortlisted for Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year so they know what's what. Founded by Karen Sullivan in 2014, the publisher is a two-time winner of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Dagger for Best Crime & Mystery Publisher of the Year, taking home the prestigious award most recently in 2025. Read more about their publishing and submission at www.orendabooks.co.uk

Grab your favourite drink, a snack and login on Wed, July 8th from 7pm as we ask Karen everything we writers need to know about this mysterious, thrilling and ever satisfying genre right now. What makes a crime novel unmissable? How do writers need to think about positioning their story in such a busy space? What do crime readers want above all else? So many questions.
We'll start at 7pm and be online until 9pm at the very latest.

If you need some crime writing inspiration watch this genius reel from @ElleCordova where an essay has been murdered.

I'll open by talking to Karen for the first 30mins and then open up to all guests to ask her anything they want about crime writing, crafting and publishing. See Karen's bio below for more information about her experience and expertise.

Location: This event will be held online to keep it affordable and make it accessible to all writers in our community. I use Google Meet to host our events online. You will be able to see the link to join once you've booked your ticket.

Cost: £10.00 to pay for content, preparation and event organising. Please follow the steps to pay via PayPal when you RSVP. Refunds or credits will only be offered if the meetup is cancelled by admin. Please change your RSVP to 'Not Going' if you can no longer attend as we often have people waiting and we'd hate for them to miss out.

About Karen Sullivan, Founder & Publisher of Orenda Books.
Karen Sullivan was born in Canada, and moved to the UK at the age of twenty-one, ostensibly to travel around Europe. Unexpectedly landing her dream job in publishing, she settled in London and hasn’t looked back. After a few years working for an independent, starting as PA to the editorial director and eventually becoming commissioning editor, she left to raise her young family, working as a freelance editor and author of a wide range of non-fiction titles – predominantly relating to children’s health and wellbeing – and appearing on TV and radio. She returned to the ‘other side’ of publishing in 2013, taking on the role of managing editor for a small independent. This – and her own experience as an author – was the catalyst for founding Orenda Books, where author care and high-quality, culturally diverse, bold and original writing are paramount. Karen lives in London with her partner and two of her three sons, and remains a voracious reader and a passionate supporter of the book community. You can find Karen on Twitter @OrendaBooks.

About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publisher based in South London. We publish literary fiction, with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and roughly half the list is in translation. We currently publish authors from fifteen different nations … and counting.
Orenda Books was founded by publisher Karen Sullivan in 2014, and our first books were published in 2015. In 2016, Karen was a Bookseller Rising Star, and Orenda Books was shortlisted for the IPG Nick Robinson Newcomer Award in 2015 and 2016. We won the CWA Crime & Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger in 2020 and 2025, and were a regional finalist for the Small Press of the Year Award in the British Book Awards in 2021 and 2024. Orenda is a Canadian First Nations word, which loosely translates to ‘the mystical power that drives human accomplishment’, and its provenance is a part of Ontario, Canada, where Karen has spent every summer of her life.

Any questions, please ask. If you have a question you'd like me to ask Karen on your behalf, please post it in a comment below. I'll aim to ask as many as we can fit into the time.