Hamptons Whodunit, the festival that brings mystery and thriller fiction authors as well as true crime experts to East Hampton Village each spring, is expanding from its local origins with the first true crime weekend in Savannah, Ga.
In partnership with Marriott Hotels, Hamptons Whodunit will offer three days of panels featuring best-selling mystery authors and true crime investigators as well as forensic workshops, book signings, and evening events from Nov. 6 to 8. Guests will include the authors Gregg Hurwitz, Jessica Knoll, and Brendan Slocumb, and Barbara Butcher, an author and former death investigator with New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
The weekend will be hosted by the Alida, Savannah, with some events to happen at Hotel Orielle. A happy hour and book signing is scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Hotel Orielle’s Rocks on the Roof Bar. Other special events include a Nov. 7 “wine and crime” event with the author and podcast host Sheryl McCollum and a “coffee and crime” event with Joseph Giacalone, a former New York City Police Department detective squad supervisor and commanding officer of the N.Y.P.D.’s Bronx Cold Case Squad on Nov. 8
There are plans for further expansion of the festival, including a winter writers retreat in the Catskills, said Carrie Doyle, Hamptons Whodunit’s co-founder and chief executive officer.
“I’d always had in mind that we expand and do this in other places,” Ms. Doyle, a member of the East Hampton Village Board and author of more than a dozen books, told The Star. “We approached Marriott, they were excited, and we became partners,” she said. “It happened really quickly.”
From its founding, education has been an important component of the nonprofit Hamptons Whodunit’s mission. In 2023, its first year, the festival invited East Hampton High School students to participate in interactive problem-solving games and sessions presented by true crime experts. In Savannah, the educational programming mission will happen with the Savannah College of Art and Design. “We will try to get into high schools, too,” Ms. Doyle said.
Book influencers, known as bookstagrammers, attend Hamptons Whodunit festivals in large numbers, Ms. Doyle said. “We have a bookstagrammer brunch,” she said “They have thousands of followers, and can make or break books.”
She had never been to a festival of any kind, much less run one, when she was asked during her first campaign for office what she would do toward off-season programming in the village, Ms. Doyle said. “The first year was amazing. We had help from local-ish authors, we got a great list of people to come, and it was a smash success right away.” It was also “extremely nerve-racking,” she said, recalling the logistical challenges of scheduling flights, accommodations, and events for a large gathering. “I lost 17 pounds,” she said. “I worked myself to the bone, but that’s how I’m happiest.”
Hamptons Whodunit moved into its offices at 14 Main Street in the village in June. Announcement of a festival happening in another location, likely in October 2027, is coming soon, Ms. Doyle said. Hamptons Whodunit may also launch a podcast. The festival will return to the village for its fifth installment here from April 15 to 18, 2027, with tickets going on sale in November.
