SYKEHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILM AND WRITER'S FESTIVAL 2026 will take place at Holiday Inn Doncaster A1, High Rd, Warmsworth, Doncaster DN4 9UX (Holiday Inn)
DATE: Saturday/Sunday 16/17 May 2026
TIME: 11am Saturday 16 May / 10am to Midnight Sunday 17 May.
GUESTS OF HONOUR
AUTHORS
Sophie’s murder mystery musical, The Mystery of Mr E, was released as a feature film in 2023, directed by Martyn Tott, and is available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ among other platforms. In 2023, Sophie won the Crime Writers Association’s Dagger in the Library Award for her body of work, and in 2013 her thriller The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards. Sophie is also a poet and has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Award. Her poetry is studied in schools across the UK.
In 2018, she created the How to Hold a Grudge podcast, based on her self-help book of the same name. More recently, she has published two other self-help books: Happiness: A Mystery, and her latest, The Double Best Method, which was an Amazon UK Top 10 best-seller and is a 'how to' manual for making brilliant decisions.
Sophie is the founder and coach at Dream Author Coaching, a coaching programme for writers and anyone who wants to write. She lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.
Antony is a celebrated videogames writer, with genre-defining titles including Dead Space, Shadow of Mordor, and Resident Evil Village to his credit. He also consulted on the Emmy Award-winning Silent Hill Ascension, making him the only writer in the world to have worked on all of the ‘big three’ horror gaming franchises.
His immense body of work also includes Marvel superheroes such as Daredevil, Wolverine, and Shang-Chi; the Alex Rider graphic novels; the post-apocalypse epic Wasteland; and more. He wrote and directed the sci-fi film Crossover Point, made entirely in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic.
An experienced podcaster and public speaker, he also frequently writes articles on the life of an author, and is a prolific musician.
Antony is a former vice chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, a member of International Thriller Writers and the Society of Authors, a Shore Scripts screenwriting judge, and sits on the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain’s videogames committee. He lives and works in England.
DIRECTORS
Born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the North of England, NEIL MARSHALL has been working successfully in both feature films and television
since his feature debut Dog Soldiers in 2001. His second feature as both
writer and director, The Descent 2005 was an even bigger critical and
commercial hit, winning several awards including the BIFA for Best Director,
and the Empire award for Best Horror. He followed this success with the
post-apocalyptic action movie Doomsday 2008 for Universal and historical
adventure Centurion in 2010. In 2012 Neil made his debut in the world of
high-end television with Game of Thrones S2 Ep9 'Blackwater', and
followed that up with S4 Ep9 'The Watchers on the Wall' for which he received
an Emmy Nomination for Best Director.
Marshall continued to work in the network, cable and
streaming arenas directing projects such as the pilot episodes of Black
Sails for Starz, DC's Constantine and Timeless both for NBC.
Marshall also directed notable episodes of Hannibal for Showtime and Westworld
for HBO. In 2017 Neil developed, produced and directed the Netflix reboot of
classic sci-fi series Lost in Space, quickly followed the same year by
the feature film reboot of Hellboy released in 2018.
In 2020 Marshall made his return to independent film and the
horror genre with the multi-award winning witch-hunt saga The Reckoning
which was the opening movie at Fantasia festival in Canada that year.
Marshall's next movie The Lair, an all action-creature-feature set in
Afghanistan, was the opening night presentation at Frightfest 2022 in London
and also played Sitges in Spain before being released on Shudder in Feb 2023.
Marshall switched genres yet again for the violent gangster
revenge movie Duchess, released in September 2024. Most recently
Marshall directed the erotic giallo thriller Compulsion (2024) and is
developing several projects including WW2 alien invasion thriller Invaders,
tense action thriller Dead Stop and land speed record drama Mach One.
MORE GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED...
TRAVEL: The nearest rail station is DONCASTER (mainline from London) and taxis from Doncaster are frequent and easy with a taxi rank office at the station. Via car, the hotel is situated on Junction 36 of the A1. There is plenty of free parking
EVENT DETAILS:.
The festival starts on Saturday 16 May 2026 at 11am-6pm with screenings and panels running throughout the day where writers and filmmakers talk about their art, giving insight into the worlds of filmmaking and publishing.
There is a 2 course buffet dinner on Saturday evening available in the hotel for attendees at £15.95 per head. Join us on Saturday evening for an informal filmmaker and author mixer in the hotel bar where you can network over a drink or three! And have your elevator pitches at the ready. We feel it's important that film producers, directors, writers and actors get to mingle with novelists of all persuasions ... that's how the magic happens!
On Sunday there will be author panels with headlining guest interviews and filmmakers' panels along with the screenings for our selected films that season.
There’s an on-site bar and restaurant so lunch, drinks and snacks are easily available, and the Holiday Inn also has 102 bedrooms available if you wish to stay over. Once you've booked your festival pass please email us for the discount link for the hotel. Single occupancy £89, double occupancy £99 (All including breakfast).
The Sunday evening Gala Awards Dinner will take place in a private conference suite with it’s own private bar area where there’ll be an arrival drink and a networking mixer and Red Carpet photos with the other attending celebrities.
The event has planned a three course sit-down, waiter-served dinner, and the evening event promises music, laughter, food, friendship, networking and, of course, the announcement of the Awards themselves!
Tickets are on sale NOW
Package 1: FULL VIP AND GALA AWARDS: £99
- Full VIP gives you weekend access to the festival with the Gala Awards Dinner, Red Carpet Photos, Drinks Reception all included.
Package 2: WEEKEND DAY PASS: £40.00
- This is access to just the day panels and screenings on Saturday and Sunday only. But Attendees are welcome to join in the informal mixer and will still be entitled to discount room and buffet packages obtained direct from the hotel. (Please request link)
For these packages, please buy tickets here: EVENT TICKETS
GALA DINNER
The Gala dinner is Starter, Main (Chicken) and Dessert with Vegetarian or Vegan selections on request. Please let us know if you have any allergies.
DRESS CODE
Day - Casual
Gala/Award - Black Tie - This is a glamourous evening, mingling with celebrities - dress to impress.
What we're about ...
The festival will combine a Horror and Crime Writer's Conference with our IMDB Approved Film Festival.
The Awards Gala Dinner will take place on the Sunday evening, and consist of a three course meal, with entertainment, and followed by the Awards Ceremony.
As well as the Sykehouse International Film Awards, we will also be presenting the second The Noose Awards! These awards are open to Horror/Fantasy/Science Fiction and Crime/Thriller writers.
Films and Screenplays will have been judged by a panel of committed film-o-philes, and each round will award a BEST and RUNNER-UP in these categories:
BEST THRILLER
BEST HORROR
BEST SHORT FILM
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST POP VIDEO
BEST COMEDY
BEST PILOT
We will also be making some honorary award presentations on the awards night!
For the Noose Awards we have three Chairs who are all crime and horror experts and fans, and they have assembled teams to read and consider and award the books and stories submitted.
The Noose: Best Thriller Novel
The Slipknot: Best Horror/Fantasy/Science Fiction Novel
The Silken Rope: Best Short Story
Please see the NOOSE AWARDS TAB for further details of the Awards and how to enter.
In Support of ...
PINK RIBBON FOUNDATION
The Pink Ribbon Foundation is a grant making trust with a mission to fund projects and provide financial support to UK charities which relieve the needs of people who are suffering from or who have been affected by breast cancer, or who work to advance the understanding of breast cancer and its early detection and treatment.
There are a large number of such charities in the UK, each as deserving as the next. Many of the charities supported are the smaller ones, which operate on a shoestring. The Pink Ribbon Foundation has very little infrastructure. It relies on the hard work given by Trustees, interested parties and its Patrons. This is done in order to maximise the amount, which goes to the charities that benefit from the funds raised. PINK RIBBON
IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services)
There were limited options for victims who often found themselves trapped in abusive and violent relationships. We were one of the first refuge providers in the UK and we opened our local women’s refuge with the help of a York businessman who donated a two-bedroom flat to us.
For many years we worked as a feminist collective, depending upon the generosity of supporters and volunteers to provide our services. IDAS
WHO'S INVOLVED:
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR: Samantha Lee Howe
JUDGES: The Judges for the 2026 SYKEHOUSE INTERNATIONAL FILMFEST are:
Samantha Lee Howe - USA Today bestselling author and multi-award winning screenwriter. www.samanthaleehowe.co.uk
David J Howe - author and historian, who has been reviewing and writing about film since the eighties. www.howeswho.co.uk
Adele Maddison - Self-confessed Film-o-phile, academic and entrepreneur.
Karen Woodham - proprietor of the multi-award winning blog www.blazingminds.co.uk.
Mark Fearn - Reviewer and blogger of popular site Book Mark! https://www.facebook.com/groups/953855924774845
Olivia Maddison - Also film-o-phile, Legal professional.
Linzi Goldstone - Concept Artist/Singer Song Writer/Storyboard Artist.
Mick Herod - Film Buff.
THE NOOSE JUDGES
Tim Rideout (Chair) The Noose - Best Crime/Thriller Novel
Mike Linane (Chair) The Slip Knot - Best Short Story
