James Runcie

James
Runcie

Writer  ·  Memoirist  ·  Filmmaker

James Runcie seated on a stone bench against a sunlit ochre wall

James Runcie is the author of 12 novels, six plays and a memoir. He is also an award-winning documentary film-maker, playwright and literary curator. He has been Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, London, and Commissioning Editor for Arts on BBC Radio 4. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a member of both the Crime Writer’s Association and The Detection Club. He lectures frequently on faith, literature, and the moral imagination.

He is best known for The Grantchester Mysteries, a six-book series featuring the clerical detective Canon Sidney Chambers, which has been adapted into 11 television series by ITV/PBS and shown in more than 120 countries. Series 11 will be shown in the UK in 2027. His novel The Great Passion, about the composer Johann Sebastian Bach, was a Times/Sunday Times Book of the Year for Historical Fiction in 2022. That year also saw the publication of Tell Me Good Things: On Love, Death and Marriage, the highly-regarded memoir of his late wife, Marilyn Imrie. One Ball at a Time, The Cricket Lover’s Guide to Life, will be published in May 2027.

He is married to the journalist and magazine editor Lucinda Bredin. They live in London and Scotland.

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Novels

  1. The Discovery of Chocolate2001
  2. The Colour of Heaven2003
  3. Canvey Island2006
  4. East Fortune2009
  5. The Great Passion2022

The Grantchester Mysteries

  1. Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death2012
  2. Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night2013
  3. Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil2014
  4. Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins2015
  5. Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation2016
  6. Sidney Chambers and The Persistence of Love2017
  7. The Road to Grantchester2019

Non-fiction

  1. Tell Me Good Things: On Love, Death, and Marriage2022
  2. One Ball at a Time, The Cricket Lover’s Guide to Life2027

Plays

  1. The Jazz Club Murder2013

    Oran Mór, Glasgow

  2. A Word with Dr Johnson2015

    Oran Mór, Glasgow

  3. Dr Johnson goes to Scotland2016

    Oran Mór, Glasgow

  4. Plato’s Symposium2017

    Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

  5. The Great Passion2017

    BBC Radio 4

  6. Tap Dancing with Jean Paul Sartre2018

    Oran Mór, Glasgow

Films & Television

  1. Umberto Eco1989

    The Late Show, BBC

  2. Deafness1990

    with David Wright, BBC

  3. Shanghai Jim — J.G. Ballard returns to China1991

    BBC

  4. Miss Pym’s Day Out1992

    with Patricia Routledge, BBC

  5. Childhood1993

    with Yaşar Kemal, narrated by Brian Cox, BBC

  6. The Most Beautiful Dress in the World1994

    with Shena Mackay, BBC

  7. Hildegard1994

    with Patricia Routledge and Janet Suzman, BBC

  8. The Last Journey of John Keats1995

    with Andrew Motion, BBC

  9. Saturday/Sunday2000

    Channel 4

  10. My Father2000

    Channel 4

  11. The Great Fire2001

    Channel 4

  12. Heaven2002

    Channel 4

  13. Darwin’s Daughter2002

    with Pip Torrens, Channel 4

  14. Betjeman and Me2006

    with Griff Rhys Jones, BBC

  15. Houses of Power2007

    with Simon Thurley, Channel 4

  16. J.K. Rowling — A Year in the Life2007

    ITV

  17. Losing It2008

    with Griff Rhys Jones, BBC

  18. The Joy of Motoring2009

    with Tristram Hunt, BBC

  19. The Pre-Raphaelites2011

    with Andrew Lloyd Webber, ITV

  20. Indian Art2011

    with Griff Rhys Jones

  21. Hilary Mantel2011

    A Culture Show Special

Essays

  1. Bach’s Guide to Leipzig2022

    Financial Times

  2. Just Add Poison — on Mozart’s Mithridates2025

    Financial Times

  3. Beauty for Ashes — on Bach2025

    Parlando, Incontri, Siena

  4. Who Killed Mozart?2026

    Financial Times

  5. Murder in the Vicarage2026

    Agatha Christie exhibition catalogue, British Library

  6. Stacy Aumonier2026

    Slightly Foxed, Summer

  7. Barbara PymForthcoming

    Slightly Foxed