Hamptons Whodunit Festival returns with scholarships and a Lionsgate pitch contest

Organizers said the fourth annual Hamptons Whodunit Festival returns next weekend with panels featuring bestselling mystery authors and new programming that includes wine-and-crime events, a Lionsgate pitch fest and scholarships for students.

A festival founder told East End News that the event began at the kitchen table of Village Mayor Jerry Larson, his wife Lisa and organizer Carrie Doyle, and that the mission has an educational focus. The festival will offer daytime programming aimed at East Hampton High School students and two scholarships: one for a student entering the writing field and another for a student pursuing a criminal-justice path.

Festival organizers also said Lionsgate will co-sponsor a pitch contest in which the winner will receive $10,000 toward producing a documentary. The festival is partnering with Guildhall to premiere an episode of the Pamela Childs series that reopens cold cases. Organizers described the festival as boutique and intimate, offering close encounters between students and authors.

The broadcast included names of featured authors and promotional details but did not include ticket prices or an exhaustive program schedule on air; viewers were referred to the festival’s online listings.