(Download the 11 Mb PDF file of the 2016 CrimeFest Souvenir Programme)
– ITINERARY
– PITCH AN AGENT
– CRIME WRITING DAY
– EMERGING INDIE VOICES PANEL
ITINERARY
(ALL TIMES, PANELS AND PANELLISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
THURSDAY, 19 MAY:
| Track 1 | Track 2 |
|---|---|
| 13:30 - 14:20 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood
| |
| 14:40 - 15:30 Writing Duos: How Not To Come To Blows When You’re Both Writing The Same Book
| 14:40 - 15:30 Tense? Nervous? How Do You Keep Up The Pace?
|
| 15:50 - 16:40 Do You Think You’re Cosy?
| 15:50 - 16:40 Headspace: What’s it Like Being in your Characters’ Heads?
|
| 17:00 - 17:50 Forgotten Authors?
| 17:00 - 17:50 When Writing About Crime Is Your Business
|
| 19:30 - 21:00 CRIMEFEST Pub Quiz, with crime writer and critic Peter Guttridge as your quiz inquisitor. Prizes to be won! Location: The Greenhouse Pub, directly opposite the main entrance of the Marriott. Click here for their food menu. |
FRIDAY, 20 MAY:
| Track 1 | Track 2 | In the Spotlight Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 - 09:50 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood
| 09:00 - 09:50 A Life Of Crime: What’s The Appeal Of Crime Writing?
| |
| 10:10 - 11:00 Secrets, Conspiracies, And When The Past Comes Back To Haunt You
| 10:10 – 11:00 An Unsuitable Job For A Woman?: Does Your Protagonist Know Her Place?
| 10:10 – 10:30 Frances Brody WPC 25, Lilian Wyles, A Woman at Scotland Yard 10:40 – 11:00 Anne Randall Glasgow, The Perfect Setting For A Crime Novel |
| 11:20 - 12:10 Power, Paranoia And Political Machinations: Crime In High Places
| 11:20 – 12:10 The Swinging 60s: Crime In A Decade Of Counterculture, Revolution And Craaaaazy, Man.
| 11:20 – 11:40 Kat Hall (aka Mrs Peabody) Hidden Gems Of German Crime Fiction...With Giveaways! 11:50 – 12:10 Ruth Dudley Edwards Why the 1916 Irish Easter Rising Was ‘Wrong But Wromantic’ |
| 12:30 - 13:20 Making A Point: What Are You Trying To Say?
| 12:30 – 13:20 Thinking Global, Acting Local: How Much Does Location Matter?
| 12:30 – 12:50 Fergus McNeill Bristol: How A City Became Central To A Crime Series 13:00 – 13:20 David Penny Death In Crime Fiction: Past Present And Future |
| 13:40 – 14:30 Audible - The Sounds Of Crime
Sponsored by Audible | 13:40 – 14:30 Deadly Duos: Partners And Sidekicks
| 13:40 – 14:00 Helen Cadbury True North – How Does Crime Fiction Reflect Northern England? 14:10 – 14:30 Kim Fleet Picking The Perfect Poison |
| 14:50 - 15:40 Big Cities And Small Towns: Setting And Atmosphere
| 14:50 – 15:40 Morality, Justification, Excuses & Reasons - Shades Of Grey In Crime Fiction
| 14:50 – 15:10 C.J. Carver Keeping A Crime Series Fresh In Book After Book 15:20 – 15:40 Robert Thorogood How To Write An Episode of 'Death In Paradise' |
| 16:00 - 16:50 Crimes Against Humanity: Terrorism, War And International Intrigue
| 16:00 – 16:50 Dangerous Destinations: What The Holiday Brochures Don’t Tell You
| 16:00 – 16:20 Nev Fountain Researching Your Book: How Real Life Can Be Your Friend 16:30 – 16:50 Sarah Ward The Petrona Award: Celebrating The Best Of Nordic Noir |
| 17:10 - 18:00 Using Real People: How Do You Combine Fact And Fiction?
| 17:10 – 18:00 Crime Scene Magazine Presents: Making A Murderer – A Case For And Against
Jury to be confirmed (In association with Orion Publishing) Watch the first episode on YouTube | |
| 18:30 – 19:30 Location: PALM COURT (TBC) CRIMEFEST hosts the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Announcement Reception (all Full Pass holders welcome). |
SATURDAY, 21 MAY:
| Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:50 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood
| 09:00 – 09:50 Deadly Dames: Women As Killers, Investigators And Victims
| 09:00 – 09:50 How Do You Like Your Murder: Golden Age Style Or Gritty Noir?
|
| 10:10 – 11:00 Once Upon A Crime: Long Long Ago
| 10:10 – 11:00 Strangled By Smartphone: Crime In The e-Age
| 10:10 – 11.00 Brit Noir
|
| 11:20 – 12:10 JAMES NAUGHTIE & ADAM SISMAN: le Carre, Spies, Fact and Fiction Interviewed by Peter Guttridge | 11:20 – 12:10 Obsession: A Thin Line Between Good And Bad
| 11:20 – 12:10 Sending Shivers Down The Spine: Don’t Look Now
|
| 12:30 – 13:20 A Rush Of Blood: Action, Adventure And Adrenaline Fuelled Lives
| 12:30 – 13:20 Spying For A Living
| 12:30 – 13:20 Dark Hearts, Troubled Souls: Morality, Society And Justice In Crime Fiction
|
| 13:40 – 14:30 KINGS ROOM IAN RANKIN – FEATURED GUEST AUTHOR Interviewed by Jake Kerridge | ||
| 14:50 – 15:40 When Is Enough Too Much?: Violence Against Women In Crime Fiction
| 14:50 – 15:40 Call The Cops: Why Do We Love Reading About Our Girls and Boys in Blue?
| 14:50 – 15:40 Dark Pasts: Creating Complex Characters
|
| 16:00 - 16:50 More Than Surprise: What Do Readers Demand From Modern Thrillers?
In association with International Thriller Writers | 16:00 – 16:50 What’s So Funny? Humour In Crime Fiction
| 16.00 – 16.50 Exploring Ourselves: What Does Crime Tell Us About The World We Live In?
|
| 17:00 – 17:50 PETER JAMES – 2016 CWA DIAMOND DAGGER RECIPIENT Interviewed by Andrew Taylor, 2009 CWA Diamond Dagger Recipient In association with the CWA | ||
| 18:30 - 19:30: No Exit Press Pre-Gala Reception - all Full Pass holders welcome. 19:30: CRIMEFEST Awards Dinner – ticket holders only Buy tickets here |
SUNDAY, 22 MAY:
| Track 1 | Track 2 |
|---|---|
| 09:30 – 10:20 Debut Authors: An Infusion Of Fresh Blood
| 09:30 – 10:20 The Indie Alternative
|
| 10:40 – 11.30 In My Lifetime: Setting Crimes In The Recent Past
| 10:40 – 11.30 The Right Side Of The Law? Writing Cops And Robbers
|
| 11:50 - 12:40 ANNE HOLT – FEATURED GUEST AUTHOR Interviewed by Barry Forshaw With thanks to the Norwegian Embassy | 11:50 - 12:40 The Psychology Of Thrills: Why Do We Like To Be Scared Out Of Our Wits?
|
| 13:00 – 13:50 I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Cluedo
One pair of CRIMEFEST 2017 Weekend Passes (including Gala Dinner Tickets) to be won! |
PITCH AN AGENT
Are you an aspiring author looking for an agent? If so, CRIMEFEST is pleased to announce that it will once again be hosting the PITCH AN AGENT strand in 2016. Top agents will be at CRIMEFEST and aspiring crime writers will have fourteen minutes to pitch their manuscripts to each of them simultaneously in a private session. Consider it speed dating for an agent meets BBC’s Dragon’s Den. Authors represented by these agencies include Lee Child, Martina Cole, John Connolly, Martin Edwards, Christopher Fowler, Paul Johnston and L.C. Tyler.
There are only a limited number of places on Friday and Saturday, 20 and 21 May—which have previously sold out—and the registration fee for a place is £40. PITCH AN AGENT is only open to delegates who have not previously participated, are not commercially published, are without an agent and who have registered for a Day or Full CRIMEFEST Pass. (Unless the buyer also signs up for a Day or Full CRIMEFEST Pass, a £10 refund fee will be charged for incorrect bookings.)
Participants will be required to submit the first 3,000 words of their manuscript, together with a brief synopsis (of up to 1,500 words) by 30 April 2016. All the PITCH AN AGENT slots have previously sold out, so BUY TICKETS early to avoid disappointment.
THE AGENTS:
Camilla Wray, originator of PITCH AN AGENT, is the Crime & Thriller agent at the Darley Anderson Literary TV & Film Agency. She studied English Literature and Psychology at Cardiff University, specialising in novel writing and abnormal psychology. In 2003 she co-founded a successful business and worked on this until 2005, when she decided to follow her love of stories. After gaining a distinction from the University of the Arts, she worked for a national newspaper until she joined the Darley Anderson Agency in 2007. The Darley Anderson Agency is an international market leader for commercial crime and thrillers, and represents No.1 bestselling authors such as Lee Child, John Connolly, Martina Cole, Tana French and Tim Weaver.
‘There are agents. There are good agents. There are super agents. And then there’s Darley Anderson.’
—Lee Child
Broo Doherty, formerly with the Wade & Doherty Literary Agency, is a partner at the DHH Literary Agency. She has worked in publishing for the last twenty years and has had a variety of different roles throughout the industry. She started as a production assistant at Victor Gollancz and moved to Hodder & Stoughton for a brief period before joining Transworld as an editor for the Bantam Press imprint. Broo handles all genres, excluding children’s books and science fiction, but focuses her attention on crime, women’s commercial fiction, literary fiction and quirky non-fiction. Authors represented by DHH Literary Agency include Alison Bruce, Paul Johnston, Adrian Magson, Eve Seymour and L.C. Tyler.
Laetitia Rutherford is a Literary Agent at Watson, Little Ltd, a long-standing independent agency representing a broad and lively client base. One of her special areas is Crime/Thrillers, and her authors include the Edgar and Macavity Award-winning, bestselling suspense novelist Alex Marwood, author of 3 novels including The Wicked Girls, and Jenny Blackhurst, whose debut How I Lost You was in the UK’s Top 10 bestselling e-books of 2015 and has sold over 250,000 copies. Laetitia holds Literature degrees from Oxford and from Goldsmiths universities, and started her publishing career in Fiction Marketing at HarperCollins. For more than a decade she has worked on the agent side, and loves to help bring together brilliant writing, unforgettable characters and unputdownable stories to make the perfect pitch.
CRIME WRITING DAY
On Friday, 20 May, CRIMEFEST presents a Crime Writing Day that will help aspiring crime authors to write a manuscript, find an agent and, hopefully, get published.
Crime Writing Day sessions:
– How To Self Publish In eBook And Print with Joanna Penn
– Agents And Editors: Who Does What For Authors? with agents Broo Doherty and Oliver Munson, and editors Katherine Armstrong (Little, Brown) and Emily Griffin (Headline)
– Constructing Character and Plot with M.R. Hall and William Ryan
– One-On-One Manuscript Assessments with Janet Laurence
10:30 – 11:30: How To Self Publish In eBook And Print
with Joanna Penn
Publishing houses are increasingly turning to new media for fresh talent, but is the traditional route the best way to go? This session will cover how self-publishing fits into the current publishing eco-system, how to publish your book in ebook and print and some tips for self-publishing success.
J.F. Penn is the bestselling author of Desecration and the ARKANE thriller series. Joanna was voted one the Guardian’s Top 100 creative professionals 2013, and her blog, TheCreativePenn.com, offers advice on writing and creative entrepreneurship.
11:45 – 12:45: Agents And Editors — Who Does What For Authors?
with agents Broo Doherty (DHH Literary Agency) and Oliver Munson (A.M. Heath Literary Agents), and editors Katherine Armstrong (Little, Brown) and Emily Griffin (Headline).
Do you need an agent to get published? And, if you do, how do the services of agents differ from those of an editor at a publishing company? How do you go get representation from an agent? What are agents and editors looking for in a manuscript, and what do they expect from authors? These and many more questions will be answered by two agents and two editors during a presentation that includes time for questions from the participants. Session moderator: Janet Laurence.
1:00 – 1:30: Light lunch (included as part of the crime writing day)
1:30 – 5:00: Constructing Character and Plot
with M.R. Hall and William Ryan
With a mixture of presentations and workshop exercises attendees will learn to construct interesting and complex characters from scratch and then use them to develop the plot of a crime novel—all in the space of an afternoon. Ryan and Hall’s practical and entertaining workshops for the Guardian and literary and crime festivals (including Harrogate and Iceland Noir) have been much praised by attendees from absolute beginners to published authors and may be just the thing to kick-start your crime writing career. (The workshop includes a break for coffee or tea.)
M.R. Hall is a Bafta nominated screenwriter and author of the bestselling crime novels featuring coroner Jenny Cooper. Historical thriller writer William Ryan is the creator of the widely acclaimed Captain Korolev series.
Saturday, 21 May: One-On-One Manuscript Assessments
Also included in the crime writing day are one-on-one manuscript assessments for the first ten participants to register. These assessments—to be conducted on Saturday 21 May by crime novelist Janet Laurence—will be based on a 1,500 word synopsis and the first 3,000 words of the manuscript.
Janet Laurence is best known for her Darina Lisle culinary mysteries and trio of Canaletto crime novels. She is also the author of Writing Crime Fiction—Making Crime Pay and has run writing workshops for the Arvon Foundation and the Cheltenham Spring Festival among others.
The Crime Writing Day registration fee is £150. Delegates signing up for both the Crime Writing Day and a full CRIMEFEST pass (£150) will receive a £50 rebate. BUY TICKETS to register.
EMERGING INDIE VOICES PANEL
Returning in 2016 will be the Emerging Indie Voices Panel. Increasingly authors are going it alone and self-publishing their books because the financial rewards can be significantly greater than the traditional path. Also, publishing houses are now using the sales figures of self-published authors as a tool to seek out new talent. Recognising this development, CRIMEFEST is again organising a panel to give four independently published authors a chance to discuss their work at next year’s convention. Helping us organise the panel is Joanna Penn, an independent author herself, writing fiction under J.F. Penn, as well as a contributor on the subject of self-(e)publishing to national publications such as The Bookseller and The Guardian. If you are a self-published crime writer and are interested in participating on this panel then visit the EMERGING INDIE VOICES page for more information or to sign up.