Programme

– ITINERARY
– PITCH AN AGENT
– FORENSIC CRIME SCENE EXCURSION
– THE INDIE ALTERNATIVE PANEL

ITINERARY

THURSDAY, 4 JUNE:

FRIDAY, 5 JUNE:

SATURDAY, 6 JUNE:

SUNDAY, 7 JUNE:

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 on Friday and Saturday, 5 and 6 June. Top agents will be at CRIMEFEST and aspiring crime writers will have ten 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 (aka Shark Tank in the USA). Authors represented by these agencies include Lee Child, Martina Cole, Charles Cummings, Elly Griffiths, Ragnar Jónasson and L.C. Tyler. There are only a limited number of places—which have previously sold out—and the registration fee for a place is £55. 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 Friday and/or Saturday 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 8 May 2020. All the PITCH AN AGENT slots have previously sold out, so BUY TICKETS early to avoid disappointment.

THE AGENTS:
Camilla Bolton, 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

Sandra Sawicka joined the Marjacq Scripts agency in 2014. She is actively building her list and mainly interested in genre fiction (SFF, speculative, crime, horror) and a bit of YA. She also handles translation rights for all authors represented by Marjacq.

Hannah Sheppard joined the DHH Literary Agency in 2013 because she realised that being an agent gave her more time to do what she loves most—using her editorial experience to help writers develop their ideas for commercial success. Hannah spent ten years as an in house editor, first at Macmillan Children’s Books and later running Headline Publishing Group’s YA and crossover list where she published Tanya Byrne’s critically acclaimed Heart-Shaped Bruise. She likes stories that push the boundaries, have a strong voice and, often, a dark edge. As an agent, she represents children’s fiction as well as commercial women’s and crime thrillers. Her clients include Adam Hamdy and Chris McGeorge.

Details of the third agent to follow.

FORENSIC CRIME SCENE EXCURSION
Thursday, 4 June, 09:30 – 12:30
Have you always wanted to get your hands dirty at a crime scene? Maybe that’s not the best way of putting it, but with CRIMEFEST’s special tour returning by popular demand, that’s what you’ll be able to do. The University of the West of England are offering delegates special access to their Crime Scene experts who train Forensic Science students and police. Previously, our trip has been to the Glenside Hospital Museum, in the church within the grounds of the old Bristol Lunatic Asylum, with its fascinating exhibits on the history of the asylum.

This year, we will be at the cutting edge of forensic technology within UWE’s newly refurbished set of labs, where there is lots of room to do more practical tests; this will give participants the chance to be really hands-on.

The forensic experts will take participants from the discovery of a body (they’ve promised to provide one for us – we’re assuming it’s not real!), and through the gathering and processing of information. Delegates will be briefed on the scene and will identify clues and get hands-on experience of searching for evidence, testing for fingerprints, identifying blood and other substances as well as getting to use mysterious pieces of forensic kit. Forensics experts will also be on hand to guide you through and answer specific questions. You even get to keep your forensic outfit.

We will be visiting the labs on Thursday, 4 June. The trip costs £39.95, including transport to UWE’s campus which is about half an hour away. A minibus will pick us up at 9:30am outside the convention hotel and deliver us back at 12:30, in plenty of time for the first panel. Tickets are limited in order to ensure a great experience for all participants, and are only available to CRIMEFEST pass holders.

Visit CRIMEFEST’s TICKET page to register.

THE INDIE ALTERNATIVE 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 organises a panel to give four independently published authors a chance to discuss their work. If you are a self-published crime writer and are interested in participating on this panel then visit THE INDIE ALTERNATIVE page for more information or to sign up.