Each event has a link to its tickets, or if you scroll to the bottom, you will find a link that will take you to the ticket store for all tickets. Remember all events for 2022 are online, so you can watch from anywhere with an internet signal.
Wednesday 27 April
Event 1
18:30
The Second Story in Crime Fiction: We all have Issues!
Contemporary crime fiction has proven to be the perfect genre to explore many difficult issues that trouble society beyond law-breaking. Homelessness, dubious technology and deep-rooted traditions are just some of the subjects explored to great effect by the authors here.
Chair: Jacky Collins
Speakers: Trevor Wood, Awais Khan, Louise Mumford
Thursday 28 April
Event 3
18:30
Women in Crime Fiction: Pursuers and Perpetrators
Gone are the days of gender stereotypes in crime fiction. These authors demonstrate how the agency afforded women in crime fiction has diverged considerably to the extent that the characters these authors have created are found on both sides of the law and are always to be reckoned with.
Chair: Jacky Collins
Speakers: Mari Hannah, Elly Griffiths, Beverly Jones
Event 4
20:00
How Much Fact, How Much Fiction: Using Historical Events in Crime Fiction
Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger winner, Vaseem Khan (Midnight at Malabar House) and Historical Writers’ Association gold crown winner, Chris Lloyd (The Unwanted Dead) discuss how they balance writing compelling fiction and giving readers an authentic taste of the historical events their characters are dealing with.
Chair: Alis Hawkins
Speakers: Vaseem Khan, Chris Lloyd
Friday 29 April
Event 6
20:00
It’s all in your head: writing psychological crime fiction
Do authors need to get into their readers’ heads as well as those of their characters’ to write compelling, bestselling and prizewinning fiction? Clare Mackintosh and Katherine Stansfield talk about playing with perception, plot and people in this fascinating discussion.
Chair: Katherine Stansfield
Speaker: Clare Mackintosh
Monday 2 May
Event 7
18:30
Ex-forces cops – hard men or soft centres?
Craven’s Washington Poe and Johnson’s Robert Finlay both have pasts in the military, and the life-or-death situations they faced in uniform mean that they bring a particular ‘who gives a f***?’ attitude towards some aspects of policing. But does policing also require emotional intelligence? Barry Forshaw explores Craven and Johnson’s differing views.
Chair: Barry Forshaw
Speaker: MW Craven, Matt Johnson
Event 8
20:00
Island Crime
Do remote settings enhance the mystery and chill of the crime novel? Does location affect how the reader experiences the scene of the crime? These award-winning and critically acclaimed authors know how to transport us so that we feel the remoteness of bleak island landscapes and the bitter chill of northerly winds.
Chair: Jacky Collins
Speaker: Ann Cleeves, Lilja Sigurdardottir
Tuesday 3 May
Event 9
18:30
35 Diwrnod a Bang – y ddrama drosedd rhyngwladol
Yn y blynyddoedd diwethaf mae sioeau trosedd o Gymru wedi plesio cynulleidfaoedd yng Nghymru ac ar draws y byd. Bydd Jon Gower yn trafod y llwyddiant yma gyda dau sydd wedi disgleirio wrth lunio cyfresi treiddgar, cyflym a gwaedlyd, sef Fflur Dafydd a Roger Williams.
Chair: Jon Gower
Speakers: Fflur Dafydd, Roger Williams
Event 10
20:00
Where, When or Who? Which is the most important question in crime fiction?
Billingham, Jones and Ellis are all crime authors but they set their fiction in the past and the present, in Britain and Venice, featuring police officers and amateur sleuths. What unites their books under the crime banner? What common factors do they share? And why might their work appeal to different kinds of readers?
Chair: Barry Forshaw
Speakers: Mark Billingham, Mark Ellis, Philip Gwynne Jones
Wednesday 4 May
Event 11
18:30
The Truth, The Whole Truth and The Historical Truth
With dogged detectives who refuse to settle until the truth is revealed, the authors on this panel have successfully shown how constructing fiction around historical fact blends perfectly with crime and mystery and provides wonderful insight into times gone by and faraway places.
Chair: Jacky Collins
Speakers: Abir Mukherjee, Alis Hawkins
Event 12
20:00
Strong Women, Strong Setting
Cosy crime meets gritty as Cathy Ace pits her Cait Morgan and WISE Detective Agency series against GB Williams’ Branwen Jones (The Chair) and Ariadne Teddington (Locked series). How do the settings of these books influence their protagonists’ approach to the crimes they find themselves tangled up in?
Chair: Alis Hawkins
Speakers: Cathy Ace, GB Williams