Why are we interested in Crime?

Guess what?  I'm the new Crime Scene Blogger for http://www.writing.ie/ and today is my first post on Crime Scene. I hope you'll  all enjoy our explorations about Crime writing and Crime reading there, and will help me build the site into something really interesting and worthwhile by giving as much feedback as possible through your comments. 

Below is the opening few lines, you can read more by clicking on the link below, and please, please leave your comments!



Crime Night at Hodges Figgis



Six years ago, when I began writing, I had no idea that one day I would be writing crime fiction.  Perhaps it’s a little bit like how some people believe the writer doesn’t find the story, but rather the story finds them.

I can't speak for other writers, but for me very soon into my writing journey, I realised I had an insatiable desire to delve into the darker side of who we are as human beings.....

Follow the rest of the post HERE

Novelicious/Harper Collins/Simon & Schuster UK Novel Competition

Okay, I know I've been a little absent lately!!!!  Busy writing away like a lonely bird hiding in the attic, the only sound, the tap tap of keys on my laptop, and the odd roar from the family asking who I am again:)

Still, if you've missed me, well I've missed you too.  And just by means of showing you how generous I am to my friends, here's a nice little writing competition for you to go and have a good think about!

Novelicious has teamed up with Avon (HarperCollins) and Books and the City (Simon & Schuster UK) to bring you the chick lit event of the year!

Think you could be the next Jane Green, Marian Keyes or Sophie Kinsella? Believe you have the talent to become Britain's Next Chick Lit Star? Want the chance to win a host of AMAZING prizes? If the answer is yes, then Novelicious Undiscovered is the competition for you...

THE PRIZES
This year there will be two main awards up for grabs:


The People's Choice Award Winner
The top twenty entries as judged by the Novelicious team will be put to a public vote in June. The entrant with the most votes will win the following:
A full manuscript critique with Avon Commissioning Editor Caroline Hogg over tea and cake in their London offices. Your chance to get feedback on your novel and ask any questions you have about publishing.   A £50 voucher for writersgifts.co.uk
An introduction to and entry critique from top UK Literary Agent, Diane Banks of Diane Banks Associates Ltd
A selection of 10 Avon Titles
A Kindle ebook reader (provided by Idealo)


The Books and The City Choice Award Winner 

The Books and The City Choice winner will be chosen from the top twenty entries by the Fiction Editorial department at Simon & Schuster UK. Their choice will win the following:
A full manuscript feedback from the editorial team at Simon & Schuster
Author Mentoring and meeting with Sunday Times Bestselling author of RSVP Helen Warner
 A £50 voucher from writersgifts.co.uk
A Books and the City 10 Book Selection

Runner Up
  The entry with the second highest number of votes will win the following:
A full manuscript critique from the Novelicious Editor
A Hotel Chocolat Bliss Out Bag from hotelchocolat.co.uk
A Books and the City 10 Book Selection

HOW TO ENTER
By entering this competition you are deemed to have read and accepted the full Terms and Conditions

• Please send no more than the first 3000 words of your chick lit novel as a word attachment (name the attachment as the title of your book) to undiscovered@novelicious.com

• Please don’t include your name or any personal details in the attachment

• Email Subject Line should be – Undiscovered – Your Name – The Name Of Your Book

• In the body of your entry email please tell us the following:

1. Your Name
2. Your address (you must be a UK or Ireland resident!)
3. The word count of your entry
4. In order to keep you updated with Undiscovered and general Novelicious updates, we would like to add your email address to our mailing list (don't worry, your email address is for our eyes only.) Please tell us in your email if you do not wish to be added to the Novelicious mailing list.

• Short Stories will not be accepted

• Entrants must not be under contract with a publisher, or signed with an agent at the time of entry

• Entries must not have been previously published digitally or in print

• Closing Date for entries is 3^rd April (see below for the full order of events)

PLEASE READ THE FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ENTRY HERE

ORDER OF EVENTS

Feb 14th                          Novelicious Undiscovered opens for entries

April 3rd                          Closing date for entries

April 24th                        Top 20 entries are announced

MAY                                 Top 20 entries are showcased on Novelicious.com

June 5th - June 19th     Top 20 are opened to a public vote

June 26th                        The winners of Undiscovered are announced!

WILLIAM TREVOR / ELIZABETH BOWEN

INTERNATIONAL SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2012.

 FIRST PRIZE:  3,000 EURO

 (SPONSORED BY WILLIAM TREVOR)

         2nd prize: 500 Euro                 

 5 runners up prizes of 200 Euro each.

Mitchelstown Literary Society is pleased to announce the launch of the second William Trevor / Elizabeth Bowen International Short Story Competition. 

The Society was founded to celebrate the lives and works of two of Ireland's literary greats with Mitchelstown connections. The short story competition evolved as a natural adjunct to our annual literary festival and aims to provide a competitive outlet for new and emerging writers in the short story genre. The continued support of William Trevor includes sponsoring the very generous First Prize.

Our adjudicators are both well-known short story writers and book reviewers. They will select a short list of approximately 25 stories to be passed on for final adjudication.

Drumshanbo born, Dublin resident, Ita Daly, our main adjudicator, was married to writer and editor, the late David Marcus.  Educated at UCD, Ita holds a Masters Degree in English.  She has published five novels, a collection of short stories and two children's books.  Two times winner of the Hennessy Literary Awards and an Irish Times Short Story Award winner, Ita's last novel 'Unholy Ghosts' was long listed for the Impact Award.

Details of rules, official entry form(s), payment methods etc. can be had from our official contact points indicated below.

There is entry fee of 20.00 Euro per entry and the Closing Date for receipt of entries is last post on Friday, 30th March 2012.

The winner and runners up will be notified personally as well as results being posted to the competition website as they become available.

Entries, by post only, to:

Trevor/Bowen International Short Story Competition,         

37 Upper Cork Street

,

Mitchelstown,

Co. Cork,  

Ireland.

Contact Points:

Tel: (025) 84969.       

Email: cusackliam@eircom.net              

Visit:   www.mitchelstownlit.com

                       

Official Press Release!

PRESS RELEASE
HACHETTE BOOKS IRELAND

New voice in Irish crime writing

Hachette Books Ireland acquires new psychological crime author Louise Phillips in a two book deal struck between Ciara Doorley, Editorial Director, Hachette Books Ireland and Ger Nichol of The Book Bureau for Irish and UK Commonwealth rights.

Red Ribbons, the first book in the deal, centres round the abduction and murder of a twelve-year old school girl and the main character Julie Pearson, criminal psychologist who is drafted in by the police to help them find the killer.

Ciara Doorley of Hachette Ireland says of Louise. ‘With overtones of Sophie Hannah and Tana French, Louise is a supremely talented writer. She subconsciously creates parallels between her characters, and this really challenges the reader. Her writing is tense, atmospheric and we’re really excited to be launching a new voice in Irish crime.’

Red Ribbons is told from three perspectives: the main character Julie; Ellie Brady, an inmate of St Michael’s Mental Institute (convicted of killing her own daughter fifteen years earlier); and the killer.

RED RIBBONS ---- The ‘bad man’ is everywhere . . . can you see him?

Hachette Books Ireland will publish Louise’s first book Red Ribbons in Trade Paperback September 2012 and her second novel The Doll’s House will be published in 2013.

Author Biography

RED RIBBONS, is Louise Phillip’s debut novel.  Born in Dublin, she began writing in 2006, when her youngest son turned thirteen. Since then, Louise has won the Jonathan Swift Award with her story Last Kiss. She was a winner in the Irish Writers’ Centre Lonely Voice Platform, short-listed for the Molly Keane Memorial Award, Bridport UK, and long-listed twice for RTE Guide/Penguin short story competition.  Louise has been published as part of many anthologies, including County Lines from New Island, and various literary journals.  From an early age, Louise has been an avid reader, and always held the dream that one day she would write a novel. Red Ribbons is the culmination of that dream.

Launch of History Press Ireland's New Fiction Line - The Scarlet Ribbon

Next Wednesday sees a great event happening in Dublin.  History Press Ireland are launching their New Fiction Line, and the first novel to achieve this prestigious honour is, The Scarlet Ribbon, a collaboration between a great journalist & friend, Katy (Derry) O'Dowd, and her father the eminent Michael O'Dowd.  Introduction to novel and bio's below.

The launch will take place Wednesday 8th February at Hodges Figgis, Dawson Street at 7.30.  Should prove to be an historical night - so don't miss it!

'The Scarlet Ribbon' has been chosen to launch the History Press Ireland's New Fiction Line.

Introduction to the Novel

Written by father and daughter team Michael and Katy O'Dowd, the book follows James Quinn, a young Irish surgeon battling prejudice, suspicion and personal demons in his controversial quest to change the face of medicine.

Following his marriage, tragedy strikes, thrusting James into a life of turmoil and despair. Throwing himself into his work, the young surgeon eventually begins to find solace in the most unexpected of places. From the backstreets of Paris, through the glittering social
whirl of London and finally back to Ireland again, this is a story of the thorns of love and the harsh reality of life in the eighteenth century, where nothing is simple and complications of all kinds surround James Quinn, man midwife.

The Scarlet Ribbon is available in bookshops and online. www.derryodowd.com

About Michael O'Dowd:

Michael is the current National Chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Ireland.  He has written for various medical publications along with the books,The History of Medications for Women (2001); and with Elliot E Phillip The History of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (1994).

About Katy O'Dowd (Derry):

Katy is an arts and entertainment journalist and has worked for Time Out, Associated Newspapers and Comic Relief and her articles have appeared in The Times (London), Metro (London) and many other arts and entertainment publications, paper and online.

Alongside writing under the pen-name Derry O’Dowd, whose next book she is working on, she writes under her own name. ‘The Lady Astronomer’ will be out with Doctor Fantastique Books in April/May. She is also reviews movies for STUDIO magazine, and is currently co-editing ‘Nasty Snips II’ a horror anthology which will be out with Pendragon Press at Halloween. (Derry is Katy’s middle name)

Katy blogs at www.katyodowd.com

And can be found on twitter @katyod