BritCrime 2015

A free online crime festival will run for the first time in July 2015, as a result of a grassroots initiative instigated by author Helen Smith. The festival boasts more than forty crime authors, including Eva Dolan, Mark Edwards, C L Taylor, Sarah Hilary and Mason Cross.

‘We became friends after meeting at various literary events,’ Helen explains, ‘and although we love attending festivals and enjoy meeting readers, it’s important to balance time spent at events with time spent writing. Festivals can also be expensive for readers, especially when travel and accommodation is factored in, so we founded BritCrime to provide free, accessible events that every reader can attend, wherever they live.’
BritCrime 2015 will take place 11 to 13 July 2015 and will feature live Q&A panel discussions hosted on Facebook, as well as informal ‘Meet us in the bar’ sessions for late night chat. The festival will provide updates from BritCrime authors attending New York’s ThrillerFest, as well as a look ahead to Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate the following week, where many BritCrime authors will be in attendance.
In the run up to the festival exclusive content will be available on the BritCrime website and social media platforms, including giveaways, video sessions and interactive Google Hangouts. More than 500 people have already signed up to receive the festival mailing list, which offers the incentive of a Kindle Paperwhite giveaway for one lucky subscriber.
Edgar-winning author Alex Marwood was the first to sign up for BritCrime. ‘BritCrime is organised by authors, and it feels great to be in control of how the event goes. We’ve already reached more than 70,000 people via our online channels, and this is just the start of what we hope to achieve.’

Notes to editors
BritCrime is a free online crime writing festival which takes place 11 to 13 July 2015.
For more information visit http://britcrime.com or email info@BritCrime.com
For images, for interviews with the BritCrime founder and participating author, Helen Smith, or to arrange an interview with one of the participating authors below, email info@BritCrime.com.

PARTICIPATING AUTHORS
Quentin Bates, Jenny Blackhurst, Rebecca Bradley, Graeme Cameron, Steve Cavanagh, Tammy Cohen, Mason Cross, Julia Crouch, Eva Dolan, Steven Dunne, Mark Edwards, Chris Ewan, Paul Finch, Helen Giltrow, Sarah Hilary, Susi Holliday, Jane Isaac, Amanda Jennings, Emma Kavanagh, Anya Lipska, Colette McBeth, M J McGrath, Fergus McNeill, Clare Mackintosh, Michael J Malone, Ava Marsh, Alex Marwood, K T Medina, Daniel Pembrey, J F Penn, Nick Quantrill, Marnie Riches, Craig Robertson, Mel Sherratt, Alexandra Sokoloff, Helen Smith, C L Taylor, Simon Toyne, Luca Veste, Louise Voss, Sarah Ward.

Wexford Literary Festival 2015

Lots of great events happening as part of this year's Wexford Literary Festival, and I'm delighted to be sharing a panel about 'WRITING COMPELLING FICTION' with Rachael English, Carmel Harrington and Claudia Carroll. 

It will take place between  9.45 – 11.15 on Saturday the 27th June. but for full line up of events over the weekend, check out details here 

Following the above event, Paul O'Brien, Denise Deegan and Lorna Sixsmith will discuss 'SUCCESSFUL SELF PUBLISHING'. 

Neuropsychology.....

I don't normally post the reviews I get via email but as this one came from a specialist in neuropsychology in relation to LAST KISS...I'm making an exception!

"I finished your book, Last Kiss, yesterday.  I could not put it down! What a fascinating story you created. I enjoyed the intricate plot, the development of the characters, the multiple layers of the story, and the development of the relationships between the protagonists. I also enjoyed having Dublin and Paris as relevant contexts, playing a role as well as you read; the different narrator voices between chapters (and characters), and particularly the "I" talking to the reader ("would you warn her if you could?"). As a psychologist I can tell you I enjoyed very much the way you presented the forensic role of Kate, her constant question of ethical boundaries, her psychopathology knowledge and empathic ability to connect to the vulnerable. She is displayed as having a virtuous listening skill, and great questioning/interviewing skills which are primary ones in psychologists. The references to Freud's id - super ego - ego dynamics and the examples Kate gives to Adam during the flight to Paris were excellent! Not only accurate but very cleverly illustrated. As a specialist in neuropsychology, I generally tend to have more reservations, as the brain is my territory. The references to the frontal lobes were great, and I got excited as this is the precise part of the brain I study the most, as I am interested in self-regulation of behaviour. I enjoyed very much the sensibility of your writing. Despite the gruesome topics that this type of literature treats, I noted the many places you were poetic, or very aware of human feelings and thoughts. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this great thriller (and thrilling) novel. I will dance in the woods thinking of the children's laughter, even those who did not have the loving and cared for opportunities many of us had."

Steeped in History!!

You gotta love living in a house of 3 convicted killers, especially when it all happened a couple of hundred years ago!!

Dennis Lehane in conversation with Declan Hughes!

Date: Thursday 28 May

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Irish Writers Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1

Fee:  €18 / €15 IWC Members

Booking via Eventbrite

Dennis Lehane, novelist, screenwriter and writer-producer, is set to release his latest novel World Gone By (Little, Brown) and will be joining us at the Centre to talk about this latest endeavour, writing for print and screen and will reveal all about the much discussed Love/Hate US adaptation. 

Dennis Lehane grew up in Boston. His novels have been translated into more than 30 languages and have become international bestsellers and include Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Darkness Take My Hand and Moonlight Mile. His most recent work World Gone By, a psychologically and morally complex novel set in World War II was published March 2015. Three of his novels - Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island - have been adapted into award-winning films.

Lehane was a staff writer on the acclaimed HBO series The Wire and is a writer-producer on the fourth season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. His filmThe Drop features James Gandolfini in his last movie role. It has recently been reported in the press that Dennis has been approached to adapt the Irish crime drama Love/Hate for a US cable television network.

Dennis will be interviewed by writer and playwright Declan Hughes. 

Big Book Club Show

BOOKING DETAILS HERE

Where does the time go??

Where does the time go??? 

9 days editing at the lovely Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig.

A full day crime writing workshop at the Irish Writers Centre​ on Saturday.

Time spent with grandchildren on Sunday.

A visit to the dentist to discuss root canal work scheduled for next week on Monday.

Catching up with work after time away.

A day or two with painkillers and more editing.

Then early flight with Jackie Walsh​ to go to Crimefest Bristol​ on Friday morning.

....oh yes, that's where some of it went.....

Running Away!

I'll be off to the Tyrone Guthrie Artist Retreat in Annaghmakerrig a couple of days earlier than expected this Wednesday. 

Why? Life kept interrupting the editing process on The Game Changer and sometimes running away is a good option!!

Nine days, with me, the script, my laptop, a couple of books, and some yummy food with wonderful surroundings and people has to be good - right??

Launch of the Quarryman

Good luck to everyone involved with the launch of Quarryman at the Cork Festival this evening. A great collection and I was delighted to have had the opportunity, along with Donal Ryan, to contribute my sentiments about the work.....

Michelle McAdoo, Madeleine d'Arcy, and Eoghan Walsh, launch the 'Quarryman', Photo: Orla Murphy 

EXTRACT CORK INDEPENDENT

The newly-revived UCC literary journal, 'Quarryman' will be launched at the close of The Cork World Book Fest on Saturday April 25, in The Triskel Arts Centre.

"Within the pages of this anthology, we meet diversity, ingenuity, humour, pathos, compassion and a kaleidoscope of emotions which are both individual and universal," said Louise Phillips, author of Red Ribbons, The Doll’s House and Last Kiss.

Booker nominated author Donal Ryan says that, "It’s a perfect reading excursion, its pages inhabited by cyber-stalkers, bereft lovers, dying crows, web less spiders, disillusioned radicals, illicit cadavers, and people treading the uncertain pathways of life, love and loss negotiating the treacherous terrain of existence."

Read full piece from Cork Independent HERE

The Bridport Prize!

Closing date: 31 May 2015

Over £16,000 in prize money

One of the richest writing competitions in the UK, the Bridport Prize is open to all nationalities aged 16 years and over.

The poem and short story categories each have a first prize of £5,000, second prize £1,000 and third prize £500. An additional 10 supplementary prizes (for each category) of £50 each are awarded.

A new category for flash fiction with a prize of £1,000 was launched in 2010. There is a second prize of £500, 3rd prize of £250 and 3 supplementary prizes of £50.

In 2014 the Peggy Chapman-Andrews first novel award, named after the Prize’s founder, was launched. The first prize is £1,000 plus a up to a year’s mentoring from The Literary Consultancy. A runner-up prize of £500 is also offered. 

For more details visit HERE