CrimeFest is a blast whether you’re a writer or a reader. My visit to CrimeFest 2023 was my first and was limited to the first day and a half (for all the best reasons: we flew to Granada for a 5 day break on the Saturday) but it was so good I booked for 2024 before I left. It's held in Bristol which is an added bonus for me since I live less than an hour’s drive away.
It's all nicely informal with 350 attendees this year, about half of whom were writers. There are parallel streams but every 50 minute session had the same format: 5 author panellists (one of them acting as moderator) discussing a subject and leaving time for questions. There’s then a 20 minute gap and the panellists make themselves available to chat and sign books which can be bought on site from Waterstones.
A lot of big names were there and it was a great opportunity for an aspiring author like me to learn from the masters and mistresses (can I say that?) of the trade. I also asked a bunch of them including Lisa Jewell, Elly Griffiths, C L Taylor, Gilly McMillan, Jackie Kabler and Lesley Kara what they thought of the draft cover for my daughter’s soon to be published psychological thriller ‘Arrietty’ (her third). Invaluable input! Lisa’s immediate response was “Amazing! Wow! 10 out of 10”.
‘Shiny Things’ are what Martin Lee (MJ Lee) - that's him on the right below - calls the distractions he puts into his DI Redpath series. These are items through the story that are there as red herrings to lead the reader astray.
Simon Toyne said - and I thought this was a great point which I intend to bring to my writing - that every character in a book has to think they’re the main character even if they only bring in a glass of water. He told the story of an actor who had a minor role in Hamlet as the gravedigger. His friend said he’d heard of Hamlet and asked what the play was about. The actor replied that it was about a man digging a grave.
Paul Finch talked about recreating scenes as a personal experience: using all 5 senses to make it visceral so that the reader feels bruised.
Other memorable quotes:
“Having an agent is like having a boyfriend who’s not really into you”
Lesley Kara
“You’ve got to zip it up at the end”
Paul Finch
“I like to lay seeds in for the next book”
Zoe Sharp
And finally an unabashed plug for ‘Arrietty’ by my daughter Abby Davies. I have read it at least four times as Abby’s honed and perfected it, and the twist reveals (there are more than one) still make me cry each time. For more information see abbydavies.com
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