With five panels of brilliant crime writers, a murder mystery evening and writing workshops over the weekends of 6th and 13th October, this is a must for crime readers and writers alike.

Crime Writers’ Day: Saturday, 6 October 11am-7pm. Rochester Community Hub

Headliner: Mark Billingham in conversation with RLF Patron Lisa Cutts.

Crime Writers’ All Day Panel Pass 

Crime Writers’ Day Individual Panel Tickets

There is a 25% discount on the writing workshops if you purchase a panel pass. Email rochesterlitfest@gmail.com for details. There’s also a free book for all attendees, thanks to our partner Urbane Publication – choose from their extensive stock on the day – and there’s free wine and soft drinks too!

11am Panel 1: Crime Seen – Jane Lythell, Hugh Fraser and Julie Wassmer 

There’s a reason – several, actually – why crime drama is so popular on television. The thrill of a chase, the whodunnit factor, the edge of seat menace. Our Crime Seen panel at the festival consists of three authors infinitely qualified to discuss why taking crime and thriller books to screen is so successful, as well as give us an insight into the creation of their own work. Read all about the authors here.

12.30pm Panel 2:  Real Jobs, Fictional Worlds – Lisa Cutts, Simon Michael and Anna Mazzola. 

 

How do authors get to the nitty gritty of criminal law procedure? Most will speak to the experts – those dealing with real crime day in, day out.

For this panel though, we bring together the experts themselves, whose non writing profession informs their fictional crime writing through first hand experience. Read all about the authors here.

This panel will be chaired by Dr. Kate Bradley,  a senior lecturer in social history and social policy at the University of Kent.

2pm Panel 3: The Real Killers with Paul Harrison

Truth is stranger than fiction – it has to be, since in fiction, everything has to make sense. Loose ends need to be tied up and usually, for a really satisfying read, the perpetrator of the crime is caught by the cleverness of our detective.

But real life crime? There isn’t always a nice, tidy ending and there are few authors who commit to the page the level of depravity to which some real criminals sink. Thus, this talk on notorious people who inspire fictional killers is not for the faint hearted!  Read all about Paul here.

3.30pm Panel 4: Crossing the Genres – Christi Daugherty, Guy Adams and AK Benedict.

Are writers restricted by calling themselves crime or thriller writers? Are readers happy to have their expectations subverted when an author produces work that doesn’t fit into their usual slot on the bookcase?  And what challenges do authors face when moving into crime from other genres?

On this panel, we have three crime writers with work covering genres as diverse as young adults, fantasy, crime with a supernatural twist and even Dr. Who spin offs in book and audio play form. Read all about the authors here.

5pm Headliner: Mark Billingham in conversation with RLF Patron, Lisa Cutts.

We’re delighted to be joined by prolific, multi talented and entertaining best selling author Mark, whose latest novel, The Killing Habit, has just been published. It continues the award winning series featuring London based detective, Tom Thorne, which includes The Dying Hours, Lifeless, Good As Dead, Time Of Death and Love Like Blood. Lazybones and Death Message both won the Theakston’s Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel Of The Year. Read more about Mark’s amazingly varied career here.

Mark will be joined by our lovely Patron Lisa Cutts, whose generosity – alongside Matthew at Urbane Publications – has brought together this fabulous line up of writers for us. The opening of Lisa’s debut novel, Never Forget, is one of the most stunning beginnings to a literary career ever, and her latest book Lost Lives is due out in November. Read more about Lisa here.

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