St Hilda’s Mystery & Crime Conference 2016
The Question of Genre: What is Crime Fiction.
Over the years St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference has gained a reputation as the most
academic conference to attend if you want to hear internationally renowned crime and mystery
writers talk about everything and anything crime and mystery related. This is not an event to attend
if you just want to hear authors talk about themselves or their books. This does not happen. For
those who have never attended this fantastic conference be prepared to be thought provoked,
engrossed and captivated by the various speakers and their papers. The conference is now in its 23rd
year and still going strong.
The theme this year is 'The Question of Genre: What is Crime Fiction?' and the speakers will be
discussing vastly different areas within the genre from police detectives, historical and hard-boiled
to domestic noir and the Golden Age (which has had a huge renaissance over the last couple of
years), comedic and cross-genre fiction.
This year the conference Chair is Natasha Cooper who has chaired the conference on a number of
occasions. A former Chair of the CWA she is also the author of the Willow King series, Trish Maguire
series and also a series featuring forensic psychologist Karen Taylor. Writing as Clare Layton she is
the author of two psychological novels. She has also been nominated for the Gold Dagger. Natasha
Cooper is also a member of the Detection Club.
So who are the speakers this year?
The Guest of Honour is Lee Child who will also be giving the Conference lecture on the Saturday midmorning and will be talking about Seven Million Years of Thriller Fiction. Lee Child of course is an
easily recognisable name as he is the author of the Jack Reacher series of novels, which have
garnered a loyal following by male and female readers alike. So far there have been 21 books in the
series with the most recent being Night School (2016). Two films featuring Tom Cruise as Reacher
have been made. Lee has won a number of awards including an Anthony Award and Barry Award
for Killing Floor the first novel in the series and a Barry Award and Nero Award for his 2004 book The
Enemy. 61 Hours (2010) also won the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year award in
2011. In 2013 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the CWA.
The first speaker at the conference dinner on the Friday is Ted Childs who is a television producer,
screenwriter and director. He created ITV’s Inspector Morse. In the early seventies Ted Childs
produced such classic crime programmes as The Sweeney and Special Branch. He has also been
executive producer on a number of well-known crime dramas such as Inspector Morse (specifically
The Wench is Dead and Remorseful Day), Kavanagh QC and The Brief.
The first panel that will take place on the Saturday will consist of Elly Griffiths and Jane Finnis. Elly
Griffiths will be talking about A Gimlet Hole Bored in a Chair: How Crowded Rooms led to Murder,
whilst Jane Finis will be talking about Once Upon a Crime. Elly Griffiths currently writes two series.
Her first series is the Ruth Galloway series where her main protagonist is a forensic archaeologist.
The latest book in the series is The Woman in Blue. Her second series is the Stephen and Mephisto
series which she began writing in 2014. Elly Griffiths won the Mary Higgins award in 2011 for her
first Ruth Galloway novel The Crossing Places. Since 2003 Jane Finnis has been writing historical
crime novels that tell of life and death in first-century Roman Britain. The turbulent province of
Britannia on the very edge of the Roman Empire and features reluctant sleuth and Innkeeper Aurelia
Marcella. The latest book in the series is Danger in the Wind.
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2016 has certainly been Martin Edwards’s year. So far his excellent book The Golden Age of Murder:
Solving the Mysteries of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story has won a number of
awards. A widely acclaimed study of the genre between the two world wars so far this year it has
won an Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America, an Agatha award by Malice Domestic and
the HRF Keating Award for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction at CrimeFest.
The book looks at how Agatha Christie and her contemporary’s writer's group the Detection Club
revolutionised crime writing. As a noted expert on Golden Age Martin Edwards will be talking about
why Golden Age Crime fiction has now become fashionable age under the title Trending: Why is
Golden Age Fiction Fashionable Again. Martin Edwards is also a noted editor of anthologies and
series crime novelist. He is also the current Chair of the Detection Club as well as being the archivist
for both the CWA and the Detection Club.
Carol Westron sets her books in the South West Coast area. Her South Coast Crime books have
different teams working different crimes but often an officer from one team will join another
investigation, as happens in real life. No Servants Need Apply is the title of the talk she will be giving
early Saturday afternoon. Her latest book is The Fragility of Poppies.
Andrew Taylor is a longstanding attendee and supporter of St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference.
He has chaired the conference on a number of occasions. He is also the only crime writer to have
won the CWA Historical Dagger three times for the Scent of Death (2013), The American Boy ((US) An
Unpardonable Death) (2003) and Office of the Dead (2001) His first novel, Caroline Minuscule won
the John Creasey Memorial Award Dagger in 1982. In 2009 His novel Bleeding Heart Square won the
Martin Beck Award, the Golden Crowbar in 2009. Also in 2009 he received the CWA Cartier
Diamond Dagger. His novels have been shortlisted for some of the crime writings most prestigious
awards including the Gold Dagger, Edgar Award, the Barry Award and Theakston's Old Peculier crime
novel of the year. Andrew’s paper Pistol’s at Dawn: How Crime Fiction Waylaid the Historical Novel
is due to be given on Saturday afternoon and looks at the way in which crime fiction has taken over
historical novels. Andrew Taylor’s latest book is The Ashes of London, which is the start of a new
series. Andrew Taylor is also a member the Detection Club.
History is also the subject of Shona MacLean’s paper as well. She will be talking about the
compromises that authors have to make when writing historical crime fiction. The title of her paper
is You Couldn’t Make it up: Rules and Compromises in Historical Crime Fiction. Shona Maclean’s novel
The Seeker won the Endeavour Historical Dagger in 2015. Writing runs in her family as he uncle was
the thriller writer Alastair MacLean who is best known for writing such novels as Where Eagles Dare,
Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra. She has written two series the first featuring Alexander
Seaton a disgraced schoolmaster and her most current series features Damian Seeker who is an
agent for the Lord Protector.
The Saturday evening dinner speaker will by Val McDermid. An “old girl” of St Hilda’s Val McDermid
has long been a staunch supporter and attendee of the conference. She has written three different
series and a number of standalone novels. The Mermaids Singing the first novel in her Tony Hill and
Carol Jordan series won her the CWA Gold Dagger in 1995. In 2001 she won an Anthony Award,
Macavity Award and Dilys Award for her novel A Place of Execution. In 2006 The Torment of Others
won the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year award. She has also won a Barry Award
and has won or been been nominated for a huge number of other crime writing awards. She
received the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2010. Her most recent book is “Out of Bounds” which
is a standalone novel. Like a number of the other panel members Val McDermid is a member of the
Detection Club.
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On Sunday morning Kate Charles who is the co-organiser of St Hilda’s Crime and Mystery Conference
will be looking at clerical detectives in a paper entitled From Father Brown to Sidney Chambers: the
Clerical Detective. Her series the Book of Psalms Mysteries featured an Anglican priest whilst her
Callie Anson series features a Curate and a police officer. Kate is also the author of a number of
standalone suspense novels, which like her series are set against the background of the Church of
England. Her latest book is False Tongues, which sees the return of Callie Anson. Kate Charles is a
former Chair of the CWA and the Barbara Pym Society. She is also a member of the Detection Club.
Whilst of late Chris Ewan has been writing thrillers, he is however best known for writing the “Good
Thief’s Guide” series of comedic crime novels (which are set in different parts of the world) and
feature Charlie Howard a thief and author of his own crime novels. His main protagonist Charlie
Howard has been likened to Cary Grant in to Catch a Thief. Whilst writing the Good Thief’s Guide
series he learnt to use picklocks. His first thriller Safe House was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old
Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year award. Chris Ewan’s paper will be looking at humour in crime
novels under the title What’s So Funny? Humour in Crime Fiction.
Sarah Weinman is the editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s and
Anthony Award nominated Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives Stories from the Trailblazers of
Domestic Suspense. In 2006, 2008 and 2009 she was nominated for a special Anthony Award for
special services. Also in 2008 her blog Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind was nominated for an
Anthony Award as well. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred
Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and in a number of anthologies such as Dublin Noir, Baltimore Noir,
Damn Near Dead, Expletive Deleted and A Hell of a Woman. She is currently News Editor
for Publishers Marketplace, where she works on Publishers Lunch, the industry's essential daily read
with more than 40,000 subscribers. Her reviews and articles have appeared in newspapers all over
the world including The Guardian, The New York Times, The National Post, The Washington Post and
The Wall Street Journal to name her few. Sarah’s paper is entitled The Originators of Domestic
Suspense and she will be talking about the origins and original writers of domestic suspense.
Marcia Talley is also a long-time supporter of St Hilda’s. Marcia is a past national President of Sisters
in Crime, Inc. As well as being nominated for an Agatha award and an Anthony Award she won an
Agatha Award and an Anthony Award for best short story. She has also been nominated for a
Macavity Award. Her paper is entitled Murder Least Foul: Teapots and Craft Shops and Cats, Oh My!
Which looks at the origins and development of the “cosy” mystery genre.
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