Call for Papers: A Study in Sidekicks: The Detective’s Assistant in Crime Fiction

Editors: Dr Lucy Andrew (University of Chester), Samuel Saunders (Liverpool John Moores University)

‘I am lost without my Boswell’, Sherlock Holmes says of his trusty sidekick Dr John Watson in ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’ (1891). Biographer, narrator, observer, assistant, companion, conscience, foil, fool, audience surrogate – the role of the detective’s sidekick is multifaceted, complex and continually evolving.

This collection aims to explore the changing representations and functions of the detective’s sidekick across a range of forms and subgenres of crime fiction from the nineteenth century to the present day. Forms may include: magazine short stories, serial or non-serial novels, ‘penny dreadfuls’, juvenile story papers, dime and half-dime novels, comics and graphic novels, radio drama, stage plays, film and television, video games. Genres may include: sensation fiction, the locked-room mystery, Golden Age detective fiction (including the clue puzzle and the hard-boiled detective novel), the police procedural, historical crime fiction, supernatural crime fiction, the serial killer thriller, the psychothriller.

The collection aims to pose and explore a number of questions, including:

* When did the detective’s sidekick first appear and why?
* How do we define the sidekick? What is the distinction between the partner and the sidekick?
* What functions does the detective’s sidekick perform?(How) do these functions change over time?
* (How) does the representation of the sidekick vary between different forms and subgenres of crime fiction?
* At which point in crime-fiction’s development was the sidekick’s importance at its peak?Is the sidekick tradition declining in the twenty-first century?

Topics may include but are not limited to:

* The origins and development of the sidekick
* The functions of the sidekick
* Detective/sidekick relationships
* The female sidekick
* The child sidekick
* The animal sidekick (e.g. Jerry Lee (K-9); Diefenbaker (Due South); Pedro the bloodhound (Sexton Blake); Snowy (Tin Tin); Flash (Valerie Drew))
* The sidekick in sensation fiction (e.g. Gabriel Betteredge/Ezra Jennings (The Moonstone); George Talboys (Lady Audley’s Secret); Captain Wragge (No Name))
* The supernatural sidekick (e.g. Bob in The Dresden Files)
* The criminal as sidekick (e.g. Dr Hannibal Lecter)
* The sidekick as suspect/villain (e.g. Dr James Sheppard)
* The sidekick as narrator and/or biographer (e.g. Dr John Watson)
* The sidekick as hero(ine)
* The sidekick as victim (e.g. George Talboys in Lady Audley’s Secret)
* Multiple sidekicks (e.g. Mervyn Bunter, (Chief) Inspector Parker and Harriet Vane)
* Modern interpretations of classic sidekicks (e.g. Joan Watson in Elementary)
* The sidekick’s comic potential
* The sacrificial sidekick
* The corruption of the sidekick
* The marginality of the sidekick
* The absence and/or loss of the sidekick
* Romance, sexuality and the sidekick

Sidekicks under scrutiny may include:

* Gabriel Betteredge/Ezra Jennings
* George Talboys
* Dr John Watson
* Captain Arthur J.M. Hastings
* Mervyn Bunter/Chief Inspector Parker/Harriet Vane
* Robert ‘Robbie’ Lewis/DS James Hathaway
* Robin (in his various incarnations: Dick Grayson; Jason Todd; Tim Drake; Damian Wayne)
* Maddy Magellan, Carla Borrego, Joey Ross, Polly Creek (Jonathan Creek sidekicks)

Please submit an abstract of 300-350 words and biography of 50-100 words to Lucy Andrew (l.andrew@chester.ac.uk) and Sam Saunders (S.J.Saunders@2014.ljmu.ac.uk) by Monday 13th November 2017.

Completed essays of 7-8,000 words will be due by Monday 4th June 2018.

Hull Noir

Saturday 18 November 2017

SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES

10:00 - 11:00am

Nick Quantrill & David Mark

vs.

Lilja Sigurdardottir & Quentin Bates.  The panel look at the style, influence and distinctions and conflicts of Hull and Iceland as locations and inspirations for crime writing.

CRAPHOUSE TO POWERHOUSE

11:30 - 12:30pm

Danielle Ramsay, Jay Stringer, Luca Veste and Paul Finch discuss post-industrial crime fiction in the North and how the M62 draws a virtual line through the national crime fiction psyche.

BREAK

12:30 - 1:30pm

​

INTO THE DARKNESS : THE NEW NOIR

1:30 - 2:30pm

As eras come and go and each generation defines itself by what came before. Jake Arnott, Emma Flint, Joseph Knox and Cathi Unsworth look at the challenges of writing contemporary noir fiction and the power of historical setting.

GETTING CARTER : TED LEWIS AND THE HARD BOILING OF BRITISH CRIME FICTION

3:30 - 4:30pm

Howard Linskey, Russel McLean, Sean O’Brien, Andrew Spicer and Nick Triplow discuss the influences of American hardboiled writing in British crime fiction, and the part Ted Lewis played in establishing an authentic British tradition.

TEA

4:30 - 6:45pm

​

MARTINA COLE : A CRIME WRITING SILVER JUBILEE

7:00 - 8:00pm

The most borrowed author in prison libraries; the most shoplifted from British bookshops:  best-selling Queen of British crime fiction, Martina Cole, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the publication of her first novel, Dangerous Lady, in the company of critic, author and crime fiction aficionado, Barry Forshaw.

Sunday 19^th November 2017

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER : GOLDEN AGE VS DIGITAL AGE

10:00 - 11:00am

From wire messages, telegrams and Hansom cabs to new tech, dark web and the emergence of new formats, Abir Mukherjee, Rachel Rhys and Matt Wesolowski discuss the influence of technologies on crime writing and publishing with Ayo Onatade.

BEHIND BARS : FREEDOM, OPPRESSION & CONTROL

11:30 - 12:30pm

With a background of Hull’s historical links to the slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce and traditions of resistance, Eva Dolan, Kati Hiekkapelto, Stav Sherez and William Ryan explore ways in which crime fiction deals with characters living under oppression or imprisoned by circumstance. 

BREAK

12:30 - 1pm

​

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK : EXPLORING ROADS LESS TRAVELLED

1:00 - 2:00pm

Daniel Pembrey, Sarah Ward and David Young discuss the unfashionable and hitherto undiscovered landscapes, languages and settings for crime writing with Jacky Collins, and cast fresh light on where new territories for writing might be found.

BRAWLERS & BASTARDS

2:30 - 3:30pm

From Bill Sikes through Jack Carter and beyond, Steph Broadribb, Mick Herron, Harry Brett and Craig Robertson look at the ways in which crime authors redeem the irredeemable and create antiheroes from the most unlikeable protagonists.

A YEAR IN THE LIFE

4:00 - 5:00pm

Bringing the festival to a close, Mark Billingham and John Connolly take a not entirely serious look at their writing years with Daily Telegraph crime fiction critic, Jake Kerridge. The best, the worst; a year to remember, one to forget; the tears, tantrums and triumphs of a crime writing life.

Finalists for the Mcilvanney Prize announced

FIVE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR
THE McILVANNEY PRIZE
SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2017

Winner to be presented at Opening Reception of Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival at Stirling Castle on Friday 8 September

A panel of judges including comedian and crime fan Susan Calman, writer Craig Sisterson and Programmer of Granite Noir, Lee Randall, today reveal the five finalists for The McIlvanney Prize from a twelve strong longlist featuring some of the best names in Scottish crime fiction.

The finalists include two of the best-known women in Scottish crime – Val McDermid and Denise Mina; a former winner of the prize, Craig Russell; one of the founders of Bloody Scotland, Craig Robertson and a relative unknown, Jay Stringer.

The winner of the Scottish Crime Book of the Year will be awarded The McIlvanney Prize in memory of William McIlvanney at the opening reception at Stirling Castle on Friday 8 September (6.30-8.30pm) and followed by a torchlight procession – open to the public – led by Ian Rankin on his way down to his event celebrating 30 years of Rebus. The award recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing, includes a prize of £1000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones.

The judges explained why each book made the final five: 
 

Val McDermid - Out of Bounds (Little, Brown)

'The Queen of Scottish crime adds yet more jewels to her crown with Out of Bounds and shows us why she's writing at the very top of her game…Karen Pirie is one of the most engaging and charismatic of all the fictional Scottish Detectives'

Denise Mina - The Long Drop (Random House)

'This elegantly written novel confirms Denise Mina's stature among the great Scottish crime writers…The Long Drop transports you to the pubs, grubby back alleys and courtrooms at the heart of this unsavoury chapter of Scottish history'

Craig Russell - The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid (Quercus)

'The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid is an assured riff on a classic noir caper which reveals Glasgow in all its gritty and compelling glory…The writing is as stylish as Lennox's bespoke suits'

 
Craig Robertson – Murderabilia (Simon & Schuster) 

'An intriguing premise in a contemporary setting which tiptoes along the darker edges of crime fiction with an unusual detective at its heart…Murderabilia is a terrific addition to this inventive series'
 

Jay Stringer - How to Kill Friends and Implicate People (Thomas & Mercer)

'This unexpected and explosive novel proves that Jay Stringer has reached the major league of Scottish crime fiction…The prose in How to Kill Friends and Implicate People crackles like a roaring campfire and you find yourself rooting for the unlikeliest of heroes'

Lee Randall, chair of the judges said:

'It's always an honour to judge the prize and this year I especially enjoyed encountering writers whose work was new to me'

Susan Calman said:

'As a long term reader of Scottish crime books it has been a dream come true to judge this year's McIlvanney Prize'

Craig Sisterson said:

'Reading the books for the prize has been a pleasure and a privilege, and has convinced me that Tartan Noir is a sparkling gem on the global crime-writing stage'

Previous winners are Chris Brookmyre with Black Widow 2016, Craig Russell with The Ghosts of Altona in 2015, Peter May with Entry Island in 2014, Malcolm Mackay with How A Gunman Says Goodbye in 2013 and Charles Cumming with A Foreign Country in 2012. The 2017 winner will be kept under wraps until the ceremony itself.

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