Monday 23 December 2019

Killer Women Festival for Crime Writing & Drama - 15 March 2020


The Killer Women Festival for Crime Writing & Drama takes place on 15th March 2020 at Brown’s Courtrooms, 82-84 St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4AG.

Now in its fourth year, London’s only author-led, boutique crime festival opens its doors to women and men with a packed programme – old favourites and new discoveries from fiction and TV drama, and many festival firsts, plus world experts in policing, forensics and criminology.

Exclusive early bird day tickets go on sale at £65 (plus booking fee) on 1 January 2020. Early bird tickets are available only to Killer Women Club members. Anyone can join the club for free  here. Full price tickets will be available to all from 1 February 2020 for £75 (plus booking fee).

9-10am
REGISTRATION
Sign up for the Nutshell Challenge (teams will be drawn up on a first come, first served basis) and read and discuss the Sunday Papers with Killer Women Alison Joseph (author of the Sister Agnes series) and Kate Rhodes (author of the Hell Bay and Alice Quentin series).

10.15-11.15am
Judges Court
JUSTICE ON TRIAL
Britain’s only black chief constable and Chief Inspector of the CPS Michael Fuller (Kill the Black One First); Alison Levitt QC, chief counsel to the CPS during the Savile Enquiry, and England and Wales Commissioner for Victims Dame Vera Baird discuss whether the criminal justice system is fit for purpose.
Chaired by N.J. Cooper (author and former Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association.)

10.15-11.15am
Barristers Court
PEAKY BLINDERS TO COUNTY LINES: GANGS
Professor Carl Chinn (expert in the real Peaky Blinders) with Tracey Miller (former gang member and anti-gang activist, author of Sour) and Jason Farrell (home editor for Sky News, author of County Lines) talk about gang culture, past and present.

10.15-11.15am
Judges Chamber
MY FIRST MURDER: WRITING CRIME FOR KIDS
Featuring YA novelists Karen M McManus (NY Times bestselling author of One of Us is Lying) and Holly Jackson (author of bestseller A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) and middle-grade novelists Elly Griffiths (bestselling crime novelist for adults, whose first novel for children is A Girl Called Justice) and Robin Stevens (Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries).
Chaired by Laura Wilson (crime novelist and Guardian crime fiction reviewer).

11.30-12.30pm
Judges Court
LIVE PODCAST
Live Podcast with Ann Cleeves: in conversation with the author of Shetland and Vera

11.30-12.30pm
Barristers Court
TOXIC MASCULINITY
Rebecca Wait (Our Fathers), Lucy Foley (The Hunting Party), Mel McGrath (The Guilty Party) and Marnie Riches (Tightrope) discuss social stereotypes and dangerous behaviour.
Chaired by William Shaw (Deadland).

11.30-12.30pm
Judges Chamber
DRINKING THE KOOL AID: CULTS
Louise Jensen (The Family), Alex Marwood (The Poison Garden), Will Carver (Nothing Important Happened Today) and Lisa Jewell (The Family Upstairs) discuss the appeal of cults in fiction.
Chaired by Claire McGlasson (The Rapture).

12.30-2pm 
LUNCH

1.30pm
Coffee and cookies with Helen Monks Takhar, author of sensational summer debut ‘Precious You’

2-3pm
Judges Court
K9: LIVE POLICE DOG DEMONSTRATION
Sniffer pups Bob and Bert and general police dog Titan are put through their paces by handlers Ruth and Chris Bond, 

2-3pm
Barristers Court
FACT TO FICTION: TRUE CRIME ON TV 
Exclusive insights into the making of ITV’s landmark 2020 drama WHITE HOUSE FARM, based on the Jeremy Bamber case.
Sponsored by ALL3MEDIA

2-3pm
Judges Chamber
SECRETS & LIES
Erin Kelly (Stone Mothers), Dorothy Koomson (Tell Me Your Secret), Kia Abdullah (Take it Back) and Trisha Saklecha (Your Truth or Mine?) explore the drivers of the psychological thriller.
Chaired by Julia Crouch (Her Husband’s Lover).

3.15-4.15pm
Judges Court
PSYCHOPATHS: MAD OR BAD?
Discussion of the psychopathic mind with TV criminologist Professor David Wilson (My Life with Murderers) and Dr Shubulade Smith, Head of Acute Forensic Psychiatry at the Maudsley, and Kerry Daynes, forensic psychologist and author  of The Dark Side of the Mind.
Chaired by Sharon Bolton (The Craftsman).

3.15-4.15pm
Barristers Court
FRESH BLOOD
Discover the most exciting new crime writers of the year: Bella Ellis (The Vanishing Bride), Trevor Wood (The Man on the Street), Russ Thomas (Firewatching) and Kate Bradley (To Keep You Safe), and hear about their journey to publication and their accomplished debuts.
Chaired by Sarah Hilary (crime author of the DI Marnie Rome series).
3.15-4.15pm
Judges Chamber
GETTING AN EARFUL: AUDIO CRIME
What makes a great crime listen? Why is audio true crime so popular? An insider’s guide to all things audio with some of the best producers, writers and voice talent in the business.

4.30-5.30pm
Judges Court
THE FORENSIC FRONT LINE
Ground-breaking forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop (When the Dogs Don’t Bark) discusses her life and work with Lin Anderson (bestselling author of the Dr Rhona MacLeod series).

4.30-5.30pm
Barristers Court
BANGED UP: IS PRISON WORKING?
Former inmates Carl Cattermole (Prison: A Survival Guide) and Michaela Booth explore the issues.
Chaired by HMP Grendon Writer-in-Residence Simon Booker (Kill Me Twice).

4.30-5.30pm
Judges Chamber
CRITICAL INCIDENT TRAINING
Former police and military psychologist Emma Kavanagh explains what it takes to survive an attack.

5.45-6.30pm
Barristers Court
THE NUTSHELL CHALLENGE.
Devised exclusively for Killer Women and sponsored by Endeavour, this competition is in honour of CSI pioneer and mother of forensic science Frances Glessner Lee. Lee created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: 20 miniature crime scene dioramas made for the purpose of training homicide detectives, most of which are still in use today. Competitors will work in teams to briefs by top crime writers to create the best doll’s house style crime scene using miniature furniture, figures and weapons.
Sign up at morning registration to join a team. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis on the day.

5.45-6.30pm
Barristers Court
KILLER WOMEN MENTORING SCHEME
Showcasing Kahlia Bakosi, Louise Cannon, Laura Mace and Veena Muthuraman, the winners of the scheme launched this year to find and encourage new female voices in crime fiction from BAME and low income or working-class backgrounds.
Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

6.30-8.00pm
DRINKS PARTY
Please join us for a free glass of prosecco courtesy of Simon and Schuster

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