Bursary for crime fiction author of colour

 

CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, is offering a bursary for a crime fiction writer of colour to attend its festival next May.

The bursary will cover the cost of a full Weekend Pass to the convention and a night’s accommodation at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, and a guaranteed panel appearance.

Eligible authors must have published at least one English language book in traditional print by a British commercial publisher.

CrimeFest launched the bursary in 2021 with the first award going to Saima Mir to attend the 2022 convention, for her debut novel, The Khan, which was a Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year.

Saima Mir, who grew up in Bradford, said that the bursary allowed her to, “be inspired by the company of seasoned storytellers, fulfil my childhood ambition, and to act as a beacon to other women who dare to dream of being published novelists, but fear the space is not for girls like them.”

2023’s bursary winner was Elizabeth Chakrabarty, whose critically-acclaimed debut crime novel Lessons in Love and Other Crimes was inspired by her own experience of a serious race hate crime in the workplace.

Donna Moore, co-host of CrimeFest, said: “The bursary is an important addition to CrimeFest, and one we are committed to build on. As a democratic convention open to all commercially published authors in the genre, CrimeFest is a natural hotbed for diverse talent. We’re aware however that more needs to be done to ensure festivals and conventions actively support writers of colour.”

Nominees for the bursary will be reviewed by Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Chair and author Vaseem Khan, and the freelance crime fiction critic and CWA judge, Ayo Onatade.

Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India - the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House crime novels set in 1950s Bombay. Ayo Onatade works with Justices at the Supreme Court, and is a well-known blogger and CWA Red Herring award-winning freelance crime fiction critic.

Hosted in Bristol, CrimeFest is one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, and one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar, with circa 60 panel events and 150 authors over four days.

CrimeFest, now in its 16th year, was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention. It was established in 2008. It follows the egalitarian format of most US conventions, making it open to all commercially published authors and readers alike.

Dates for next year's Bristol CrimeFest are 9-12 May, 2024.

Email info@crimefest.com for more details on how to apply.

 

Rick Mofina

Author Rick Mofina's standalone novel Six Seconds is due to be released in the UK by Mira on 17 April 2009. If you would like to get your hands on a free proof copy please go here. There are 200 copies being given away.

Six Seconds is about a mother's search for her abducted son and a detective's investigation into a mysterious death lead them to uncover a global plot to asssinate the Pope - using the boy as a weapon.

I will be doing a Q & A with Rick nearer the date and it will be posted on the Shotsmag.co.uk website in due course. Watch this space!

Dennis Lehane - A Life in Writing

Following on from the interview in the Daily Telegraph last week end there is another excellent interview with Dennis Lehane in today's Guardian (24 January). A Life in Writing.

He talks about his latest novel The Given Day and the length of time that it took him to write. As he says in the interview "I feel like if this bombs, God: it's going to be my Heaven's Gate, my Waterworld". The Given Day which took him 5 years to write is to be the first of a trilogy. He also talks about his series featuring detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro of which has a massive fan base. Lehane is very forttunate with Hollywood. Firstly there was the success of Mystic River which in 2004 was nominated for best picture and also won awards for two of the actors Tim Robbins and Sean Penn. Then there was Gone Baby Gone which was filmed by Ben Affleck and featured Casey Affleck in 2007.The film of course was not released in the UK until 2008 allegedly as a result of the disappearance of Maddie McCann. Fans of the Kenzie and Gennaro series are of course pleased to hear that there will be another one in the series soon. Lehane also talks about his stint writing for the Wire and the fact that it seemed to be a daunting task. The interview is certainly worth reading and is illuminating about his writing as it is about what makes him tick.

Dennis Lehane will be at Borders Charing Cross Road on 12 February 2009

Death of "Rumpole" creator

Sir John Mortimer the creator of that curmudgeonly barrister Rumpole of the Bailey has died at the age of 85 after a long illness. Known mainly for the "Rumpole" series Sir John Mortimer was also a prodgious writer of books and screen plays. The character of Rumpole was played admirably by the late actor Leo McKern throughout its time on screen. His death is a great loss to those who have long admired his work.

Further information can be found here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7833156.stm