Press release Friday 23 March

Innovative festival reveals the facts behind crime fiction • Denise Mina to headline Crime Story 2018 • Programme announced and tickets on sale

A festival for crime fiction writers and readers offers its audience a rare insight into the fascinating world of real-life criminal investigation. Crime Story 2018, which takes place at Northumbria University, Newcastle on 19 May, brings together people from the two very different worlds of fact and fiction. Detectives, forensic scientists, lawyers and criminologists will guide crime writers and readers through the investigative process as they attempt to solve a fictional crime, written exclusively for the festival by Denise Mina, the award-winning author of The Long Drop, Gods and Beasts and The End of Wasp Season. Fifteen crime experts are taking part in the festival, including Professor Dame Sue Black, one of the world’s leading forensic scientists; Detective Superintendent Steve Barron who led Operation Sanctuary, a large-scale investigation into sexual exploitation in North East England; and HH Judge Timothy Gittins, who will be presiding over a fictional case in Northumbria University’s historic courtroom. Other experts specialise in toxicology, victimology and vulnerable witnesses. In a series of panel events, delegates are guided through the practices of police and forensic investigations and the legal process. But Crime Story is not simply about setting the facts straight. Delegates can also choose from a range of in-depth discussions, including from Northumbria University academics, which will inspire the ways characters are written and plots are developed. Work with money laundering experts to devise your own strategy to hide £100k, or with legal and sexual exploitation professionals to understand how the most vulnerable people slip through society’s net. Crime Story has also paired writers with crime experts to offer a series of four unique creative writing workshops. Leading crime writer David Mark teams up

with lawyer Natalie Wortley to lead a session in which participants will write their own courtroom scene. Tony Williams, author of Nutcase, teams up with Professor Peter Francis, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Northumbria University and a leading criminologist, to deliver a session on writing the victim. Crime Story is a biennial festival, presented in partnership by New Writing North and Northumbria University. The festival first took place in 2014, headlined by Ann Cleeves (Vera series, Shetland series). In 2016 the headliner was Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train. Claire Malcolm, Chief Executive of New Writing North said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to bring Crime Story back for its third outing. The festival makes a very unusual offer for crime writers and readers and we always receive lots of lovely feedback from our audience, who find the day both fascinating and inspiring. Whether you are a writer who is trying to finesse their story or – like I am – a huge fan of crime fiction, you will find so much interesting detail in the day. Crime Story is made possible because of our creative and collaborative partnership with Northumbria University, which is just as innovative in its own way. Julian Wright, Head of Humanities at Northumbria University, said: ‘Crime Story at Northumbria University is a unique event. It celebrates the connection between researchers in criminology and creative writers and novelists. It’s an amazing opportunity to engage with crime fiction and understand more about how crime writers make their work resonate with real-world experience.” Katy Shaw, Professor of Contemporary Writings at Northumbria, is Chairing the event. She added: “I’m delighted to be hosting Crime Story 2018. The issues we’ll be discussing couldn’t be more relevant or more pressing. This unique event unites leading experts from the fields of forensics, psychology, literature and policing to offer new and vital perspectives on why and how twenty-first century British society writes the crimes of our times.” The full programme and tickets are now available at www.crimestory.co.uk Ends

For all media enquiries, images and interview requests please contact Laura Fraine, Marketing and Communications Manager at New Writing North at laurafraine@newwritingnorth.com or 07411 164837 FULL FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Programme Saturday 19 May 2018, 10.30am-6pm

10am arrival and registration 10.30am Introductions from New Writing North and Northumbria University 10.40am The Crime Denise Mina, award-winning author of The Long Drop, Gods and Beasts and The End of Wasp Season, introduces her fictional crime scenario which features trafficking and the drugs trade written exclusively for Crime Story 2018. Throughout the day, guests and speakers will work together to interrogate the crime. Chaired by Professor Katy Shaw. 11.00am The Police Investigation The police investigation is at the heart of much crime fiction. Our expert panel features DCI Lisa Theaker, a senior investigating officer specialising in homicide, kidnap and extortion, Detective Superintendent Steve Barron, who led Operation Sanctuary, a large-scale investigation into sexual exploitation in North East England, and criminologist Professor Mike Rowe. Together, they will divulge how the police work on an investigation, from the crucial first steps on arrival at a crime scene to long-running processes to identify and catch criminals.

12pm tea and coffee break 12.15 Break-out sessions: Choose One

1. Creative Writing Workshop: The Victim Professor Peter Francis, Criminology, whose extensive experience includes acting as a Senior Advisor to the Home Office, joins writer Tony Williams, author of Nutcase. Who are the victims in your story? Be prepared to change your ideas about who they are and how they behave. 2. Meet the Agent Isobel Dixon is Head of Books and a Director of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, where she represents writers from around the world, among them Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers and international prize winners, including Peter James and Graeme Mcrae Burnett. In this session she will share how best to contact and work with a literary agent, as well as answering individual questions. 3. How to Launder £100k If your criminal is involved in organised crime, they will almost certainly need to find a way to launder their money. In this interactive session, barrister Christopher Mitford will work with Noel Bartolo, head of anti-money laundering investigations for an international bank in Malta, solicitor Sue Turner, who researches anti-money laundering and lecturer Dr Peter Sproat, who teaches in the area of financial crime. Together they will describe the murky world of money laundering before participants have the chance to devise their own plan to help a fictional character Darren Duke launder £100k. 4. Forensic Investigation: Inside the Forensics Lab Evidence is everywhere. Join Dr Michelle Carlin, a lecturer in forensic chemistry who researches the role of toxicology in death investigation, and Dr Kelly Sheridan, a forensic scientist specialising in textile fibres who has worked on high profile cases including the murders of Joanna Yeates and Stephen Lawrence. Together they draw on real cases to explore the way that the smallest unexpected details from a crime scene can provide overwhelming evidence.

5. Creative writing workshop: The Courtroom with David Mark and Natalie Wortley Crime writer David Mark has spent more than fifteen years as a journalist, including seven years as a crime reporter with the Yorkshire Post - walking the Hull streets that would later become the setting for the DS Aector McAvoy novels. His writing is heavily influenced by the court cases he covered and in this creative writing session, he will be joined by legal expert Natalie Wortley. Together they will explore how you can convincingly write a court scene. David's most recent book is The Zealot's Bones.

2pm All that Remains: A Life in Death with Professor Dame Sue Black Professor Dame Sue Black is one of the world’s leading forensic anthropologists, Director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, and of the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee. Her forensic expertise has been crucial to many high-profile criminal cases, and in 1999 she headed the British forensic team’s exhumation of mass graves in Kosovo. In this event, she talks about her new book, All That Remains, and the one thing in life we will all experience – death. Afterwards she will be signing copies of All that Remains. 3pm Comfort break 3.15 The Criminal Justice System and Vulnerable Victims/ Witnesses The courtroom is full of stories and experiences, from the perpetrator (who can also a victim) to the vulnerable witness. HH Judge Gittins will be joined by Barrister Anne Richardson who has a wealth of experience dealing with sexual offences of all categories and a particular expertise conducting cases of historic abuse allegations and those involving young and vulnerable defendants, and Laura Seebhom from Changing Lives, whose experience includes working with victims of domestic abuse, women in the criminal justice system, and services for women and men with experience of sexual exploitation and sex work. 4pm tea and coffee break, book signing 4.15pm Break Out Sessions – choose one

1. Inside the Courtroom Step inside Northumbria University’s own historic courtroom, where Christopher Mitford, Noel Bartolo, Sue Turner and Peter Sproat will present the court case of a fictional character Darren Duke, who has been arrested, charged and is due to be prosecuted. Before a jury Christopher will cross-examine Darren Duke on the evidence that has been collected against him, including number plate recognition, mobile telephone triangulation evidence and financial transactions. If convicted Mr Duke will then be sentenced by His Honour Judge Gittins. 2. Meet the Agent Isobel Dixon is Head of Books and a Director of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, where she represents writers from around the world, among them Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers and international prize winners, including Peter James and Graeme Mcrae Burnett. In this session she will share how best to contact and work with a literary agent, as well as answering individual questions. This is a repeat of the 12.15pm session 3. Creative Writing workshop: Michael Green with Adam Jackson Award-winning writer and professor of Creative Writing, Michael Green, teams up with Adam Jackson, Deputy Director of the Northumbria Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice Studies. 4. Ask the Police Join DCI Lisa Theaker and colleagues from Northumbria Police to ask all the questions you’ve always wondered about, from police procedure to experiences from the front line of policing. 5. Creative Writing workshop: The Evidence with Tracey Iceton with Kelly Sheridan Tracey Iceton is the North East author of novels Green Dawn at St Enda’s and Herself Alone in Orange Rain and a creative writing teacher, she will be joined by forensic scientist Dr Kelly Sheridan to deliver a creative writing workshop on a forensics case.

5.15pm Conclusion of the crime

In our closing event, Denise Mina reveals the conclusion of her crime story, discussing the events that lead to this point. Denise will also discuss her incredible writing career and answer questions from the audience. Afterwards she will be signing copies of her latest book, The Long Drop. 6pm Ends FURTHER NOTES Crime Story is a partnership between New Writing North and Northumbria University. New Writing North is the development agency for creative reading and writing for the north of England, and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. New Writing North works with writers to develop career opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live events. Northumbria University, Newcastle is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence. One of the largest institutions in the UK with almost 34,000 students from more than 132 countries and over 186,000 alumni worldwide, Northumbria was shortlisted for University of the Year in 2017 and was also named 48th in the UK in 2017/18 by the Guardian – its highest league table position. Northumbria has invested more than £250 million in its estate since 2005 to improve the student experience. Northumbria is ranked top 50 in the UK for research power and had the 4th largest increase in quality research funding (REF 2014). According to Times Higher Education, Northumbria had the biggest rise in research power of any university in the UK. Northumbria’s cultural partners include New Writing North, Live Theatre, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Tyneside Cinema and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.