The twentieth to the twenty-third of May saw Bristol overrun once more by crime writers, fans, publishers, editors and agents. And what a fabulous weekend it was. Blessed by the weather, we all converged under glorious skies to enjoy a fantastic programme. Being my first time at Bristol, I was hugely relieved when I actually found the place – and even more so when I found my hotel (note to self: train next time!)
The programme was packed – a huge achievement to keep everybody busy like that. There were great panels, from ‘Personality
Crisis: Multiple Series and Collaborating Authors’ to ‘Transmission: Page to Screen – Authors with experience of both’ – and
everything in between. Every minute of the conference was filled with something exciting to do or someone exciting to listen to or speak with.
Spotlight sessions gave the speaker twenty minutes to talk on a particular subject and answer questions too. These were particularly effective, being tight, insightful opportunities to really get under the skin of a specific subject. It seems unfair to highlight one in particular but I will just say that Diane Janes did a sterling job in the face of huge competition from Gyles Brandreth with her talk on ‘Copycats – From Fact to Fiction and Back.’
Thursday night’s quiz was held at The Greenhouse. As could be expected it was lively and, at times, contentious – what was that about films going straight to DVD? I fear the wine had kicked in by then and I wasn’t quite going with the flow.
Even before the high jinks of the evening, though, we’d learnt that hyenas were as effective a way to get rid of a body as pigs. I have trouble finding even a pig in Southampton so a hyena is probably a step too far. But this panel (the aforementioned ‘Personality Crisis:’ was wide ranging in its themes.) We learned several ways of dealing with writer’s block which mainly seemed to be in the ‘Be Good to Yourself ‘ range – relaxation and visualisation; playing tennis; taking a bath or a shower.
Friday morning saw the ‘Something Better Change: Can Crime Fiction Ever Escape The Long Shadows of the Past?’ panel. Kate Ellis, Sheila Quigley, Chris Carter and Sarah Rayne with Andrew Taylor as moderator discussed whether or not it was necessary to try and leave the long shadows of the past behind. Kate and Sarah both said they were inevitably influenced by Agatha Christie, with Kate adding that a writer’s job was to keep things fresh. Sheila said she’d wanted to write horror – and Andrew suggested that in her case she’d already escaped the shadows because she’d never been there. Chris had never intended to be a writer. He’d woken up one day with a story in his head. He emailed the first three chapters out to people he didn’t know and asked for their honest opinion. For Sarah, writing was a natural progression from reading.
One of the most entertaining panels, however, was the ‘You Drive Me Ape: What Turns You Off.’ Here M.C. Beaton, N.J. Cooper, C.J. Carver and Suzette Hill, moderated by Laura Wilson, did a wonderful imitation of the ‘Grumpy Old…’ series (not that I’m saying, for a moment, that any of you are old. It was meant to be flattering!), touching on such subjects as which character they
hated, what they didn’t like in a crime novel (NJ: ‘I’m not dead keen on cannabalism.’) and which crime series they loathe and why.
There were interviews of Colin Dexter, Gyles Brandreth, Tonino Benacquista, Rennie Aird, M.C. Beaton and Lindsey Davis. All fantastic and well worth attending.
The Gala Dinner on the Saturday brought everybody together in one room. Despite the heat, we were admirably entertained by Gyles Brandreth, Colin Dexter and Tonino Benacquista. This, I can hear you saying, was the perfect culmination to a perfect weekend. Not quite!
Sunday we were treated to panels and interviews during the morning before the real culmination of the weekend – ‘Crossfire: Criminal Mastermind.’ Cara Black, Martin Edwards, Peter Guttridge and Ali Karim were the lambs to the slaughter and Maxim Jakubowski was the question master. Martin Edwards came out the winner – well done, sir, spectacular brain power! However, having won for the third time in a row, he now has to hand over the baton to someone else next year.
So, for one weekend the Marriott Hotel on College Green in Bristol became the home for many people with the same interest. The weather couldn’t have been better – and nor could the conference or the company. I raise my glass to the organisers Adrian Muller and Myles Allfrey and congratulate them on a spectacular show. And I raise my next glass to the continued success of Crimefest and to doing it all again next year.
I came away with the pleasure of having spent quality time with old friends and with the knowledge that I have made new friends. It was lovely to see you all and I hope you had as good a time as I did.
Kate Stacey author of The Canary Thief
