Crime Writers To Discuss Fiction Versus Reality At Beverley Literature Festival

Have you ever wondered how crime novels match up to the grim reality of criminal investigations? Crime writer and former journalist David Mark will be discussing just this and more with award-winning crime author Mari Hannah, Mo Dowdy, Detective Inspector in the Serious Incident Squad of Northumbria Police and Anya Lipska, a writer whose gritty novels centre the East End’s Polish community.

David spent more than 15 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 his Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy novels. He now lives in Lincolnshire. David’s novel, The Dark Winter, was selected for the Richard and Judy book club in 2013.

David said:

“My writing is heavily influenced by the court cases I covered: the defeatist and jaded police officers; the incompetent investigators; the inertia of the justice system and the sheer raw grief of those touched by savagery and tragedy.”

This is David’s first appearance at Beverley Literature Festival. He continued:

“It will be nice, and a little scary, to talk to people who know the area well and who can delight in pointing out the bits, I’ve got wrong and who want to kill me for being critical about one thing or another, or committing a fictional murder in their back garden and threatening the house prices.”

“The other panellists are all terrific, and I know it will be a fascinating event. In particular, Mo Dowdy is a formidable soul that will doubtless have plenty to say about novelists stretching the truth beyond the breaking point. She really knows the truth about policing, and even though she’s retired, I’m led to believe she still has a pair of handcuffs, so anything could happen .”

Mari is the author of the Kate Daniels series. In July 2010, she won the Northern Writers’ Time to Write Award for Settled Blood, while her debut – The Murder Wall – won the Polari First Book Prize. Returning to the festival this year, she commented, “Beverley is such a friendly festival. I jumped at the chance to go back a second time.”

Anya Lipska is a TV producer and author whose novels give insights into London’s Polish community. She has received rave reviews for her first two novels. Death Can’t Take A Joke and Where The Devil Can’t Go. Her writing has been described by one of the UK’s leading crime writers, Val McDermid, as “a gripping reminder of how crime fiction reveals the world around us.”

Tickets are available from www.bevlit.org, over the counter at Beverley Library, Champney Road, Beverley or by phoning the box office on 01482 392699