Press release
Crime Story: from forensics to fiction
A unique series of events offers readers and writers of crime fiction expert insight
into the mysterious world of crime. From facial mapping to sexsomnia, Crime
Story will provide the facts to inform your fiction.
Launched as a two-day festival in 2014, Crime Story is back this spring as a
series of open seminars at Northumbria University, Newcastle. Over seven
sessions, experts in law, forensics and criminology will debunk some of the
myths about criminal behaviour, explain how the prison system really works, and
bring crime fans up to date with the latest technology in catching perpetrators.
If most of your ideas about criminal activity come from reading novels or
watching CSI, prepare to have your head turned in sessions that range from
explaining why fabric can be more important than DNA in forensic investigations,
to why identifying the victim can be harder than spotting the criminal.
Writers who are wondering how to make their plots true to life and readers who
have ever shaken their heads in disbelief at a particularly contrived storyline are
sure to find plenty of inspiration in listening to the experts.
Devised in partnership by New Writing North and Northumbria University, Crime
Story brings together people from two different worlds – often with surprising
results.
“One of the biggest revelations last year was how the sessions seemed to
change the direction writers were heading with their novel, or provide inspiration
for plot lines and stories they had never considered,” says Anna Disley,
programme director of New Writing North. “I have never seen so many writers
scribbling down notes.”
“When we created Crime Story, we were really piloting a new idea of bringing
experts in the field to inform the work of crime writers. We were thrilled with the
success of last year’s event and are really pleased to be working with
Northumbria University to build on this unique concept, which writers and readers
seem to love.”
Professor Peter Francis, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching),
Northumbria University, will be leading one of the sessions. “Northumbria has
one of the largest criminology programmes in the country, as well as a wealth
of interdisciplinary expertise in teaching and researching crime spanning
criminology, criminal law, forensic science and creative writing,” says Peter. “By
working in collaboration with New Writing North we are able to share this
expertise directly with the crime fiction community, creating opportunities for
writers and fans to delve into the theory, practice and facts behind the drama and
fiction.”
“For myself and my colleagues at Northumbria, it’s also incredibly exciting to
know that we may be helping to shape the work of the next Ann Cleeves or Val
McDermid, as the North continues to produce some of the most successful
contemporary crime fiction.”
Sessions run on Wednesdays at 5-7pm from 11 March 2015. You can book one
session or the whole series. Tickets and more information are available through
the website www.crimestory.co.uk
To find out more about Criminology, Law, Forensic Science and Creative Writing
at Northumbria, visit www.northumbria.ac.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
NOTES TO EDITOR
PROGRAMME DETAILS
Wednesday 11 March: The culture of police investigation
with Prof. Mike Rowe, professor of criminology
How do the realities of police investigations contrast with our fictional versions?
The heroes in our crime dramas continue to be informed by those intuitive genius
detectives created by Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle et al. But does life
imitate art in real police work, enticing those into the police force who imagine a
life of hard-hitting crime fighting in the dark corners of society? The tensions
between reality and fiction and the consequences these have for both citizens
and police officers are brought under the microscope in this session.
Wednesday 25 March: How textile fibres help solve forensic investigations
with Dr. Kelly Sheridan, senior lecturer in forensic science
DNA evidence might often provide the ‘who’ in forensic investigations but it can’t
answer the often crucial questions of ‘when’ or ‘how’. Increasingly, trace
evidence – and in particular textile fibre evidence – is called upon to provide
these answers. Textile fibres are readily transferred between people or between
a person and an object, and the number and location of fibres can provide a
timeframe for when contact took place. As such, textile fibre evidence is
commonly encountered in crimes ranging from homicide to road traffic collisions.
This seminar will look at the reliability of such evidence and how it can be
maximised in forensic investigations.
Wednesday 22 April: Expert evidence and miscarriages of justice
with Adam Jackson, senior lecturer in Law
Expert evidence has now become commonplace in court proceedings in a wide
range of sometimes controversial areas. From facial mapping to sexsomnia, from
fingerprints to post mortem examinations, this seminar will consider the way in
which expert evidence is constructed for and presented to a criminal court, and in
particular to a jury. The seminar will be interactive and will invite participants to
play the role of jurors, exploring how jury members are directed to consider the
weight and veracity of different types of expert evidence. A Q&A opportunity will
also be provided.
Wednesday 29 April: Crime with a Northern Edge
with Jacky Collins, senior lecturer in Hispanic studies
The North East has produced a number of significant crime writers in recent
times, notably Ann Cleeves and Mari Hannah. The success of their Vera and
Kate Daniels series suggests that Crime with a Northern Edge has a certain draw
for contemporary crime readers. This seminar, in conversation with local author
Valerie Laws and publisher Sheila Wakefield, will look at what it's like to be
producing crime fiction in this region, what support is available for those wanting
to develop their own writing and what it might be that sets crime stories from the
North East apart from those coming from other UK regions.
Wednesday 6 May: A Thrilling Ride: From the Detective Story to Crime
Fiction
with Prof. Michael Green, professor in English and creative writing
How has the detective story changed over time? Tracing the figure of the
detective in fiction from the innately conservative ‘Golden Age’ of Sherlock
Holmes and Agatha Christie to a contemporary, more ambiguous form, this
seminar will explore how crime writing – and our reading of it – has changed over
time. What are the key features of the crime story, and how have these been
developed and challenged by some of the more innovative writers in the field?
Discussion will include suggestions from participants for possible new ideas for
the crime thriller.
Wednesday 13 May: Debunking the myths: why prisoners offend and how
prisons respond
with Louise Ridley and Dr Wendy Dyer, senior lecturers in criminology
There are many myths about why people offend and just as many around how
the justice system, and in particular the prison, responds to offenders. Using
case examples, this session will explore the myriad of problems that can
contribute to a persons’ offending behavior, paying particular attention to the area
of mental health and examining how the prison system tries to manage and treat
those offenders who present with often undiagnosed conditions
Wednesday 27 May: Crime Stories, Victim Narratives and Victimology
with Professor Peter Francis, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching)
Who is the victim? This seminar will look at what is known about victimisation,
and of victim narratives, and how this contrasts with our fictionalised images of
the victims of crime.
Victimology developed out of early academic research into the role individual
victims play in their own victimization, often citing one or more of victim
‘precipitation’, ‘lifestyle’ and ‘culpability’ as the causative elements. Such thinking
can still be found in the framing of victim narratives today, both in fact and fiction.
But more recently many victimologists have refocused the question ‘who is the
victim?’ which has allowed for a more holistic understanding of what victim
narratives involve. The impact has been considerable in making visible hitherto
hidden forms of victimisation.
These changes in thinking provide a starting point to contrast the fictional trope of
the victim with what we know about victimization, victims, and their agency.
FURTHER NOTES
Crime Story is a partnership between Northumbria University and New Writing
North, which launched in 2014.
New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north of England,
and opened in 1996. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne and originally working
across the North East only, in 2012 New Writing North joined Arts Council
England’s National Portfolio Organisations and now works on selected projects
across the Greater North. New Writing North works with writers to develop career
opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live
events.
Northumbria University, Newcastle was awarded the Times Higher Education
Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts in 2012, as well as The Journal’s
Culture Award for Best Arts and Business Partnership in 2013. Complementing
its work with New Writing North and Channel 4, Northumbria University
collaborates with a range of high profile cultural partners, including BALTIC
Centre for Contemporary Art, Live Theatre, Great North Run Culture and Tyne &
Wear Archives and Museums, providing students with industry exposure and live
project opportunities.