CrimeFest: Not All Bad: Creating Multi-Dimensional Characters

  Saturday, 17 May 2025

11:20 - 12:10

The panel are Victoria Dowd, Mark Ellis,
Rachel North,  Nicola Williams, 
and the participating Moderator is Jane Corry.

Victoria Dowd is the bestselling author of the award-winning Smart woman’s mystery series. She was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger and has won The People’s Book Prize. She was also the recipient of the Gothic Fiction prize and the Grand Puzzly. Her new novel, Death in the Aviary is out in September. Victoria is a board member of the CWA and co-convenor of the London chapter. She was a criminal defence barrister for many years.

victoriadowd.com 

Mark Ellis is a former barrister and entrepreneur. He is the creator of DCI Frank Merlin, a Scotland Yard detective working in WW2 London. There are currently five published books in the series, shortly to be joined by a sixth, Death Of An Officer (published by Headline on May 29^th). Ellis is also a frequent contributor to history magazines and podcasts, mainly specialising in the subject of British WW2 crime.

markellisauthor.com

Rachel North has an MA in Creative Writing. Under the name Caroline Bond, she is the author of six novels, including two Radio 2 Book Club picks, The Second Child, and The Day We Left. As Rachel North, her two psychological thrillers are Happily Never After and How The Other Half Die. She lives in Leeds with her husband and one of her three children... the other two having grown up and escaped.

 

Nicola Williams started her career as a barrister in private practice, specialising in Criminal Law. She later worked as an Ombudsman both in the UK and abroad, dealing with police and military misconduct. She has been a part-time Crown Court Judge since 2010. She is the author of three legal thrillers. Without Prejudice, Until Proven Innocent (winner of the Diverse Book Awards Readers Choice Award 2024) and Killer Instinct (out July 2024). 

Jane Corry is a seven-time Sunday Times best-seller, a Washington Post best-seller and, this year, a best-seller in Canada. She is also a journalist and contributes regularly to The Daily Telegraph. Jane’s three years in a high-security male prison as a writer in residence, inspired her to write mysteries abut families and crime. Her tenth Penguin novel The Stranger In Room Six comes out in June. Jane swims every day in the sea. 

 janecorryauthor.com