Crime Without Borders

New format: Entry and dinner are now a combined charge: $60 non-members; $55 concession; $52 Sisters in Crime and Writers Victoria members, $40 under-19. Please book by 12pm Thursday 6 February. Tickets not sold prior to the event will be available at the door for $62/$58/$55/$50.

New format: Dinner upstairs from 6.30-7.30 pm. Menu includes choice of:

• Chicken schnitzel with salad, chips, and lemon
• Grilled market fish and chips, mixed leaf salad
• King Island Porterhouse steak with chips, salad, and mushroom jus
• Ricotta sage gnudi (light Italian dumplings) with roasted cauliflower, king brown mushroom, garlic spinach, Grana Padano (Vegetarian)
• Thai golden tofu and vegetable curry with coconut rice with nuts (Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free).

Order on the night. Drinks at bar prices. Note: the dish is the dish. No customisation is possible!

Three Victorian authors – Ellie Marney, Louise Bassett, and A M Stuart – explore with Janice Simpson – the joys and pitfalls with setting crime novels in more than one country.

What are the challenges in getting the cultural differences right, in crafting the language, and, in making it accessible to a diverse readership. And then there are all the issues in involved in publishing, distribution, promotion, and appearances . . .  How far should authors go in tailoring stories to satisfy US audiences? Are overseas publishing contracts essential for successful literary careers?

Ellie Marney is a New York Times bestselling author of crime thrillers. Her titles include None Shall Sleep, The Killing Code, the Every series (starting with Every Breath), and White Night – her next book is the highly-anticipated Some Shall Break. She has won both Scarlet Stiletto and Davitt Awards. She has won both Scarlet Stiletto and Davitt Awards. Ellie has spent a lifetime researching in mortuaries, interviewing law enforcement officers, and asking former spies how to make explosives from household items, and now she lives quite sedately near Castlemaine with her family.

After qualifying as a lawyer, Louise Bassett became an aid worker in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, and Vietnam. During a long-term posting in Indonesia, she worked with activists on issues such as violence against women and human rights. These experiences later inspired her 2022 debut novel The Hidden Girl (Walker Books), which is set in Indonesia and Melbourne. It was shortlisted for the Ampersand Prize and selected as one of Readings’ best Young Adult books of 2022. Her award-winning short fiction has been published internationally and won prizes in Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards.

Louise now combines her writing for young adult and adults with work in community justice in Melbourne. Her day job allows her to focus on issues that she cares deeply about such as family violence, youth justice, and access to justice. This work gives her a deep understanding of the impact of crime and vulnerability; issues she explores in her writing.

A M Stuart is the creator of the popular Harriet Gordon Mystery series, set in early twentieth-century Singapore, a place where a person can disappear. Desperate for a fresh start, suffragette Harriet Gordon finds herself living with her brother, a reverend, and headmaster of a school for boys, in Singapore at the height of colonial rule. Hoping to gain some financial independence, she advertises her services as a personal secretary and soon finds herself embroiled in a series of murder mysteries that stretch over Singapore Sapphire, Revenge in Rubies, Evil in Emerald, the prequel The Umbrella, and soon, Terror in Topaz.

Over her life, Alison has travelled extensively and lived in Africa and Singapore, experiences which she brings to her writing. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a lawyer across a variety of disciplines including the military and emergency services. She has also published historical romances and short stories set in England and Australia and spanning different periods of history.

Compere Janice Simpson’s debut crime novel, Murder in Mt Martha, came out in 2016.

Since then, she has published A Body of Work and has finished her PhD in creative practice.

Sun Bookshop stall: members receive a 10% discount

Additional information: Carmel Shute 0412 569 356 admin@sistersincrime.org.au; www.sistersincrime.org.au

Tickets: Entry and dinner combined charge: $60 non-members; $55 concession; $52 Sisters in Crime and Writers Victoria members, $40 under 19. Please book by 12pm Thursday 6 February. Tickets not sold prior to the event will be available at the door for $62/$58/$55/$50. Dinner upstairs from 6.30-7.30 pm. Menu includes choice of chicken schnitzel with salad, chips, and lemon; grilled market fish & chips, mixed leaf salad; King Island Porterhouse steak with chips, salad, and mushroom Jus; ricotta sage gnudi (light Italian dumplings) with roasted cauliflower, king brown mushroom, garlic spinach, Grana Padano (Vegetarian); and Thai golden tofu and vegetable curry with coconut rice with nuts (Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free).

Men or ‘brothers-in-law’ welcome.