New Welsh Women's Crime Anthology - Call for Submissions

 

A New Chapter in Welsh Women’s Crime Writing: 

Call for Submissions of Original Short Fiction 

by Katherine Stansfield

An exciting development is afoot at Welsh publisher Honno, the longest-standing independent women’s press in the UK, and I’m delighted to be able to share the news in this blogpost.

In spring 2022, Honno will publish an anthology of crime fiction, showcasing the talents of new and established women crime writers in Wales today. I’m thrilled to be co-editing the anthology with Honno editor Caroline Oakley. The book will be launched at a special event at the Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival in Aberystwyth in 2022.

‘Honno is delighted to be joining Katherine Stansfield in curating a volume of the best of Welsh women’s crime writing to tie in with Crime Cymru’s splendid new festival. I’m personally looking forward to reading some great new voices and gripping stories from a few familiar names.’ Caroline Oakley

Whether you’re a published author or a debutante, we want to hear from you. As editors, Caroline and I are looking for gripping stories that are complex and convincing, chilling or comforting and with a crime or a mystery at their heart, from the most diverse possible selection of Welsh women writers. The new anthology will offer a follow-up to Honno’s brilliant 2009 crime fiction anthology Written in Blood. With the boom crime writing is enjoying in the UK, and the hard work of Crime Cymru to raise the profile of crime writing in Wales, the time is right for a new volume of crime fiction from the country’s women writers.

Submissions are open to stories featuring ‘traditional’ crime fiction elements of detectives and police as well as amateur sleuths. Contemporary crime fiction takes many forms. Tales of mystery and unease, the macabre and the strange all contribute to the crime canon so if your story is bordering on horror – a close relative of crime fiction – the editors would be keen to read it. We welcome stories set in rural or urban settings, historical periods or contemporary landscapes.

Wales is home to a growing number of crime writers (as the Crime Cymru membership attests) and the country is increasingly popular as a setting for crime drama. This new anthology from Honno is an opportunity to celebrate the crime writing talents of Wales’ women writers, but submissions don’t have to be set in Wales or concerned with particularly ‘Welsh’ themes.

Thinking of submitting? Here’s what you need to know:

Submissions should be between 1500 and 5000 words in length and previously unpublished.

The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2021 and the contents will be announced at the end of August. The resulting anthology will be published in spring 2022. All the selected contributors will receive a fee for the publishing rights to their work.

Send your submission to editor@honno.co.uk with the subject line Honno/Crime Anthology 2022 by midnight on: 30 June 2021.

If you’re not sure whether you meet Honno’s criteria for publication drop us a line and we’ll let you know.

You can find out more about Honno here.

Crime Cymru Digital Festival Programme

 

EVENT 1. MONDAY 26TH APRIL AT 6PM.

Our launch event. Crime Cymru associate member, Amy Williams interviews CWA Diamond Dagger winner, Martin Edwards, award-winning Swansea author, Cathy Ace and up-and-coming Crime Cymru talent, Gail William

EVENT 2. MONDAY 26TH APRIL AT 8PM.

The Pembrokeshire Murders

Join Andrea Byrne from ITV for the inside track on the story behind the arrest of Wales’ most famous serial killers.  In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, decided to reopen two cold murder cases, employing pioneering forensic methods. The team he put together found microscopic DNA and fibres that potentially linked the murders to a string of burglaries and a suspect.

EVENT 3. TUESDAY 27TH APRIL AT 6PM.

Join Carol Westron in conversation with the team from Diamond Books as we learn what it takes to make those brave steps from Crime Writer to e-publisher.

EVENT 4. TUESDAY 27TH APRIL AT 8PM.

Join Crime Cymru founder and Co-chair, Alis Hawkins, in conversation with Emma Kavanagh, Mari Hannah and Alison Layland.

EVENT 5. WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL AT 6PM.

Y Lolfa panel. Details to be confirmed.

EVENT 6. WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL AT 8PM.

RISING STARS.

Join Crime Cymru author Philip Gwynne-Jones as he chats with Louise Mumford and CWA Dagger winners Trevor Wood and Abir Mukherjee.

THURSDAY 29TH APRIL AT 7PM.

CRIME CYMRU EVENT 7. MYFANWY ALEXANDER IN CONVERSATION WITH GARETH W WILLIAMS AND GWEN PARROTT. THIS IS A WELSH LANGUAGE EVENT.

EVENT 9. FRIDAY 30TH APRIL AT 8PM.

KEEPING FAITH

With Series 3 of this immensely popular series now on TV, Crime Cymru festival organiser Nellie Williams is joined by writer Matthew Hall and actor Aneirin Hughes.

EVENT 10.SATURDAY 1ST MAY AT 1PM.

HISTORICAL CRIME FICTION

Crime Cymru Founder member Kath Stansfield is joined by two of the Historical Crime Fiction Genre’s greatest exponents, S G MacLean and Elly Griffiths.

EVENT 11. SATURDAY 1ST MAY 4PM.

WALES, INDIA, ENGLAND AND IRELAND. CRIME WRITING FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

Join Crime Cymru member Mark Ellis in conversation with Vaseem Khan, Sam Blake and R G Adams.

EVENT 12. SATURDAY 1ST MAY 7PM.

CRIME CYMRU CO-CHAIR, MATT JOHNSON, IN CONVERSATION WITH LEE AND ANDREW CHILD.

One of the highlights of this years digital festival. The Sentinel, the latest Jack Reacher thriller, and the first to be written by Lee and Andrew Child, is published in paperback by Penguin on 18th March this year. The Sentinel was the second bestselling crime/thriller title of 2020. It was No. 1 on the Sunday Times hardback bestseller for 2 weeks and  remained in the top 10 throughout 2020. Total world-wide sales of Lee Child’s book are in excess of 100 million copies.

The Jack Reacher books will soon be a major Amazon Prime TV series. Lee and Andrew join the festival from their homes in the United States. This may prove to be a fascinating opportunity to learn about the transition process that will soon see Andrew Child take on the Jack Reacher mantle.

EVENT 13. SUNDAY 2ND MAY 1PM.

LEGENDARY INTERVIEWER, DR JACKY COLLINS, PICKS THREE OF HER FAVOURITE MEN FOR A GRILLING.

Dr Noir is joined by Peter James (WH Smith reader choice as the best-ever crime writer of all time), Ragnar Jonasson (The Times pick as one the best ever crime writers) and Chris Lloyd (A rising star amongst talented Welsh crime writers)

EVENT 14. SUNDAY 2ND MAY 4PM.

LEGENDARY INTERVIEWER AND NEWCASTLE NOIR ORGANISER, DR JACKY COLLINS, IN CONVERSATION WITH TWO OF HER FAVOURITE FEMALE AUTHORS.

Join Jacky Collins as she chats to CWA Dagger shortlisted welsh author Alis Hawkins and international best-selling author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir from Iceland.

EVENT 15. SUNDAY 2ND MAY 7PM.

THE CREAM OF THE CROP.

Crime Cymru associate member, Amy Willams talks to Clare Mackintosh and B E (Bev) Jones, two authors from Wales who are are the very top of their game.

EVENT 16. MONDAY 3RD MAY 1PM.

‘HORRIBLE HISTORIES’ – GOTHIC CRIME FICTION.

Crime Cymru member, Thorne Moore, is joined by Sarah Ward and E S Thomson, two very popular crime fiction authors to discss – amongst other things – stretching the imagination within the crime genre.

‘EVENT 17. MONDAY 3RD MAY 4PM.

MEET THE ‘GUV’NORS’ OF CRIME CYMRU. THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND WALES’ FIRST INTERNATIONAL CRIME LITERATURE FESTIVAL.

Name a Welsh crime author. No, sorry, you’re not allowed ‘the person who wrote ‘Hinterland’. That’s a TV series. Come on, one Welsh crime author… No?

Welsh crime fiction is a vibrant and rapidly-growing genre but, unless you’ve got your ear to the corpse-strewn, crime-fiction world, you may not have heard much about it. 

What is Crime Cymru?

Crime Cymru, as an idea, came about because those of us who live and set our work in Wales are determined to challenge the notion that ‘nobody who wants to be read sets their books in Wales’. As Welsh writers, we believe that Wales is simply under sold: by publishers, by booksellers, even by authors and readers. And we’re determined to change that. Crime Cymru authors are proud to set our ambitious fiction in Wales. We don’t feel the need to move our characters to London, or to make up fictitious cities to police. We set our characters – contemporary and historical – in real contexts. Welsh contexts. We believe we have something unique to offer the world of crime fiction, that the social issues which crime fiction naturally explores have a different flavour in Wales because of our very particular history.

Taking things a step further to organise Wales’ first international crime festival? Now that takes courage.

Dr Noir talks to Alis Hawkins and Matt Johnson, as we discover what’s involved.

EVENT 18. MONDAY 3RD MAY 7PM.

AS THE SUN SETS ON ABERYSTWYTH, ALIS HAWKINS INVITES YOU TO SPEND THE FINAL HOUR OF OUR FESTIVAL IN THE COMPANY OF M W CRAVEN AND IMRAN MAHMOOD.

‘The Puppet Show’ author, M W (Mike) Craven needs no introduction. A former soldier and probation officer, he has taken the crime writing world by storm, rattled it around, told it a few good jokes and raised a high bar for others to follow. Imran Mahmood is a criminal barrister whose first novel ‘You Don’t Know Me ‘ also caused ripples in the crime writing world. It was original, new and exciting. Readers loved it. This promises to be an entertaining and informative end to Crime Cymru Digital Festival. Charge your glasses, relax and be prepared to be entertained by two of the most engaging crime writers in the UK.

More information can be fond here.

Crime Cymru - A New International Crime Fiction Festival for Wales!

 

Until now, there has been no established crime fiction festival in Wales. But, if you’re keyed in to crime fiction social media, you’ll know that that’s about to change. In spring 2022 – when, hopefully, we’ll all have learned how to live with the Coronavirus – Welsh crime writers’ collective, Crime Cymru (see Crime.Cymru for more info) are launching the country’s first international crime fiction festival Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival!

The inaugural three-day festival will take place on the early May bank holiday weekend in the lovely West Wales coastal resort and university town and of Aberystwyth.

But, in 2021, as a warm up to Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival, we’ll be holding a free, digital festival - Virtual CRIME CYMRU Digidol. Our live Zoom-based festival will introduce people from all over the UK/the world to the brilliant crime writing talent we have in Wales, as well as showcasing some of UK crime fiction’s household names. And, during our digi-fest, we’ll be doing our bit to support those who support us – booksellers. Each of Virtual CRIME CYMRU Digidol’s events will be partnered by a bookshop from which we’ll be encouraging audience members to order panel members’ books if they’ve been excited by what they’ve heard. 

The 2021 online festival will also see the launch of the Crime Cymru First Crime Novel Competition. The winner will be announced at a champagne reception as part of Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival ’22 the following year.

We’ve decided to break the mould and make  Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival a biennial event, with a digital festival in the interim years. Running a digital festival every other year means that readers who can’t travel to Aberystwyth will still be able to enjoy the fantastic line-ups of writers on offer, and it will also allow us to continue supporting bookshops with our partnership arrangements. 

As far as Crime Cymru is concerned Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival will be a not-for-profit festival but we want it to be of financial as well as cultural value to Aberystwyth – and Wales more widely. So we’re committed to a festival that’s:

Collaborative – we’re already collaborating with organisations and businesses in Aberystwyth and we’ve run a competition in local secondary schools to find our festival logo. 

Inclusive – we want Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival to have a welcoming, family feel and to encourage people who wouldn’t ordinarily see themselves as the sort of people who go to literary festivals to come along and see what we do. And, as Wales has two official languages – English and Welsh – we’ll be making sure that there are events in both languages. 

Sustainable – we want our festival to be as environmentally responsible as possible and to keep our carbon footprint to a minimum. This means we’ll be doing things like using QR-code downloads so we can reduce the number of printed programmes, and encouraging people to come to Aberystwyth by public transport.

Authentic - as Wales’s first national crime fiction festival we’re thrilled to have the chance to give festival-goers a real taste of Wales in Aberystwyth – a vibrant, multicultural town. 

So, what will Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival offer festival goers?

We’ll open our inaugural festival on Friday evening with a big community event – a dragon lantern parade starting in the town centre and finishing at Aberystwyth castle in its commanding position overlooking the town and the sea. Later that evening, we’re planning a quiz in the festival bar where festival-goers can compete against authors.

On Saturday night people will be able to experience a traditional Welsh Noson Lawen with entertainment from selected authors who’ll be displaying their lesser-known talents. The event will feature food from some of the fantastic local producers of everything from smoked fish to cheese, bread to beer and the evening will be festival-goers’ chance to chat to participating authors in an informal atmosphere. 

Sunday evening will see Crime Cymru and sponsors throwing a champagne reception to mark the award of the inaugural Crime Cymru First Crime Novel Prize. 

And, all weekend, festival-goers will have the chance to see household names from the worlds of TV crime drama and crime fiction talking about their work as we run panel events throughout Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning, as well as writing workshops and free, meet-the-author book signing events in Aberystwyth’s bookshops.

In line with Crime Cymru’s aims, aspiring authors will be catered for, too, with a pitch-the-agent session and a session from a publisher on what they’re looking for in new crime fiction.

To learn more about the festival – including headliners and special guests – follow us on Twitter @GwylCymru2022, Instagram at GwylCrimeCymruFestival and like our Facebook page ‘Gŵyl Crime Cymru Festival’. 

And keep an eye on our website – www.GŵylCrimeCymruFestival.co.uk – which is currently under construction, for more information and details of how to book tickets for Virtual CRIME CYMRU Digidol next year. 

We hope to see you in Aberystwyth in 2022!

Alis Hawkins

Co-chair, Crime Cymru