A Crime in the Neighbourhood

All fiction has the power to transport the reader to different places, but crime novels are particularly good at this kind of imaginative tourism, introducing readers to different countries and cultures. So how important is place when attempting to write crime fiction? Join crime novelists Oliver Harris and MD Villiers (City alumna) for a special one-hour crime writing workshop on place. This will be a fun, informative session aimed at anyone wanting to write, or already engaged in writing, a crime novel.

Oliver Harris

Oliver Harris was born in north London in 1978. He has a first-class degree in English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from UCL, and an MA in creative writing from UEA. His first novel, The Hollow Man, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2011. Its sequel, Deep Shelter, will be published in February 2014.

MD Villiers

MD Villiers was born in Johannesburg and studied psychology at the University of Pretoria. Her passion for the country she grew up in provides her with a backdrop for her fiction in which she explores life in a country always on the brink of change. She was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger for unpublished writers in 2007 and is now based in London, but often visits South Africa, where her family still lives. Her first novel, City of Blood, was published by Harvill Secker in May 2013.

Chair: Emily Pedder

Emily Pedder has worked as a writer, editor and creative writing lecturer for over a decade. She is a founding editor of Matter, an annual literary anthology, and co-founder of the Novel Studio. She works extensively with novelists both at City University and on the advanced fiction workshops she runs in London. As well as course directing the Novel Studio, Emily heads up the short writing courses at City.

MD Villiers photo credit: Sophie Gost. Emily Pedder’s photo credit: Sophie Gost.