Crime at The Crescent

Can crime writing reflect society, and explore issues of political, economic and moral weight? Our panelists will be asked to identify and discuss how crime writing reflects society, and to examine how writing about traumatic events can be used to reflect and heal.

Brian McGilloway is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Inspector Benedict Devlin and DS Lucy Black series. Brian's fifth novel, Little Girl Lost, featuring DS Lucy Black, won the University of Ulster's McCrea Literary Award in 2011 and was a New York Times Bestseller in the US and a No.1 Bestseller in the UK. His new novel, Bad Blood, the fourth in the Lucy Black series, was published in May 2017.

Anthony J Quinn is the author of seven novels, including Disappeared (Mysterious Press, 2012, and Head of Zeus, 2014), Border Angels and Undertow (Head of Zeus November 2017). His debut novel Disappeared was a Daily Mail Crime Novel of the Year, and was shortlisted for a Strand Literary Award in the Us. It was also picked by Kirkus Reviews as one of the top ten thrillers of the year.

Claire Allan is a former journalist and Irish Times bestselling author from Derry. She has previously written eight women's fiction titles, published by Poolbeg Press. In 2016, she decided to make the leap to writing full time, and also to unleashing her dark side. Her Name Was Rose is her debut psychological thriller and it will be published by Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, on June 28. It will also be published in Canada and the US. Claire spent 17 years as a reporter for the Derry Journal. 

Sharon Dempsey’s crime debut Little Bird was released July 2017 with Bloodhound Books. She has published four health books. Sharon is working on the follow up to Little Bird, and a collection of dark short stories. Her contemporary women’s fiction novel, A Posy of Promises, will be published in June.

Andrea Carter has written a series of crime novels set in Inishowen. Death at Whitewater Church was published in 2015, Treacherous Stand in 2016 and The Well of Ice in October last year.

This event is sponsored by Johns Elliot Solicitors.