CSI Portsmouth where crime fiction meets crime fact is to be sponsored by Pan Macmillan's Bello imprint

[Pauline Rowson]

I'm delighted that Publisher, Bello, Pan Macmillan’s digital imprint is to sponsor CSI Portsmouth 2014

CSI Portsmouth brings together bestselling crime authors, police, crime and forensic experts to debate crime fiction versus crime fact in two panels during this one day annual event.

CSI Portsmouth 2014 is taking place on Saturday 8 November 2014 at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Tickets go on sale on 29 September and cost £12.00 for the day. A real bargain. If this year is anything like last year's event then tickets will sell out fast. The panel guests, which include top crime authors, forensic experts and detectives from Hampshire Police will be announced in July.

An imprint of Pan Macmillan,Bello brings lost classics back to life. Over 50% of Bello’s published titles are in the crime genre, ranging from Golden Age mysteries and short stories, to thrillers, cozy crime and detective fiction. Bello’s extensive list covers the history of the genre, including two founding members of the Crime Writers’ Association, Andrew Garve and Josephine Bell, the early novels of popular children’s author Nina Bawden, the creator of the ‘inverted mystery’ Roy Vickers, and the bestselling Ann Cleeves, creator of the Vera and Shetland series.

CSI Portsmouth was first launched in 2010 and is organised by me and Portsmouth City Council Library Service. It is part of Portsmouth BookFest and is now one of the major fixtures in the UK crime fiction festival calendar.

Along with the panel guests there will be a mock up crime scene provided by forensic students from South Downs College; the fingerprint bureau from Hampshire Police and a forensic entomology display provided by the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies, Portsmouth University. The bookshop will be provided by the Hayling Island Bookshop.

CSI Portsmouth is a hugely popular event which regularly attracts an audience of over a hundred and thirty. It provides a fascinating insight into crime, both fiction and fact, and gives the audience the chance to ask questions of the panel and talk to the individual crime authors, police and experts.’

Bello books can be purchased from http://www.panmacmillan.com/bello.

Crime authors who have appeared at CSI Portsmouth include: Mark Billingham, Simon Brett, Stephen Booth, S J Bolton, Ann Cleeves, NJ Cooper, Graham Hurley, John Harvey, Matt Hilton, June Hampson, Kerry Wilkinson, Michael Ridpath, Peter Lovesey, and Pauline Rowson.

Crime experts have included members from Hampshire police major crime team, fire investigation officers, scene of crime officers, hi-tech unit, drug squad, fingerprint bureau, as well as experts on forensic toxicology, and from the Universities of Portsmouth and Surrey on fraud, stalking, forensic psychology.