Crime writers band together with Forensic and Police in unique Crime & the City- CSI Portsmouth Event

[Pauline Rowson]

Myself and four of my fellow crime authors, Simon Brett, June Hampson, Graham Hurley, and Peter Lovesey will join experts from the Crime Scene Investigation team and Fingerprinting Bureau of Hampshire Constabulary and experts from the International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology to discuss crime fiction and fact in a unique event, Crime and the City, Portsmouth CSI on 6 November at the John Pounds Community Centre, Portsmouth as part of Portsmouth Bookfest.

Portsmouth Bookfest is a new Festival of popular literature organised by The Hayling Island Bookshop and Portsmouth City Council, which will run from October 26th to November 13th. Its aim is to promote reading for pleasure and enthusiasm for literature in the city of Portsmouth. There will be opportunities to hear and meet popular authors at events across the city and in schools with ticket offers to attract new members to city Libraries and stimulate book ownership.

On 6 November between 10 a.m. and 12 noon delegates can meet Simon Brett, June Hampson and Pauline Rowson, and between 1 p.m. and 3p.m Peter Lovesey and Graham Hurley who will again be joined by Pauline Rowson. All authors have a connection with the local area.

My marine mystery police procedural crime novels featuring Inspector Horton are set in the Portsmouth and Solent area as is Graham Hurley’s Joe Faraday series. June Hampson’s Daisy Lane novels are set in Gosport and Peter Lovesey, a prolific writer with a string of awards including the Cartier Diamond Dagger for his career in crime writing and whose novels have been dramatised on television lives in Chichester, and Simon Brett responsible for the Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter and Fethering series of crime novels, as well as radio and television series such as No Commitments and After Henry lives in Arundel.

On the expert side will be DS Martin Chudley, in charge of the Crime Scene Investigation team for Hampshire Constabulary and Jane Aston and her team from the Fingerprinting Bureau. With them will be Dr Claire Nee, Director of the International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology at Portsmouth University, an expert in forensic psychology and Paul Smith, an expert in Crime Scenes. To keep us all in check will be panel moderator Cheryl Buggy, professional broadcaster and Station Director at Express FM, as she stimulates a lively discussion and takes questions from the audience.

There will be a chance for delegates to see how the fingerprinting bureau works and have their fingerprints taken, as well as talk to the crime authors to find out how they come up with their intricate plots and research their novels.

A mobile bookshop, provided by the Hayling Island Bookshop will be selling signed copies of the authors’ books.

Tickets are on sale from the Box Office on 023 9268 8037, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm (library membership discount will not apply to telephone bookings) or in person at any Portsmouth library during normal library opening hours (show your Portsmouth library card to obtain a £1 discount off the price of the ticket or take the opportunity to join the Library Service) or from the Portsmouth Visitor Information Centre at the Hard, Monday to Sunday or the Hayling Island Bookshop, Monday to Saturday

Tickets can be purchased with cash, cheque, made payable to ‘Portsmouth City Council’, or by credit/debit card at ticket points and credit/debit card at the box office. Tickets can be collected from any ticket point or posted to an address (there will be a booking fee of 50p charged for tickets posted).

For full details and the programme visit http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/learning/18786.html

It promises to be an exciting event!