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BAD is back, undaunted and badder than ever. At last we can enjoy four face-to-face days of BAD Crime Writers Festival events at the State Library of New South Wales from 2-5 December. We present our trademark blend of crime fiction, true crime and social justice panels and interviews. This year, we’re adding evening events on Thursday 2, Friday 3 and Saturday 4, as well as crime walks and our inaugural champagne and cozy crime afternoon tea.
Hear some of the biggest names in crime fiction, true crime and social justice advocacy like Jane Harper, Michael Robotham, Garry Disher, Chris Hammer, Meshel Laurie, Mark Dapin, Duncan McNab, Xanthé Mallett. Bryan Brown, Melissa Lucashenko, Robert Drewe, Richard Glover, Tony Birch, Larissa Behrendt and Stan Grant and many more will all be talking crime as well. Find out about the best new crime fiction and explore the big themes of the year.
Be there for the Danger Prize awards on Saturday night, and try out a wine which Stalin may have enjoyed.
To close the festival, have a laugh when dog lover Richard Glover adjudicates the not entirely serious Great Debate ‘To kill the dog or not…that is the question’ about the boundaries that crime writers dare not cross.
Browse the four days of the Festival below to find out about all our sessions and make your bookings. Anyone purchasing in-person tickets for four events in one day will receive a special gift book voucher to use at the State Library bookshop during the Festival.
We want to see you at the Library but if you can’t join us, all our sessions are streamed live so you can attend via Zoom.
There are still Covid-safe limitations on numbers of people attending indoor events in the Library. We hope these will be lifted but that may not happen so book now.
NOTE: The State Library of NSW and BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival will be strictly complying with the most up-to-date rules from the NSW Government in relation to contact tracing, vaccinations, masks and physical distancing at the time of the festival. Please check the State Library’s Special Conditions of Entry leading up to the festival to ensure you will be able to attend and comply with the rules. These are updated as Government requirements change.
| # | Session | Speaker(s) | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SYDNEY: THE PERFECT SETTING FOR CRIME FICTION?What makes Sydney such a good setting for stories of crime and corruption? Three writers talk about why Sydney and crime go together so well. | Richard Beasley QC, Chris Hammer Facilitator: Michael Duffy | 10.30 – 11.30 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom. |
| 2 | THE BRUTAL COST OF SEEKING JUSTICELouise Milligan and Kathryn Heyman discuss the experience of being a witness in the Australian legal system and in particular the treatment or mistreatment of witnesses in sexual assault cases and the resulting trauma with former barrister Nicole Abadee. Louise Milligan will be joining by Zoom. | Kathryn Heyman, Louise Milligan Facilitator: Nicole Abadee | 10.30 – 11.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 3 | THE HOUSEMATEIn this new standalone thriller from award-winner Sarah Bailey, investigative journalist Olive Grove risks everything when she revisits an old case which obsessed her. No spoilers we promise! | Sarah Bailey Facilitator: Sue Turnbull | 12.00 – 1.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 4 | AUSTRALIA AS A CRIME SCENEHas the whole of Australia become a crime scene since colonisation? Where do we start to look? Four First Nations speakers give us a new perspective. Melissa Lucashenko will be joining by Zoom. | Melissa Lucashenko, Kodie Bedford, Julie Janson Facilitator: Daniel Browning | 12.00 – 1.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 5 | The Way it is NowGarry Disher, the celebrated winner of the 2021 Ned Kelly Award has a new book with a new detective, Charlie Deravin. Charlie’s on disciplinary leave from the police sex crimes unit when the skeletal remains of two people are found and the past comes back with a vengeance. Celebrated novelist Tony Birch is a Disher fan and will be talking to Garry about his new book and much more. | Garry Disher Facilitator: Sue Turnbull | 2.00 – 3.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 6 | After StoryIndigenous lawyer Jasmine and her mother, Della are on a tour of England’s most revered literary sites. When a child vanishes on Hampstead Heath, the disappearance of Jasmine’s older sister twenty-five years earlier returns to haunt them both. Underlying their stories is the colonised history of Australia and its silent crimes. Lawyer, novelist and film maker Larissa Behrendt discusses this engrossing and moving book with Meg Keneally, who is herself a historical novelist. | Larissa Behrendt Facilitator: Meg Keneally | 2.00 – 3.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 7 | CRIME RATES ARE DOWN SO WHY ARE PRISONS FULL?In the last 20 years, rates of common forms of crime have fallen between 40 and 80 percent. Why? And in that case why are our prisons still full? Explore this with Don Weatherburn, author of The Vanishing Criminal and Nick Cowdery QC, former Director of Public Prosecutions in NSW. | Don Wetherburn Facilitator: Nicholas Cowdery QC | 3.30 – 4.30 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 8 | THE FRENCHMAN: SPIES AND TREACHERYFrom the personal experience of a former French intelligence operative comes this gripping, all-too-plausible spy story. Thankfully it’s fiction but the tradecraft of Jack Beaumont’s former life makes for a frightening read. He speaks to fellow thriller writer, journalist Tim Ayliffe. | Jack Beaumont Facilitator: Tim Ayliffe | 3.30 – 4.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 9 | Festival Opening Night: Jane Harper – A life in Crime with Caroline OveringtonHear internationally renowned crime writer and household name Jane Harper in conversation about her career in crime and the filming of The Dry from her best-selling novel with Caroline Overington, Literary editor of The Australian. Jane joins us via Zoom from her home in Melbourne. | Jane Harper Facilitator: Caroline Overington | 5.30 – 6.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium, State Library of NSW |
| 10 | Who killed Constable Joseph Luker – A walking tourConstable Joseph Luker was murdered in 1903, the first officer of the law to be killed in the line of duty in Australia. Rachel Franks retraces the last steps of Luker: the convict-turned-constable. See if you can work out whodunit in this crime case of colonial Sydney that is still listed as being unsolved. | Rachel Franks | 11.45 – 12.30 | The tour will begin in the Library's Macquarie Wing Foyer, near the bookshop |
| # | Session | Speaker(s) | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FRESH BLOOD 1Revisiting the past reveals dark secrets, and all is not what it seems in these first books by a trio of talented new crime writers. Karina Kilmore finds out more. | Michael Burge, Ruth McIver, Margaret Hickey Facilitator: Karina Kilmore | 10.30 – 11.30 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 2 | POINTING THE FINGER: FORENSIC SCIENCE AND FINGERPRINTSAustralian forensic scientists lead the world in innovative and influential techniques to detect crime and avoid miscarriages of justice. Be entertained and enlightened as two leading forensic scientists take us into the lab and out to the body farm in conversation with writer and academic Sunil Badami about the challenges of forensic science, its mysterious past and intriguing future, and how the influential Australian Method has revolutionised law enforcement and crime detection around the world. | Chris Lennard, Claude Roux Facilitator: Sunil Badami | 10.30 – 11.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 3 | THREE BRAVE WOMEN: THE DEATHS OF LYNNE WOODWARD, SALLIE-ANNE HUCKSTEPP AND JUANITA NIELSENThree women played an important role in exposing Sydney’s corruption in the 1970s and 1980s. Sallie-Anne Huckstepp and fellow sex-worker Lynne Woodward went public after being betrayed by their police protectors. Crusading journalist Juanita Nielsen campaigned against the destruction of Victoria St in Kings Cross. All three paid with their lives. Former detective Duncan McNab, Michael Duffy and John Dale have written about these courageous women. | John Dale, Duncan McNab Facilitator: Michael Duffy | 12.00 – 1.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 4 | CRIME FICTION AS THE LITERATURE OF RESISTANCEDoes crime fiction try to restore the status quo in society or does it aim to dig beneath the surface, denounce injustice and corruption and fight for the victims? Hear the perspective of crime writers in conversation with Kate Evans. This session will be recorded by ABC Radio National for The Bookshelf. | Robert Gott, Mark Brandi, Sulari Gentill Facilitator: Kate Evans | 12.00 – 1.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 5 | DARK FAMILY SECRETSSmiling families can hide dark secrets behind the closed doors of the family home. Kate Evans explores three recent books with family secrets at their core. This session will be recorded by ABC Radio National for The Bookshelf. | Nicola Moriarty, Lyn Yeowart, Loraine Peck Facilitator: Kate Evans | 2.00 – 3.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 6 | BLACK AND BLUETen years in the police left Gunai/Kurnai woman Veronica Gorrie strongly affected by the racism and traumatic events she experienced as an Aboriginal woman in the white and-male-dominated workplace of the police force. She talks with Daniel Browning about the impact of racism on her family and her life. Veronica Gorrie will be joining by Zoom. | Veronica Gorrie Facilitator: Daniel Browning | 3.30 – 4.30 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 7 | The past is never pastUnresolved violent events in the past have a way of coming back to haunt the present. Andy Muir interviews three writers whose protagonists’ lives are turned upside down when the past which they thought was buried rises up unexpectedly. | Sarah Barrie, Catherine Jinks, BM Carroll Facilitator: Andy Muir | 3.30 – 4.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 8 | Sydney Noir A walking tour of the CBD – 45 minutesTrue crime historian Michael Duffy takes you to the places where crime shaped the character of Sydney’s CBD. Starting with Parliament House and the Minister for Murder, we descend into the abyss, at a leisurely pace. | Michael Duffy | 2.00 – 3.00 | The tour will begin in the Library's Macquarie Wing Foyer, near the bookshop |
| 9 | Friday night on the town with Bryan Brown and Michael RobothamSpend Friday night in the company of Bryan Brown and find out why he moved from playing criminals to writing about them. The Gallery Room at the State Library is the place to be when he talks to Michael Robotham about Sweet Jimmy, his first book of crime stories. | Bryan Brown Facilitator: Michael Robotham | 5.30 – 8.00pm | The Gallery Room, State Library of NSW |
| # | Session | Speaker(s) | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THRILLS AND CHILLS: THE ART OF THE THRILLERFour thriller writers talk about their trade. How do they keep up pace, tension, suspense to leave readers on the edge of their seats, desperate to know what happens next. | James Phelps, LA Larkin, Jack Beaumont Facilitator: Tim Ayliffe | 10.30 – 11.30 | Dixson Room |
| 2 | ROBERT DREWE: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH A MURDERERHow does having a friend murdered and knowing the murderer affect you? One of Australia’s best-known novelists talks about serial killer Eric Cooke and his personal experiences with Cooke and his family in suburban Perth in the early 19060s. | Robert Drewe Facilitator: Nicole Abadee | 10.30 – 11.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 3 | The BogeymanQueensland, beautiful one day, deadly the next. Award-winning investigative journalist Matthew Condon has followed up his book about Vincent O’Dempsey, one of Australia’s worst serial killers with his podcast Ghost Gate Road and is still discovering more about the psychopath and his victims. | Matthew Condon Facilitator: Michael Duffy | 12.00 – 1.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 4 | VOICE OF A SURVIVORThe transition from bank robber and drug addict who spent 23 of his first 50 years in prisons, to a man who now spends his life helping others, is a rare and inspirational one, demonstrating that no matter how tough things become, how hopeless they may seem, as long as hope and a determination to change the situation exists, you can win against the odds. John Killick, author of The Voice of a Survivor – the Russell Manser Story and Russell Manser are in conversation with Mark Dapin about the million to one chance that came off. | Russell Manser, John Killick Facilitator: Mark Dapin | 12.00 – 1.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 5 | WHO ARE THE MISSING AMONG US?In Australia 38 000 people are reported missing each year, (one person every 90 seconds in the UK), but what does it mean to be missing? Who is most likely to go missing, who looks for them and what is the effect on those left behind? Michael Brissenden talks to writer Erin Stewart about her book The Missing among us, and to psychologist Tim Watson-Munro to explore this little-known subject. | Tim Watson-Munro, Erin Stewart Facilitator: Michael Brissenden | 2.00 – 3.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 6 | THE AGE OF EXTREMESTim Ayliffe’s gripping third thriller explores the world of white supremacist groups in Australia, spawned from far-right nationalism and populism. He talks to Stan Grant about how to write a novel exploring the fallout that followed ‘the end of history’, the rise of extremism and powershifts across the world. | Tim Ayliffe Facilitator: Stan Grant | 2.00 – 3.00 | The Metcalfe Auditorium |
| 7 | A story of survival: Daughter of the River CountryAuntie Dianne O’Brien has survived and finally flourished despite circumstances that would have destroy many. She tells her story of betrayal, violence, imprisonment and how she came through in an inspiring conversation with Daniel Browning who also heads ABC’s Indigenous Radio Unit and hosts The Art Show on Radio National. | Auntie Dianne O’Brien Facilitator: Daniel Browning | 3.30 – 4.30 | Dixson Room |
| 8 | WHEN YOU ARE MINEA young policewoman makes a dangerous enemy of a decorated detective involved in a domestic abuse incident. She strikes up a friendship with the woman in the case but all is not as it seems. Hot from winning the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the year, Michael Robotham talks to Matthew Condon about this book of psychological manipulation and police corruption. | Michael Robotham Facilitator: Matthew Condon | 3.30 – 4.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 9 | Champagne, cake and crimeFor a change of pace and and an afternoon of fun, join these four writers who don’t like their crime too serious as they chat over canapes and cake with a glass of fizz. Cozy crime or glamour crime, it’s all here. | Louisa Bennet, Katherine Kovacic, Pamela Hart Facilitator: Kellie McCourt | 3.30 – 4.30 | The Gallery Room |
| 10 | SYDNEY NOIR A WALKING TOUR OF THE CBD – 45 MINUTESTrue crime historian Michael Duffy takes you to the places where crime shaped the character of Sydney’s CBD. Starting with Parliament House and the Minister for Murder, we descend into the abyss, at a leisurely pace. | Michael Duffy | 3.30 – 4.30 | The tour will begin in the Library's Macquarie Wing Foyer, near the bookshop |
| 11 | Who killed Constable Joseph Luker. A walking tour of 60 minutesLearn the story of Constable Joseph Luker, the first officer of the law to be killed in the line of duty in Australia. Brutally murdered in 1803, follow Rachel Franks as she retraces the last steps of Luker: the convict-turned-constable. See if you can work out whodunit in this crime case of colonial Sydney that is still listed as being unsolved. | Rachel Franks | 11.45 – 12.30 | The tour will begin in the Library's Macquarie Wing Foyer, near the bookshop |
| 12 | A DANGERous EveningToast the winner of the 2021 Danger Prize for Sydney crime writing with wine and cheese, then move into dangerous territory with John Baker and his perilous adventures chasing down Stalin’s Wine Cellar in Georgia. Desert will be a taste of Chateau Sudiraut, possibly enjoyed by Stalin and the Russian Tsars before us. | John Baker, Tanya Bretherton Facilitator: Sue Turnbull | 6.00 – 8.00 | Gallery Room |
| # | Session | Speaker(s) | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILDHow do children explain the inexplicable, understand the incomprehensible? Mark Brandi and Lyn Yeowart talk about their two very different books, in which frightened children living in rural families ruled over by terrifying fathers tell their stories. | Lyn Yeowart, Mark Brandi Facilitator: Suzanne Leal | 10.30 – 11.30 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 2 | Flash Jim: the extraordinary story of the convict turned lexicographerTo understand the language of convicts (words we understand today like to snitch, wear togs or tell a yarn) colonial police and magistrate needed interpreters. Enter James Hardy Vaux, a convict himself (transported to Australia not once but three times) to write a dictionary of criminal slang. The man and his story are extraordinary! | Kel Richards Facilitator: Rachel Franks | 10.30 – 11.30 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 3 | FRESH BLOOD 2Move from far-North Queensland to rural Victoria via Western Sydney with three new writers and their very different but equally compelling female protagonists in conversation with novelist and script writer Andy Muir. | Sarah Thornton, Peter Papathanasiou, Lyn Yeowart, Loraine Peck Facilitator: Andy Muir | 12.00 – 1.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 4 | PRISON ESCAPESSometimes truth is more compelling than fiction. Mark Dapin’s Prison Break tells the real story behind Australia’s most audacious prison escapes. He discusses these stories with Sunil Badami. | Mark Dapin Facilitator: Sunil Badami | 12.00 – 1.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 5 | What lies below the surfacePersonal relationships gone wrong, greed, fear and supressed secrets lie at the heart of many crime mysteries wherever they take place. Suzanne Leal digs deep into three new books in very different settings. | Barry Maitland, Wendy James, Anna Downes Facilitator: Suzanne Leal | 2.00 – 3.00 | Dixson Room and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 6 | THEY TURNED TO CRIMEThree experienced writers of historical fiction, children’s books, sport and true crime talk to podcaster Dani Vee about why they turned to crime fiction. Find out what lured them to the dark side. | Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Kelli Hawkins, Pamela Hart, Peter Papathanasiou Facilitator: Dani Vee | 2.00 -3.00 | Metcalfe Auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 7 | To Kill the Dog or not, that is the question.Is there a line a crime writer should not cross at the risk of alienating their readers? In this lively debate, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott, Jean Kittson and Sue Turnbull will take sides on whether or not the dog should die. Well-known dog lover Richard Glover referees. | Jean Kittson, Robert Gott, Sulari Gentill, Sue Turnbull Facilitator: Richard Glover | 3.30 – 4.30 | Metcalfe auditorium and live-streamed on Zoom |
| 8 | Sydney Noir A walking tour of the CBD – 45 minutesTrue crime historian Michael Duffy takes you to the places where crime shaped the character of Sydney’s CBD. Starting with Parliament House and the Minister for Murder, we descend into the abyss, at a leisurely pace. | Michael Duffy | 11.45 – 12.30 | The tour will begin in the Library's Macquarie Wing Foyer, near the bookshop |
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