Thursday, March 19, 2015

Crime fiction panel

By Steve Weddle

Next week I'll again be teaching a short story class over at LitReactor. We read short stories, talk about how they're crafted and why they work, and work on putting our own together.  I have not gotten a notice that it has sold out, so you've still got time to register.

Speaking of me and short stories, Art Taylor was kind enough to include me in his brilliant discussion of novels-in-stories over at the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine blog. If you have a few minutes, you should check out his take on the subject.

As you know from Holly's post yesterday, last weekend was Left Coast Crime, a crime fiction convention in Portland, Oregon.

This week is the Virginia Festival of the Book, which is held each year in Charlottesville. On Saturday, I'll be moderating a panel for crime fiction -- Crime Wave: Private Eyes & Ink-Stained Wretches. (Sat. March 21, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm; Omni Hotel - Ballroom C; 212 Ridge McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA)
Hear authors Reed Farrel Coleman (Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot), Brad Parks (The Player), and Andy Straka (The K Street Hunting Society) share stories of their private eyes and journalists caught up in crime.

I met Reed at NoirCon 2010 in Philly and had the chance to hear him opine on noir finding itself coming back to early twentieth century Los Angeles, even by authors who are writing at the moment.

I met Andy when I moderated a panel a few years ago at the state library in Virginia.

I met Brad Parks in the parking lot of the Levittown Flea Market, where a vendor was selling Italian ices and Taylor Swift tickets.

All of these guys write series characters, which is what we'll mostly be chatting about.

Whether you've been to 20 crime fiction panels or none, you've probably got something you'd want to know from talented writers such as these. If you'd like to drop a question in the comments, I can see what we can find out from these guys on Saturday. Or, if there was a great panel question you heard recently, feel free to share.
Either way, I hope to see you in Charlottesville this week for the book festival.

1 comment:

Holly West said...

Have fun! In some ways I like moderating panels better than being on them. There's less pressure somehow.