Val McDermid's Blog, page 17
November 29, 2014
My Hero: PD James (1920-2014) by Val McDermid
The Guardian, Friday 28 November 2014
Phyllis had a deft way with the horrific, creating images that seared their way into the reader’s brain. This week, we lost a legend.
Just before her 90th birthday, PD James invited me to take part in an event she was organising at the Bodleian library in Oxford. At dinner afterwards, she admitted she was writing, but not an Adam Dalgliesh novel. I asked her why not. “Because I don’t want to die in the middle and have one of you lot finish it,” she said, a wicked twinkle in her eye.
Wicked twinkle … PD James. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
An Evening with Queen of Crime, part of Books on the Tyne festival
Date:
Sunday 30th November 2014
Time:
6pm – 7.30pm
Venue:
Newcastle City Library (Bewick Hall)
33 New Bridge Street West
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8AX
Cost:
£10.00 / £8.00
An Evening with Queen of Crime, 30 November 2014Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid in conversation with Gail-Nina Anderson rounds off Books on Tyne ‘On the Edge’. Psychological thrills don’t get more thrilling than in Val’s world so hold onto the edge of your seats tonight at our grand finale!
Café at city library will be open for the purchase of drinks.
More Information:
http://www.booksontyne.co.uk/events/item/an-evening-with-queen-of-crime-val-mcdermid
November 20, 2014
Spend an evening with Val
Val talks about her new novel The Skeleton Road.
Date:
Friday 21st November 2014
Time:
7.30pm – 9.00pm
Venue:
Loch Leven Community Library
Loch Leven Communtiy Campus
The Muirs
KY13 8FQ
Cost:
£5.00 – Booking Essential
Loch Leven Community Library, Friday 21st November
Val McDermid is one of the biggest names in British crime writing. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Join this award-winning crime writer, journalist and occasional broadcaster as she discusses her successful writing career and reads from her soon to be published new novel, The Skeleton Road.
More Information:
http://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/9536/An-Evening-with-Val-McDermid
An Evening with Queen of Crime, part of Books on the Tyne festival
Date:
Sunday 30th November 2014
Time:
6pm – 7.30pm
Venue:
Newcastle City Library (Bewick Hall)
33 New Bridge Street West
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8AX
Cost:
£10.00 / £8.00
An Evening with Queen of Crime, 30 November 2014Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid in conversation with Gail-Nina Anderson rounds off Books on Tyne ‘On the Edge’. Psychological thrills don’t get more thrilling than in Val’s world so hold onto the edge of your seats tonight at our grand finale!
Café at city library will be open for the purchase of drinks.
More Information:
http://www.booksontyne.co.uk/events/item/an-evening-with-queen-of-crime-val-mcdermid
November 12, 2014
BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week – Forensics
Book of the Week
BBC Radio 4 – Book of the week
Don’t forget to listen to Val reading from FORENSICS, currently BBC Radio4’s Book of the Week.
Click the link below…
October 24, 2014
Start the Week
Start the Week
BBC Radio 4 – Start the Week
If you missed Val talking about her latest book, FORENSICS, on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week or want to listen again, there’s still time!
Click the link below…
October 8, 2014
Presented by 5×15: FORENSICS: An Anatomy of Crime
15th October 2014 – 5×15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations.
Date:
Wednesday 15th October 2014
Time:
7.30pm
Venue:
Wilton’s Music Hall, London
5×15 Wilton’s Music Hall, London
5×15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules – no scripts and only 15 minutes each.
Val McDermid is in conversation with Kate Summerscale about her latest book Forensics – The Anatomy of Crime
More Information:
September 27, 2014
Forensics- The Anatomy of Crime – Out 2nd October
The grisly history of forensics – by crime writer Val McDermid
Blood-sucking flies, exhumed stomachs and DNA profiling – the tools of forensic science have, over the centuries, solved many a gruesome murderIn the public mind, forensic science means cutting-edge technology: well-equipped professionals performing complex experiments in glossy laboratories, as in CSI or Silent Witness. In fact, the real story of forensics is full of courtroom disasters, eccentric pioneers, crowd-pleasing showmen and dangerous (sometimes fatal) research.
For years, authorities and individuals have known that there was more to crime than just testimony: that the scene of the crime, or a murder weapon, or even a few drops of blood, could also bear witness to the truth. The first recorded use of forensics in the solution of a crime comes from a Chinese handbook for coroners called The Washing Away of Wrongs, produced in 1247. One of the many case studies it contains follows the investigation of a roadside stabbing. The coroner examined the slashes on the victim’s body, then tested an assortment of blades on a cow carcass. He concluded that the murder weapon was a sickle. But knowing what caused the wounds was a long way from identifying whose hand had wielded the blade, so he turned to possible motives. The victim’s possessions were intact, which ruled out robbery. According to his widow, he had no enemies. The best lead was the revelation that the victim hadn’t been able to satisfy a man who had recently demanded the repayment of a debt.
Read more – TheGuardian online…
• This is an extract from Val McDermid‘s Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime is published by Profile at £18.99 on 2 October. To order a copy for £14.99, visit guardianbookshop.co.uk or call 0330 333 6846. A major forensics exhibition will be held at the Wellcome Collection, London NW1, in February 2015.
August 29, 2014
Val to Visit Australia
Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
Dates:
Perth: Monday 22 September
Melbourne: Wednesday 24 September
Brisbane: Friday 26 September
Sydney: Monday 29 September
Tour Dates
Perth: Monday 22 September
6.30pm – 7.30pm
Val McDermid on The Skeleton Road at UWA Perth
Venue: The University Club of Western Australia
Theatre Auditorium, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley
Ticket price: $29
For more details contact UWA on (08) 6488 2433 or book directly.
Melbourne: Wednesday 24 September
6.00pm – 8pm
Tartan Noir Crime Queen, Val McDermid at the Melbourne Comedy Club
Host: Sisters in Crime and the Athenaeum Library
Venue: Comedy Club, 2nd Floor (above Athenaeum Library)
188 Collins Street, Melbourne
Ticket price: $15/$10 (members of Sisters in Crime, Writers Victoria & the Athenaeum Library/concession)
For more details and to book, visit sistersincrime.org.au
Brisbane: Friday 26 September
12.30pm – 2.30pm
Val McDermid at the Grand View Hotel
Venue: The Grandview Hotel
49 North Street, Cleveland
For more details and to book, contact GVH on (07) 3286 1002
Sydney: Monday 29 September
7.00pm – 8.30pm
Psychology and Crime: Val McDermid in conversation with Michael Robotham
Venue: The Eternity Playhouse
39 Burton Street, Darlinghurst
For more details and to book, visit swf.org.au
July 22, 2014
Val McDermid is backing Yes vote
Val McDermid is backing the Yes vote
Scottish crime writer Val McDermid has come out in favour of a Yes vote in September’s independence referendum.
The Fife-born author revealed her support for a vote for independence in The Guardian newspaper. Ms McDermid from Kirkcaldy sees a marked difference in policies flowing from Holyrood compared to Westminster.
The avid Raith Rovers fan said: “The only basis I could find for making a choice is to look at the track record of what the Scottish Parliament has done differently from Westminster since we’ve had some power restored to us.
“And, overwhelmingly, I prefer what we’ve done north of the border — free prescriptions, no student tuition fees, social care for elderly people. So, with a degree of trepidation, I’m going to nail my colours to the mast of aspiration and vote ‘Yes’.
More Information:
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/author-val-mcdermid-is-backing-yes-vote-1.482763
Val Sponsors Raith Rovers
New sponsor Val McDermid (left) was at Raith’s Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against St Johnstone
A Scottish football team are to be sponsored by a famous crime writer from next season.
Val McDermid, who wrote the novels that inspired the Wire In The Blood series, will be the main shirt sponsor for Raith Rovers in the Scottish Championship.
The writer is a lifelong fan of the club and already sponsors a stand at the Kirkcaldy club’s Stark’s Park stadium.
She has previously said her financial support for Raith is in honour of her father Jim, who was once a scout for the Fife club.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown is another famous supporter of the club and encouraged McDermid to get involved when it was in financial difficulty around a decade ago.
The club said it is an honour to carry the name of her website – valmcdermid.com – on shirts next season.
Despite living in the North of England, the author is often spotted at Rovers matches, including their Scottish Cup quarter-final tie with St Johnstone in March.
With three of Scotland’s biggest clubs also competing with Rovers next season, McDermid hopes there will be extra exposure for the team.
More Information:
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/raith-make-killing-with-new-sponsor-30329809.html
July 18, 2014
Val Reads – and sings ‘The Road and the Miles to Dundee’
Wordfactory Salon #24 presents Val McDermid reading ‘The Road and the Miles to Dundee’
Introduced by Cathy Galvin
28 June 2014
Watch more video from the Staff Picks channel on Frequency
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