Val McDermid's Blog, page 18
July 17, 2014
New Dundee University mortuary named after Val McDermid
A new mortuary at Dundee University has been named after crime writer Val McDermid following a public vote.The facility was funded by the “Million for a Morgue” campaign, during which the public donated money to the project while also voting for which crime author to name it after.
The campaign aimed to raise cash to match a £1m investment by the university for new facilities.
Ms McDermid said it was a “very proud moment” for her.
The Val McDermid Mortuary, which is now up and running, is the first in the UK to exclusively use the Thiel method of embalming, which it is hoped can provide “significant breakthroughs” in scientific, medical and dental research and training.
A total of 10 authors supported the campaign and were in the running to have the morgue named after them. Each online vote contributed £1 to the appeal.
Runner-up Stuart MacBride has had a dissection room at the mortuary named after him, while the other eight authors have had their names put on Thiel embalming tanks.
More Information:
June 27, 2014
Val McDermid’s Raith Rovers sponsorship
Val McDermid’s Raith Rovers sponsorship about giving ‘something back into the community’
Raith Rovers will be dressed to kill next season after sponsor Val McDermid revealed the club’s new strip.
Crime writer and lifelong fan McDermid was at Stark’s Park to unveil the shirt the players will wear as they take on Rangers, Hibernian and Hearts in the Scottish Championship.
McDermid’s decision to sponsor the kit was announced earlier this week.
She said: “I grew up in a culture where there was the notion that if you did well, if you were lucky enough to have a talent and to be successful, then you should put something back into the community that nourished you, and this is a way of doing that.”
The Kirkcaldy team caused “dancing in the streets of Raith” in April when they lifted the Ramsdens Cup.
More Information:
June 12, 2014
Interview about Val’s radio drama
BBC Radio 4 – ‘Deadheading’ by Val McDermid
Interview about Deadheading
Crime writer Val McDermid turns her hand to radio drama with a comic thriller set amongst the plots and sheds of a Lancashire allotment in Deadheading (15 Minute Drama – Mon – Fri 1045, rpt 19.45). The drama stars Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. Here Val McDermid answers some question about her writing, recording the drama and her next project.
Val McDermid was talking to Deadheading programme Producer Justine Potter
More Information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/posts/Deadheading-by-Val-McDermid
15 Minute Drama on Radio 4 fm
BBC Radio 4 – ‘Deadheading’ by Val McDermid
Deadheading
Crime writer Val McDermid turns her hand to radio drama in Deadheading. a comic thriller set amongst the plots and sheds of a Lancashire allotment.
Episode 1
1/5 A body is found on an allotment in Cranby.
Episode 2
2/5 Are there green shoots of love between Alma and Jo?
Episode 3
3/5 Alma and Jason follow the money to intrigue on a market veg stall.
Episode 4
4/5 Fear stalks the herd. Surely we must be getting nearer to solving the crime.
5/5 Events draw to a climax in the traditional mode of the detective story.
More Information:
May 7, 2014
Connecting Conversations
Val McDermid in conversation with Group Analyst Sue Einhorn
Date:
Monday 12th May 2014
Time:
7.30 – 9pm
Place:
Kings Place,
90 York Way,
London
N1 9AG
Cost:
£9.50 (online price)
In Conversation with Sue Einhorn
Crime Writer Val McDermid and Group Analyst Sue Einhorn explore the world of crime fiction where human taboos of murder, incest and violence are broken and the human struggle with mortality is violently exposed.
Sue Einhorn is a Group Analyst and an individual psychotherapist who practises in the UK and trains and supervises internationally from Russia to Norway.
More Information:
http://www.connectingconversations.org/?location_id=2&item=437
Val talks about her new book Northanger Abbey
Val McDermid’s Northanger Abbey
Date:
Sunday, 11th May 2014
Time:
7.30pm – 10pm
Place:
Winchester Discovery Centre
Jewry Street
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 8SB
Cost:
£5
Winchester Discovery Centre
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Sunday, 11th May 2014
7.30pm – 10pm
Val McDermid is one of the biggest selling and most loved crime novelists writing in the UK today. She is the author of twenty five novels and recipient of numerous awards. Val now focusses her scalpel sharp wit on a glorious reimagining of the gothic classic Northanger Abbey. Part of “The Austen Project” where six contemporary authors re-imagine the six complete novels of Jane Austen.
Books for sale and signing on the night.
More Information:
http://www3.hants.gov.uk/library/wdc/wdc-whatson/whatson-wdc/wdc-eventdetails.htm?id=230837
Val attending Event in support of Cerebral Palsy Charity
Charity Event
Date:
Friday 09 May 2014
Time:
7.30pm
Place:
Radisson Blu Hotel
301 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G2 8DL
Cost:
Invitation only
The 2014 Lunch will be held on 9 May 2014 at the Radisson Blu, Argyll Street. The lunch is by invitation only and the charity which is being supported this year will be Bobath Scotland, the charity which helps children and families with cerebral palsy by offering them therapy which improves lives. Bobath is now able to offer therapy to adults too – aiming to help them on their way to a better quality of life with specialist therapy.
Visit Bobath Scotland’s website to find out more about the charity.
http://www.bobathscotland.org.uk
More Information:
http://www.wosl.co.uk/home.asp
April 30, 2014
Stratford Literary Festival
1st May – Women of Crime: Val McDermid and Louise Welsh – 5.45 pm
1st May – Reinventing Jane Austen: Val McDermid and Jo Baker – 7.30 pm
Date:
Thursday, 1st May 2014
Time:
5.45pm & 7.30pm
Place:
Shakespeare Centre
Henley Street,
Stratford-Upon-Avon
CV37 6QW
Cost:
£10
Stratford Literary Festival
Saturday, 26th April to Sunday, 4th May 2014
1st May: 5.45pm
Women of Crime
Never mind being ladylike or faint hearted. Women write some of the darkest and cleverest crime fiction. Not least Val McDermid and Louise Welsh, who will be sharing with chair Michael Odell how they weave their plots to keep their readers so gripped.
1st May: 7.30pm
Reinventing Jane Austen
Just to prove that the themes of Jane austen’s great novels are as relevant today as ever, the crime novelist Val McDermid is the latest best-selling author to write a 21st century Austen update – this time Northanger Abbey, the second book in the HarperFiction’s Austen Project.
More Information:
http://www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk
April 11, 2014
Online Community Forum for ITV Series Wire in the Blood
She says, ‘it is dedicated to the ITV series however there is a section devoted solely to the books by Val McDermid.’
If you would like to join in the discussion head over to:
http://wireinthebloodforum.createaforum.com
March 26, 2014
‘Northanger Abbey’ Out Tomorrow in UK 27 March 2014!
Val McDermid’s modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey
The Austen Project pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works: Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park. Taking these well-loved stories as their base, each author will write their own unique take on Jane Austen’s novels.
Still no Abbey ending for Northanger but Val McDermid’s retelling would impress Austen…
Review By: Jake Kerridge – The Express
Of all Jane Austen’s six completed novels, Northanger Abbey is the least read nowadays. Like the plainest girl at the ball, it remains undisturbed on the shelf while readers waltz away with Pride And Prejudice or Emma.
…McDermid’s great virtue is to have made Austen’s characters seem fresh in the way they would have been for her first readers. When the minxy Bella Thorpe, supposed to be engaged to Cat’s brother, attempts to justify dancing with a handsome soldier (“I feel like I did my bit for the troops tonight. My personal Help for Heroes”), she reveals all her hypocrisy, vanity and absurdity in a single perfect phrase, in the patented Austen manner. I can imagine Jane herself applauding.
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