Website: www.litandphil.org.uk
Date: Mon 2 Feb 2004

Bloody Murder: Celebrating Crime Writing runs throughout February at Newcastle's Literary and Philosophical Society. Special events will include readings by some very distinguished crime writers, discussions with a senior crime scene investigator and a leading crime writer and a series of writing workshops led by members of the Murder Squad crime writing group. Lit & Phil librarian Kay Easson gives Literature North East all the gory details.

How did you come up with the idea for Bloody Murder?
Well, the idea came via a chat with Kate Griffin at Arts Council England North East. We were thinking about areas of the library that we could promote and crime came up immediately. We have a brilliant collection of crime fiction, from classic first editions to the latest bestsellers... I know from experience that crime is a really popular genre and we want to attract new people to the Lit & Phil, so a series of events promoting crime writing seemed logical (and one for which we could obtain Arts Council funding). I don't know whether a crime writing festival is a first for Newcastle, but it fits into, I think, the varied and dynamic literary scene in the north east.

Has the Lit & Phil always been as progressive as this?
Don't forget that The Lit & Phil started life as the centre of scientific and literary activity in the north east over 210 years ago, so we always have been pretty progressive! But in recent years we have tried to attract a wider audience, to get rid of the notion that the Lit & Phil is not really for everyone and that it is a gloomy place full of dusty books! Bloody Murder, we hope, will be the start of many more similar projects. Who knows, if it proves to be a success, perhaps we can have More Bloody Murder next year!

It's a very northern selection of writers - was this intentional?
The selection of writers wasn't intentionally northern. Val [McDermid] and Ian [Rankin] came on board because Kate was able to put me in touch with them. The Murder Squad came via Chaz Brenchley, who's a member of the Lit & Phil, and also via Margaret and Peter Lewis from Flambard Press. They also put me in touch with Robert Barnard and suggested that Julia Darling could participate in the panel discussion. And Richard Moore and Barbara Morden had such good reputations and they work locally, so they were easy to approach.

How about the other events?
The event with Helen Pepper, CSI, and Ann Cleeves was organised to appeal to people who not only are interested in crime fiction but also crime fact - again part of the idea of appealing to as wide an audience as possible. The Detective Stories exhibition is quite modest but highlights the development of the crime novel with examples from our own collection. It also includes the programmes for the lectures that Dorothy L Sayers' gave here in 1928 and 1930.

The crime short story writing workshops are not only supporting the Save Our Short Story campaign but also demonstrate the Lit & Phil's interest and support of new writing

You're also running a promotional scheme to join the Lit and Phil during Bloody Murder…
That's right. Basically, anyone who attends a Bloody Murder event will be given the opportunity to visit the library afterwards and join at reduced rates - it works out to a 25% discount for most memberships.

What else have we go to look forward to at the Lit and Phil in the coming months?
The Lit & Phil is planning poetry readings throughout 2004 and also a Victorian season in the summer. So there'll be something for everyone this year!

Bloody Murder: Celebrating Crime Writing at the Lit and Phil Library runs from 4 -27 February 2004. The first event of the programme is An Evening with Val McDermid & Ian Rankin on Wednesday 4 February 6pm.

For more details, see www.litandphil.org.uk.