BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival marks 10 years with focus on genre shifts

Not long ago, crime panels were often a token part of larger literary festivals; now they are highly desired, and dedicated crime festivals have sprung up. The UK alone has at least 25 such events, and Australia hosts Terror Australis in Tasmania, a festival at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, and Crime Fic Fest on the NSW Central Coast.

According to festival artistic director Catherine Du Peloux Menage, fiction writers are moving away from traditional police procedurals. “Psychological noir and domestic noir within an unstable and possibly dangerous social context are strongly represented,” she said. Other changes include a strong feminist focus, more women writing crime and more sensitive approaches to abuse and domestic violence. The article says queer authors abound and straight writers are taking the genre into new communities, settings and themes; celebrities and other prominent people are getting interested in writing crime, while YA crime is on the rise. Outback noir, brought to readers by authors such as Jane Harper and Chris Hammer, remains very popular but is merging with themes including the rise of sovereign citizens, the manosphere, climate change, bushfire and flood, and social and political cover-ups.

The festival also offers workshops, pitching and feedback sessions for aspiring writers, which are quickly snapped up. A final panel, featuring writers Fleur McDonald and Tim Ayliffe, agent Dan Pilkington and publisher Anna Valdinger, will give its take on a criminal future. The article says more books featuring AI crime and tech crime in general are certain.