International Crime Fiction at Queens University

Dominique Jeannerod (right) of Queens University is the very charming French gentleman who organised last Friday’s public interview with Pierre Lamaitre at Belfast’s Crescent Arts Centre, which I managed to survive, in my role as inquisitor-in-chief, without entirely mangling the French language. Although I did, to be fair, mangle it quite a bit.
  It was a terrific turn-out on the evening, despite the fact that a number of Norn Iron’s crime writers also showed up, Stuart Neville, Gerard Brennan, Steve Kavanagh and Andrew Pepper among them. It was also lovely to be able to make my annual pilgrimage to No Alibis while I was in Belfast, and pick up some very interesting recommendations from David and Claudia.
  Anyway, Dominique gets in touch to let me know that Queens University – and specifically the International Crime Fiction brigade therein – will be hosting ‘An International Conference on the Noir Genre and its Territorialisation’ later this month. The conference runs over two days, June 13th and 14th, and offers a range of discussions on a number of international crime writers, among them Tana French, Eoin McNamee and David Peace, while Eoin McNamee and Brian McGilloway will be taking part in a ‘Readings and Questions’ session on the Friday afternoon.
  For all the details, and the full programme of events, clickety-click here …

Pierre Lamaitre in Belfast

The event is free, but pre-booking is essential. Tickets can be booked through David Torrans at No Alibis.

Whither The Radical Crime Novel?

Yes, I know I said I’d be taking a break from blogging, but (a) this came via a request from the winningly handsome Andrew Pepper (right), and (b) it sounds like a cracking opportunity for any crime writer out there with a ‘radical’ crime novel in their drawer. To wit:

THEMED PHD STUDENTSHIP AWARDS, COMMENCING SEPTEMBER 2013

The School of English, Queen’s University Belfast, is pleased to announce A CREATIVE WRITING DOCTORAL STUDENTSHIP in ‘RADICAL CRIME FICTION’ commencing in September 2013.

Supervisors: Dr Andrew Pepper (English) and Dr Dominique Jeannerod (French)

Applications for this award must be submitted through the Queen’s online application system (on the prospective students’ portal) before the closing date of FRIDAY 22nd February, 2013. Applications are similar to those invited for ‘open’ PhD studentships, but applicants are not required to upload a description of the intended thesis. Applicants for this ‘themed’ awards should supply, instead of the thesis description, a personal statement (maximum 1500 words) outlining the distinctive contribution they could make to the research for the thesis.

Informal enquiries are very welcome and should be directed to Dr. Andrew Pepper (a.pepper@qub.ac.uk) or to the School’s Director of PG Education: Dr Adrian Streete (a.streete@qub.ac.uk).

Project Description:
This project is a hybrid creative-critical one that involves writing a ‘radical’ crime novel and critically reflecting on what radical crime fiction is, whether such a thing, in fact, exists and whether a popular genre, especially one typically concerned with the activities of the state and the production of order, can ever be considered radical. Its starting point lies in the rise to prominence of a particular kind of formally disruptive and politically leftist crime novel across the U.S. and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s (e.g. by Chester Himes, Jean-Patrick Manchette) and the relative decline of such work in the contemporary era. The issue of whether crime stories are able to further radical political agendas and if so what is the relationship between political agitation and formal and/or aesthetic innovation, will be addressed through creative practice and critical reflection. At the heart of the project is the question of how creativity is deployed in the contemporary era and what its relationship to commercial enterprise is. Rather than assuming that this relationship is harmonious and mutually reinforcing, however, this project considers whether it is possible to write and produce a radical crime novel in today’s commercial environment and by the same logic why so much crime fiction is so derivative and predictable, The intention, then, is to imagine a more disruptive and antagonistic relationship between art and the marketplace but to do so in the form of a creative piece that, crucially, still conforms to at least some of our assumptions about what a crime novel is.

Qualifications:
Candidates will be expected to demonstrate a history of research and/or publication in creative writing. Demonstrable experience of writing or researching crime fiction is considered desirable but not essential.

Eligibility: UK residents.

Closing date for applications: Friday 22nd February, 2013

Important Note: Please state on the on-line application form that you are applying for the Creative Writing themed Studentship in ‘Radical Crime Fiction’ in the School of English and provide a supporting statement (1500 words maximum) outlining the distinctive contribution you could make to the project.