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| Emerging Indie Voices Panel Crimefest |
I have recently returned from Crimefest in Bristol, and I
had a whale of a time. I met old friends, virtual friends, and new friends, and
we rocked. But what I wanted to talk about in this blog was the introduction of
the first ever indie panel – Emerging Indie Voices.
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| Amazon.co.uk |
I have been on several author panels at Crimefest over the
years, but up to now they have been mainly composed of authors with
traditionally published books. I suppose I was included by default because I’m
a hybrid author, that is, I publish both ways. I have my indie books and my
traditionally published ones. But I really root for the indie author because
there is so much good stuff published by them nowadays. And if you don’t
believe me take a look at my new nonfiction book Crime Fiction & the Indie Contribution, where I highlight the
best of indie writing from a total of 61 authors.
Anyway, back to the inclusion of indie authors at Crimefest.
As I said previously, this was the first year we have had a full panel at
Crimefest devoted to indie crime fiction, although last year there was a 20
minute Spotlight session with Joanna Penn which paved the way. This panel was
so energetic it was exhausting to listen to them, and their enthusiasm for what
they do was apparent. Joann Penn was in the hot seat as moderator of the panel,
and it really was hot. She sizzled in her presentation, and I was impressed
with her energy levels as she bounced around in her chair and brought out the
best in her authors.
A bonus for me was that two of the authors I highlight in Crime Fiction & the Indie Contribution were
on that panel, and I was disappointed I hadn’t included the other two because
their books sounded so interesting. Oh, and I’d never met any of them before
because the indie examples in my book were totally random choices. So, who was
on the panel? Well, I’ve already mentioned Joanna Penn, but her panel members
were Tim Cooke, Carole Westron, and the two who are in my book were Eva Hudson
and Mel Sherratt.
It was a stimulating panel and the authors represented indie
writers brilliantly. By comparison the two following panels were positively
sedate. In my view the Emerging Indie Voices panel was the highlight of
Crimefest.
Chris Longmuir
3 comments:
That sounds fantastic, Chris - I get Joanna's newsletter which is always inspiring.
A fascinating write-up. I wish we had something like this in Australia!
Thanks Rosemary, and I'm glad you managed to get your comment up, Dorothy.
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