This past weekend saw the first online version of Alibis in the Archive and what fun it was. Gladstone's Library was closed for eighteen months and only reopened at the start of September, but huge credit goes to the tireless Louisa Yates and Rhian Waller for managing the weekend so brilliantly. When I put the programme together, I was aiming for a combination of quality and variety and I'm enormously grateful to all the wonderful authors who took part.
Lynne Truss and Simon Brett got things off to a great start on Saturday morning with a very witty discussion which included Simon's memorable description of story structure as 'the Lego bit of the writing'. After that, David Brawn of HarperCollins interviewed me about Howdunit and other facets of my crime writing career; we also touched on The Life of Crime, the copy edit of which I'm currently working on.
Then came a wonderful contribution from two American writers whom I've long admired: Joseph Goodrich and Rupert Holmes. It was full of great moments and I particularly liked his story about his contribution to the soundtrack of Arthur (yes, Burt Bacharach wrote the soundtrack, but Rupert did play a part...) On Sunday morning, an American writer currently resident in London, Bonnie MacBird, talked to David Brawn about the enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes.
Len Tyler led a discussion with Ruth Dudley Edwards, Michael Jecks and Antonia Hodgson about the timeless appeal of detective fiction. I was amused by Len's explanation of the appeal of Gladys Mitchell despite the fact that her books often fade after a bright start: 'she's worth reading for the first 50% of the book'. The weekend was rounded off with no fewer than four panellists joining us from the US to talk about American traditional detective fiction: Art Taylor, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Tonia Spratt-Williams, and Verena Rose. I loved every moment of the panels and feedback from the audience was just what we'd hoped for. Next year, Alibis will return as a live event over the weekend of 10-11 June, but with an online component as well. Can't wait...
10 comments:
Thanks again for hosting us!
Absolute pleasure, Art. Your panel was so enjoyable and I hope you can get to visit Gladstone's Library in person one of these fine days.
Thank you, Martin, for including me in this delightful event!
Cheers, Bonnie, and I look forward to seeing you in person at the Library next year!
I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you for organising it.
One thing I missed was you though - you were only on screen for one of the sessions! Your fans demand more Edwards 😊
You're far too kind, Verity, but thank you! When we do Alibis live, I introduce all the speakers and so on, but the tech logistics made that too complicated this time round. So glad you enjoyed the panels and hope to see you at Alibis next June!
Thank you again, Martin for inviting me. I feel a bit guilty reading your quote from me about the Great Gladys! As you know, I am a fan and it was a genuine recommendation. I guess even the most enthusiastic of her readers recognise that her work is a bit uneven, but in a strange way it's part of the appeal. As I also said, I never begin one of her books without a real sense of anticipation! She is worth trying.
It was great to listen to you, Len, and thanks again for moderating such an interesting panel. As for Gladys, many a true word...
Hi Martin,
I very much enjoyed the ‘Howdunit’ and ‘The Timeless Appeal’ sessions. Would have booked for the whole course except that, my steam-powered desktop not being equipped for Zoom, I had to use Maureen’s laptop and didn’t want to tie it up for the entire weekend as she had stuff of her own to do. Actually though, although not a crime reader, she joined me for those two sessions and hugely enjoyed them too!
Yes, it was I who quoted Jessica Mann’s remark in ‘Howdunit’ that “crime fiction is a genre chosen by writers who want to avoid self-exposure” and asked if you agreed. Your reply was brilliant, and of course you didn’t agree!
Me again, in the ‘Timeless Appeal’ session, who wondered how the pandemic, a most unpalatable subject, might be used in crime fiction. Of course I was thinking of the way you used the Spanish flu in ‘Gallows Court’. I was pleased that one of the panel thought that 50 years hence it might be used in historical mysteries.
Now I can’t wait for Alibis 2022. See you there.
Best,
Paul
Thanks so much for joining us, Paul. Glad you enjoyed it and very much look forward to seeing you in person again - it's been a long time! All the best to Maureen too.
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