Malahide Crime Writing Festival Speakers Announced

This year’s Something Wicked will take place in Malahide on the October Bank Holiday weekend.

Here's the full list of speakers and hosts.

FRIDAY 28th OCT 2016
PANEL OF AUTHORS

Alex Barclay

Alex Barclay studied journalism in college, and went on to work as a journalist and copywriter before writing her first novel, Darkhouse, a Sunday Times top ten bestseller. She won the inaugural Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award at the Irish Book Awards for Blood Runs Cold, the first in the Ren Bryce series. She lives in County Cork, Ireland.

Sam Blake

Sam Blake is a pseudonym for Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin, the founder of The Inkwell Group publishing consultancy and the national writing resources website Writing.ie. Her debut novel, Little Bones spent eight weeks in the Irish top 10, with four weeks in the Number 1 slot. Introducing feisty young detective Cat Connolly, in the first of this thriller trilogy what appears to be a routine break-in has devastating consequences when Cat finds a baby's bones concealed in the hem of a vintage wedding dress.

Liz Nugent

Liz Nugent is the writer of two number one bestselling novels, Unravelling Oliver, published in 2014 and Lying in Wait, published in July of this year. Unravelling Oliver has been optioned by ITV Drama for a six part series and won the Crime Fiction of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards, while Lying in Wait is currently the subject of a bidding war between film companies.
Prior to working as a full time novelist, Liz worked in the theatre as a Stage Manager for many years, and in TV drama for RTE. She has also been an award-winning writer for TV and radio. Liz won the inaugural Jack Harte Bursary from the Irish Writers Centre and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre and has just returned from a month as Writer in Residence at The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. www.liznugent.ie

Hosted by

Bert Wright
Bert Wright has worked as a bookstore manager; marketing manager; book festival director; and freelance book marketing consultant. He is currently Administrator of the Bord Gais Energy Irish Book awards and Events Curator for the DLR Voices Series, The Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival and the Dublin Festival of History.

SATURDAY 29th OCT 2016
FORENSICS WORKSHOP HOSTS

René Gapert

René is a freelance Consultant Forensic Anthropologist in Ireland. He trained as a Medical Dissector/Prosecutor in Berlin, Heidelberg and Düsseldorf in Germany and pursued doctoral research studies in Forensic Anthropology and Human Anatomy at University College Dublin in Ireland. Dr. Gapert holds a PhD in Forensic Anthropology/Anatomy and a Professional Certificate in Forensic Radiography. He is an accredited Forensic Anthropologist under the UK Justice System and has over 20 years of experience in the dissection of the structures of the human body and 14 years of experience in the examination and analysis of human remains in forensic and historical contexts.

Dr. Linda Mulligan

Dr. Linda Mulligan was appointed Deputy State Pathologist in September 2016 on completion of 2 years specialist forensic training. During this time she obtained the Diploma of Forensic Medical Sciences and the Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence (Pathology). In 2014 she had completed her specialist training in Histopathology in Dublin during which she obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK). She began her medical career in 2002 having graduated from medicine at University College Dublin.

Bio and Headshot of Garda Vanessa Stafford not available for security reasons.

Arlene Hunt

Arlene Hunt is the author of eight novels and numerous short stories. She is the co-owner of Portnoy Publishing and a regular contributor and reviewer for RTE’s culture show, Arena. She lives in Dublin and is currently working on her ninth novel. When not working she spends a lot of time running long distance with her GSD, Archer.

Hosted By

Paddy C. Courtney

Paddy C. Courtney is an actor and writer from Malahide. He retired from a career in stand up comedy in 2011 to concentrate on acting and writing. He wrote regular columns for The Herald, The Irish Independent, The Irish Field and The Huffington Post. His screen writing credits include the multi IFTA nominated six part comedy drama ‘Paddywhackery’ for TG4, ‘Lean On Me,’ a short film for The Irish Film Board and 100 episodes of ‘Dig In Diner’ for RTEjr. His acting credits include ‘Houdini & Doyle’ for FOX TV, ‘Shameless’ for Channel 4 and ‘Inspector George Gently’ for BBC.

SUNDAY 30th OCT 2016
KIDS WORKSHOP

Dave Rudden

Dave Rudden enjoys cats, adventure and being cruel to fictional children. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Knights of the Borrowed Dark.
Ever wanted to tell a scary story? A story so chilling it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and milk curdle for a hundred miles? Join award-winning author of Knights of the Borrowed Dark Dave Rudden as he teaches the art of awful and the secret of scariness, as well as structure, character and everything you need as an aspiring author