As
a newcomer to the crime fiction genre, it was interesting to tread
among the die-hard fans of various strands of crime writing -
hardcore/hardboiled; cosy; true crime; TV crime shows; crime set in
exotic international locations and everything inbetween at theSheKilda Convention. The devotees take their crime seriously and
there was a lot of animated discussion in the reception spaces and
lively presentations and questions in the sessions.
Writing
for Justice
represented some of the best Australian true crime writers at the top
of their form: Robyn Bowles, Liz Porter Kathryn Fox, Colleen Egan
and Vikki Petraitis. They discussed how 'justice' has many meanings
and expressions; sometimes it might be about revenge, sometimes about
closure but certainly it is not always available to the poor through
the legal system and the courts. Often it takes years, perhaps in
some cases generations, for justice to be delivered to the
wrongly-accused or for families to find out exactly what happened to
a victim of crime or to reveal the identity of the killer. The
complexities of dealing with police, barristers, legal aid,
witnesses, judges and juries had frustrated many of the panel in
their investigative work, however they also met individuals from
many of these arenas who were pursuing or championing the need for
justice and who contributed to the integrity of the authors'
research.
The added dimension of the media brought out stories from
the panel that were fascinating as well as very disturbing, perhaps
even downright frightening. Sometimes the lead that shaped an
author's book or took their story in new directions came by sheer
chance; sometimes it was methodical process-driven work; sometimes
pure instinct that 'something was not quite right', say, in a
testamony or set of circumstances. All the writers at this session
displayed tenacity, curiosity, dedication, intelligence and the
compelling need to tell the story and, ultimately, to help people
find justice.
