CSI Tasmania a crime scene to write about
THE dense bushland and scrub of the Huon Valley will become a crime scene come November, at least in the literary sense.
The second biennial Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival, which in 2019 featured author and model Tara Moss, is back next month for its second instalment.
This time around, the event will be headlined by internationally acclaimed authors such as guest of honour David Weiden and the creator of British crime series Vera, Ann Cleeves, and Scottish “tartan noir” writer Val McDermid.
The line-up will also include local talent such as David Owen and wellknown Tasmanian historian Henry Reynolds, and the entire event – entitled CSI Tasmania – will have a special focus on forensics.
“This time we thought we’d focus on Tasmania and why Tasmania provokes so much brilliant crime and mystery fiction,” festival director LJM Owen said.
She said attracting authors of an international calibre had been surprisingly easy.
“Already, I think, Tasmania’s reputation as a cradle for very good, slightly gothic, crime fiction has spread across the world and a lot of these authors already knew about us, and they wanted to come here,” she said.
“The Huon Valley in particular, the land and climate and everything to do with nature, seems to tug at creative minds. I’ve spoken to many people who have written books inspired by the valley.”
Owen said the festival would have
two components – a live, in-person weekend featuring panels, interviews and masterclasses in Huonville, plus a subsequent digital festival a few weeks later.
Currently, the live festival is scheduled for November 6 and 7, with the
digital festival set down for November 27 and 28. However, following Friday’s of a snap lockdown for southern Tasmania, it is possible the live festival will be postponed.
For more information and tickets, go to www.terroraustralisfestival.com