Get the science right when you write about crime

Published On Mon 6 Jun 2016 by Grant Hill

Best-selling author Stuart MacBride and world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black will next week help aspiring crime writers to ensure their masterpieces both thrill readers and avoid falling foul of science.

They will lead the creative crime writing workshop, which takes place at the West Park Conference Centre on Friday, 10^th June. The event, organised by the University of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification (CAHID), will highlight to the challenges that crime writers face in ensuring their grizzly plots are plausible from a scientific point of view before demonstrating how forensics and literature can work together.

Dundee has recently been ranked top in the UK for forensic science in the Complete University Guide and Guardian University Guide league tables thanks to the world-leading research and teaching taking place at CAHID.

“Many people are interested in crime related creative writing but don’t know who to ask to ensure that they get all of the forensic details correct,” said Professor Black, Director of CAHID. “This is a chance for budding writers to bring their ideas with them and ask experts the questions they need answered.

“This event will be run by experienced writers with forensic specialists standing by to answer questions on what is and isn’t scientifically possible, regardless of how good a plot it makes for. Stuart MacBride will be talking about both the intricacies of plotting and the importance of getting the science right.”

Professor Black provides scientific advice to many leading authors. She utilised her contacts within the crime writing community to launch the ‘Million for a Morgue’ campaign that invited fans to vote for their favourite author to have the University’s new morgue named after them.

Book-lovers paid £1 each time they voted, raising money for the new facility, which was eventually named the Val McDermid Mortuary while Stuart McBride had the dissection room named in his honour after finishing as runner-up.

The creative crime writing workshop takes place at the West Park Conference Centre on Friday, 10th June from 2-5pm. 

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 384768
Mobile: 07854 953277
Email: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk