Dirt and Drama: the contrast of place and people in crime fiction
Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival
Sit down for an hour with our crime fiction specialists: Chris Hammer, Vikki Petraitis, Sarah Bailey and moderator Kirstie Bedford, as they examine and investigate the nitty-gritty of crime fiction. Chris Hammer is an Australian journalist and writer of crime fiction. He is known for his best-selling Martin Scarsden series of novels. He has sold more than 1.5 million books around the world and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers Association John Creasy Award for best debut crime novel. Vikki Petraitis is an Australian true crime author, podcaster, and educator known for her investigative works on crime and justice. Her latest book is The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron: Forty Years Searching for the Phillip Island Murderer (January 2026). Sarah Bailey's debut novel, The Dark Lake, introduced readers to Detective Gemma Woodstock and has been published in over 15 territories worldwide. Her latest novel is Click (March 2026), "a taut crime thriller about a city on edge". Kirstie Bedford is a Melbourne-based editor, travel writer and podcast host, having started her career as a hard news journalist reporting live from courtrooms. Her debut psychological suspense, White Lies, will be published mid-2027.
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