Writing True Crime Seminar with Campbell McConachie

In the Writing True Crime Seminar, Campbell McConachie will describe some of the processes and pitfalls of writing true crime, based on his experiences writing The Fatalist—the true crime biography of five-time murderer, Lindsey Rose. The author worked a day job in the finance industry while visiting Goulburn SuperMax on weekends, and researching and writing The Fatalist in his spare time—demonstrating that you don’t need a background in journalism or the justice system to write and publish true crime.

The seminar may interest both readers of true crime who have wondered what goes on ‘behind the scenes’, and prospective writers of true crime. Topics to be covered will include: research, conducting interviews, the ethics of true crime, visiting correctional facilities, personal safety, and the forms and structures of true crime writing. There will be a substantial Q&A component.

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Campbell McConachie’s first book, The Fatalist, was published by Hachette Australia. It was shortlisted for both the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime and the Danger Prize (BAD Sydney Crime Writers’ Festival). He grew up in Sydney, Bahrain and Papua New Guinea and worked in the finance industry for thirty years. He studied Post-Graduate English at the University of Sydney and completed a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) at Western Sydney University.