Opinions & Editorials

A while ago I bought an ereader (ECOReader - not store or manufacturer aligned / supports heaps of different formats / Linux installation - ticked all my boxes in other words).  I didn't buy it as a device to become a rogue reader though, far from it actually.

We've been listening to, involved in, asked about and thought about digital rights a lot lately.  I guess this is something that we have a slightly different perspective on - having been in the business of giving away free software (open source) and using free software (don't need to use Microsoft software on my laptop or Netbook - miss out on nothing by not) for ages now.   (Disclaimer - I'm now involved in a small publishing venture and we're about to start releasing some ebooks as well).

One of the most frequent concerns voiced is, however, not by the consumer of copyrighted material - it's by the producers.  How are we going to make a living in a world where copyright seems to no longer be respected.  Where free downloads, ripping off of materials and wanton distribution of illegal materials is not just condoned, it's often celebrated.

This is now becoming an issue for authors as the craze for ebooks takes off.

Whilst the producers can have a go at protecting their copyright it's more often than not a fairly futile exercise - there is always somebody less than 1 step behind them cracking protection schemes, doing the distribution, pressing on with the theft.  And that's what it ultimately is - it's theft.  And it's not theft "from the big boys" therefore it's okay.  This is no Robin Hood behaviour people, let's not for a moment pretend that it is.  The artists are providing you with the means to entertain yourself, and you're stealing that effort.

Now I'm not for a moment pretending that we have all the answers in open source - and it is a model that has been struggling along under the weight of it's own issues for a long time now, but there are people making a living giving their main product (the software) away.  There are also other people who use the medium as a way into a living (as a springboard for a job).  There are ways that free product can be used to leverage an end result for the producer.  But there is also a concomitant obligation on the part of all consumers to acknowledge that without the producers, you have nothing to consume.  This idea that you can just steal what you want, when you want, because it's "electronic" is just pathetic and attempts to wrap it up as anything other than that - well who do you think you're kidding.

But on the more positive side, there are ideas out there - methods for leveraging are starting to be articulated and we're always on the lookout for these.

Recently 1,000 True Fans came up:  http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php

Have a look - you might find it an interesting, if not slightly daunting idea.

In the meantime - if you're reading these posts on your pilfered copy of commercial software, or you're quietly listening to a music track that you illegally downloaded - snap out of it.  If you can't afford to buy the stuff - look for the Open Source / free alternative.  But for goodness sake, have some backbone and support the artists, software developers, authors, film and TV producers that entertain you and allow you to work.

(Second disclaimer - I have Torrented a bit in the past - conscience very quickly got the better of me.)

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AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S CRIME BOOK COMPETITION, THE DAVITTS, NOW OPEN

Sisters in Crime is inviting publishers to enter its 2010 Davitt Awards for the best crime or mystery novels and true crime books by Australian women published last year.

Four Davitts will be presented by Scottish crime writer, Val McDermid, on Saturday August 28, 7pm, at the Celtic Club in Melbourne for best novel (adult); best novel (children’s and young adult); best true crime book and best book (readers’ choice), as voted by the 500 members of Sisters in Crime Australia.

The Davitts (named after Ellen Davitt, the author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865) cost publishers nothing to enter.

The awards are handsome carved polished wooded trophies featuring the front cover of the winning novel under perspex. No prize money is attached. The awards do not extend to e-novels though it does extend to self-published books.

Sisters in Crime spokeswoman (and the Sydney Morning Herald’s crime columnist), Dr Sue Turnbull, said Davitts awards celebrated their 10^th birthday this year.

“Ten years ago, only seven books were in contention, though it’s true to say back then true crime books weren’t included. This year we expect that at least 40 books will fight it out for the Davitts, and it’s been the case for the past few years,” she said.

“The Davitts have played a key role in getting women’s crime books better recognised – and in encouraging Australian publishers to take a punt on crime books produced by women locally, instead of just importing the latest block busters from overseas. It’s a gamble that has paid off.”

A Beautiful Place to Die, the book by last year’s Davitt (adult fiction) winner, Malla Nunn, is one of six novels shortlisted for the Edgars, the most prestigious US crime award (to be decided late April).

The judging panel for 2010 comprises forensic pathologist Dr Shelley Robertson, retired bookseller Rosi Tovey and three Sisters in Crime national co-convenors: Dr Sue Turnbull, Tanya King-Carmichael and Jacqui Horwood.

Sisters in Crime was established 19 years ago, has chapters in different states and holds regular events in Melbourne dissecting crime fiction on the page and screen. It publishes a magazine, Stiletto, and hosts a popular annual short-story competition, the Scarlet Stiletto Awards.

To enter, email Carmel Shute on cshute@internode.on.com by May 17.

Enquiries: Carmel Shute, Sisters in Crime, National Co-convenor on 03 9527 7126 or 0412 569 356

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There's so much crime fiction from so many varied cultures these days that it's hard to pick the new "big thing".  The unfortunate thing about the "big thing" is that other areas are often unfairly swamped or forgotten.  Working away in some of the less often remarked upon areas, there are some stunningly good authors.

One of the things I wanted when we started AustCrime was to incorporate New Zealand authors - and this, I hasten to add, is not another attempt to "claim" anything from the land of the long white cloud as our own.  Rather it's to acknowledge that there are some authors just over the ditch who deserve mention - who I regard as important in my reading world as I do the local crew. 

We have included a list of all the New Zealand authors we've managed to locate this far, and we're always on the lookout for more.

There are some within this group that stand astride a number of locations.  Paul Thomas, for example, was born in the UK, grew up in NZ and now lives in Australia.  But he belongs in the New Zealand and Australian groups not just because of the geographical details but because he has written some tremendous books that touch upon the movements of New Zealanders between their homeland and Australia.  Dirty Laundry is one of the best examples of his that I've read so far, but the good thing about Paul's books is that just because you liked one book - don't expect the rest to be in the same vein.  He's a very versatile author.

Paul Cleave, on the other hand, is firmly based in Christchurch although he's probably not the greatest thing to happen to local tourism there.  But his books are amongst my most favourite reads in recent years.  Dark, creepy, downright terrifying in some cases, Paul writes the most fantastic thrillers.  Not a series, his books all approach some of the standard scenarios of crime fiction and shred them - right before your eyes.   But I still maintain - he wrote one of the only books that has scared me witless in a number of years.  Follow the link to Paul's page and then to the books and you'll see some reviews attached as well.

Stella Duffy is another that I've listed - she was born in New Zealand and now lives in London, although the latest book I've noticed from Stella was released in 2005.  Hopefully that's me not looking hard enough.  In a similar vein Chris Niles was born in New Zealand, now lives in the US - and in particular, her book, Hell's Kitchen is an absolute corker.

Vanda Symon is another current day, born and living in NZ author with two books to her name at the moment - both of which are here and I have just got to get them higher up the reading queue (I think I'm going to die saying that!)

Of course, New Zealand has it's own list of earlier crime fiction authors, and most of us have probably started out reading Ngaio Marsh at the same time that we were working out way through the Agatha Christie collection.  There is also Freda Bream who I know was born in around 1918 - but other than that I haven't found out a lot yet.

Just a quick example of some of the authors from New Zealand that you should check out.

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The earliest Australian Crime Fiction book I've ever found reference to is Ellen Davitt's Force and Fraud which was originally published in 1865, but for sheer numbers and prolific writing Fergus Hume is somebody that needs mentioning.

Starting with The Mystery of the Hansom Cab published in 1886, Fergus Hume went on to have about 137 books published up until 1932.

Fergus Hume (1859-1932) was an English lawyer who emigrated to New Zealand with his parents - Dr James Collin Hume and Mary Ferguson (from Glasgow originally).  (James was responsible for founding the first private mental hospital there as well as Dunedin College). Fergus completed his education in New Zealand, and was called to the New Zealand bar in 1885, before moving to Melbourne later in the same year.

Whilst determined to become a play writer, he worked as a solicitors clerk in Melbourne, remaining mostly unknown.  Desperate to gain the attention of local theatre directors, he found that the most popular writer of books at the time was Emile Gaboriau and his detective works.  Hume used these books as a point of study and came up with his own first effort in 1886 The Mystery of the Hansom Cab.  Hume, being based in Melbourne, set his first book firmly in the city - set amongst the laneways and streets of the city and the "outer" suburbs of St Kilda and Brighton.  The book has a number of interesting elements to it - firstly for the clear and very stark depiction of the fledgling colonial city, and then of the society itself within that city.  Slightly controversial at the time, it managed to offend by drawing a pretty stark portrait of the extremes in Melbourne society and even, albeit somewhat obliquely in some places, incorporating some social commentary along the way.

The book was undoubtedly a very good book at the time - and it remains extremely readable today which is quite something given that much early crime fiction doesn't necessarily hold up well with the passage of time.  Hume must have been extremely frustrated at his inability to get the book published - mostly being rejected by publishers for reasons similar to "no Colonial could write anything worth reading".   Ultimately, he had the book published privately - selling the publishing rights for £50.  Luckily he retained the dramatic rights which allowed him to make a reasonable profit from long theatre runs in both Australia and London.

Hume wrote one other novel set in and around Ballarat and the Australian gold mining fields - Madame Midas which was published in 1889.  Many many books followed from there (the full list of his books is included below), but Hume himself left Australia and settled in Essex, England where he remained until he died from heart failure in July 1932.

Project Gutenberg includes a number of Fergus Hume's works that you can access on line: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a1057

Bibliography

• The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886)
• Professor Brankel's Secret (1886)
• Madame Midas (1888)
• The Girl from Malta (1889)
• The Piccadilly Puzzle (Also published as: Dowker - Detective) (short stories 1889)
• The Gentleman Who Vanished (US Title: The Man Who Vanished) (1889)
• The Man with a Secret (1890)
• Miss Mephistopheles (Also published as: Tracked by Fate; or, Miss Mephistopheles (1890)
• Whom God Hath Joined (1891)
• Monsieur Judas (1891)
• A Creature of the Night (1891)
• The Year of Miracle (1891)
• When I Lived in Bohemia (1892)
• The Island of Fantasy (1892)
• The Chronicles of Faeryland (1892)
• Alladin in London (1892)
• The Fever of Life (1892)
• The Black Carnation (1892)
• The Harlequin Opal (1893)
• The Chinese Jar (1893)
• A Speck of the Motley (1893)
• A Midnight Mystery (1894)
• The Nameless City (1894)
• The Gates of Dawn (1894)
• The Best of Her Sex (1894)
• The Lone Inn (1894)
• The Mystery of Landy Court
• (US Title: From Thief to Detective) (1894)
• The Crime of 'Liza Jane' (1895)
• The White Prior (1895)
• The Carbuncle Clue (1896)
• Tricked by a Tattoo (1896)
• The Expedition of Captain Flick (1896)
• The Dwarf's Chamber and other stories (short stories) (1896)
• A Marriage Mystery (1896)
• Claude Duval of Ninety-Five (1897)
• The Tombstone Treasure (1897)
• Hagar of the Pawn-Shop (short stories) (1898)
• Under One Cover (1898)
• The Clock Struck One (1898)
• Lady Jezebel (1898)
• The Rainbow Feather (1898)
• The Devil-Stick (US Title: For the Defense) (1898)
• The Silent House in Pimlico (US Title: The Silent House) (1899)
• The Red-Headed Man (1899)
• The Indian Bangle (1899)
• The Crimson Cryptogram (1900)
• A Traitor in London (1900)
• Shylock of the River (1900)
• The Lady from Nowhere (1900)
• The Bishop's Secret (US Title: Bishop Pendle; or, The Bishop's Secret) (1900)
• The Vanishing of Tera (1900)
• A Woman's Burden (1901)
• The Golden Wang-Ho (US Title: The Secret of the Chinese Jar) (1901)
• The Millionaire Mystery (1901)
• The Mother of Emeralds (1901)
• The Crime of the Crystal (1901)
• The Turnpike House (1902)
• Woman: The Sphinx (1902)
• The Pagan's Cup (1902)
• The Guilty House (1903)
• The Jade Eye (1903)
• The Miser's Will (1903)
• A Coin of Edward VII (1903)
• The Yellow Holly (1903)
• The Silver Bullet (1903)
• The Wheeling Light (1904)
• The White Room (1904)
• The Mandarin's Fan (1904)
• The Red Window (1904)
• The Lonely Church (1904)
• The Fatal Song (1905)
• The Scarlet Bat (1905)
• Lady Jim of Curzon Street (1905)
• The Opal Serpent (1905)
• The Secret Passage (1905)
• The Wooden Hand (1905)
• The Black Patch (1906)
• The Dancer in Red (short stories) (1906)
• Jonah's Luck (1906)
• The Mystery of the Shadow (1906)
• The Yellow Hunchback (1907)
• The Purple Fern (1907)
• Flies in the Web (1908)
• The Sacred Herb (1908)
• The Sealed Message (1908)
• The Mystery of a Motor Cab (1908)
• The Crowned Skull (1908)
• The Green Mummy (1908)
• The Amethyst Cross (1908)
• The Top Dog (1909)
• The Disappearing Eye (1909)
• The Solitary Farm (1909)
• The Devil's Ace (1909)
• The Spider (1910)
• The Mikado Jewel (1910)
• The Peacock of Jewels (1910)
• The Lonely Subaltern (1910)
• The Rectory Governess (1911)
• The Steel Crown (1911)
• The Pink Shop (1911)
• High Water Mark (1911)
• The Jew's House (1911)
• Mother Mandarin (1912)
• Across the Footlights (1912)
• A Son of Perdition (1912)
• The Mystery Queen (1912)
• Red Money (1912)
• The Blue Talisman (1912)
• Seen in the Shadow (1913)
• In Queer Street (1913)
• The Thirteenth Guest (1913)
• The Curse (1913)
• The 4 P.M. Express (1914)
• Not Wanted (1914)
• The Lost Parchment (1914)
• Answered: A Spy Story (1915)
• The Caretaker (1915)
• The Red Bicycle (1916)
• The Silent Signal (1917)
• The Grey Doctor (1917)
• The Black Image (1918)
• Next Door (1918)
• Heart of Ice (1918)
• Crazy-Quilt (1919)
• The Master-Mind (1919)
• The Dark Avenue (1920)
• The Other Person (1920)
• The Singing Head (1920)
• The Woman Who Held On (1920)
• The Unexpected (1921)
• Three (1921)
• A Trick of Time (1922)
• The Moth-Woman (1923)
• The Whispering Lane (1924)
• The Caravan Mystery (1926)
• The Last Straw (1932)

Postscript:

Whilst the parts of Victoria that Fergus Hume wrote about have mostly been spared thus far, this has been a dreadful week and the ongoing bushfire situation isn't going to end anytime soon.  Whilst those of us lucky enough to be safe and out of the worst of the areas, are chatting away about what is, after all, pure entertainment, spare a thought for the army of volunteers and paid workers trying to pull these fires up.  Spare a thought for how many of them have lost everything themselves, and yet they are still out there fighting these fires. 

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It's an interesting phenomena that in a country that used to pride itself on it's rugged outdoors / country style heroes, the vast majority of the population live on the coast - in large cities.

It's no secret around here that the rural inland is struggling.  Populations have continued to decrease and small rural communities are really struggling to survive, although hopefully the Tree-Change phenomena is starting to help with that a little.  But you quickly become aware of the fact that the "city dwellers" forget we exist.  A lot of this is reflected again in our crime fiction (with the exceptions of The Broken Shore by Peter Temple and Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland).

We track locations in books on AustCrime (in the Right Hand Menu you'll see an option "By Category" - hover over Story Location and you'll see not only the locations but the number of entries here that mention that location).  Having said that - some of those numbers are really interesting (the number of articles is in brackets after each location).

Victoria (5) being the whole state in which Melbourne (87) is the capital city and in direct competition with Sydney (176) which has always been Sin City - Melbourne's just trying to catch up.  Country NSW (16) is the state in which Sydney sits (and I think Robert G Barrett's probably got a stranglehold on a lot of those locations).  Canberra (20) is another capital city and the countries parliamentary capital city into the bargain whereas Arnhem Land (3) is about as outback as you can get.  We've also got a more generic setting of Australian Outback (12), many of these entries I would imagine we can thank Arthur Upfield for.  As a comparison Country QLD (1), Cairns (3), Great Barrier Reef (1) and Brisbane (3) so obviously there's just not enough books being set in Queensland full stop.  Adelaide (8) is another capital city, Tasmania (9) as the whole state and Western Australia (2) to stack up against it's capital city Perth (5).  The Northern Territory (1) is currently very under-represented.  One location I've just noticed is Mallee, Australia (1) - (excellent - that's nearly local, I must go see what that article is about!)  (Remembering that these numbers could change as things are added to the site).

Not all these articles relate directly to books obviously, but it is interesting to consider the way that the setting for our crime fiction has changed.  Arthur Upfield, S H Courtier and others tended to set their books in rural / outback locations, at the same time that so much fiction was being set in Melbourne and in Sydney.  Maybe that's because of the circumstances of where they came from, but also because of the sensibility of the nation at the time. 

It's a little bit of a sad outcome that we've never really attained a very wide ranging use of settings throughout the entire country.  We went from the rural to the city, and we've never had what you'd call a comprehensive current day set of books that encompass the entire place.  Now it's obvious that writers tend to write what they know / where they live, it's going to make getting your settings a lot more accurate if you're gazing out the window (so to speak), but if our crime fiction is to evolve to be as wide ranging as other countries, then surely, at some stage, somebody's going to have to turn inland.  Not to the absolute outback, but to the smaller country cities, the smaller states, the country towns, the rural areas, the food bowls, the rivers, the creeks, the hills, mountains and the plains.  Of course, our publishers have to take a role in this as well - books that reflect the entire country may not necessarily be the big blockbuster sellers, but what Australian Crime fiction is.  But there are lots of readers who don't do the mean inner city streets - an increasing number of us are in the dustbowls along the major highways.

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