mad, bad

Mad

How is our sense of self and our mental health affected by the stories a racialised society projects onto people of colour? Is a significant cause of mental illness among black communities an internalisation of such stories? Is mad a sick alternative to bad? What stories do writers of colour choose to tell that address (or transverse) mental health and why? How do we all maintain our mental well-being as writers and artists?
Panellists: Desiree Reynolds, Kei Miller

Interviewer: Col Bashir

Bad

This will take the form of a mock Magistrates Court session. Herded into the dock, writers who contributed to the Shots In The Dark anthology will be cross-examined. Are their works subliminal confessions that they have committed foul acts? Their work features crimes, from murder & manslaughter, to breach of parking regulations. What research or experience informed these stories?  The chief examiner will also assess and  interrogate them on whether or not they have breached the Most Important Rules of Literature!
Panellists: Vijay Medtia, Kenya Sterling, Heena Patel

There follows a further session at Crown Court, dealing with heinous crimes of the utmost seriousness. In the dock will be two of Britain’s foremost crime writers, Jacob Ross and Patrice Lawrence. We will interrogate their artistic choices, their aesthetic techniques, their themes and the language they use.
In the dock: Jacob Ross, Patrice Lawrence
Chief Interrogators: Anjum Malik, Pete Kalu
Jury: you, the people!