Crime and Punishment: Writing from Real-Life Experience

Join us for a fascinating evening where fact meets fiction — and real-life experience becomes the beating heart of a good crime story.

Scottish author and former crime journalist Emma Christie (Watch Your Back) and British writer Tim Parfitt (The Madrid Connection) will be in conversation with Lorne Walker-Nolan, professor of criminology and former criminal lawyer, about how lived experience shapes compelling storytelling.

From crime scenes in Scotland to newsroom dramas in Spain, and the moral questions that drive both writers and investigators, we’ll explore how personal histories and professional insight bring authenticity to the page — and what happens when fiction mirrors reality a little too closely.
Expect an evening of sharp insights, dark humour, and plenty of twists.

### About the Speakers:

Emma Christie
Emma has spent her whole adult life telling stories — first as a news reporter, then as a tour guide in the Spanish Pyrenees, and now as an award-winning crime novelist. Her fourth psychological thriller, Watch Your Back, was published this week and has already been praised by Sir Ian Rankin as “superb” with “breakneck pace and twists galore.”

Tim Parfitt
Author, journalist, and producer Tim has a long international career across the media world. Formerly CEO of Condé Nast Spain and Director General of Grupo Planeta’s magazine division, he now runs Nevision Films & TV in Spain. He is also the founder of Spain in English and author of the travel memoir A Load of Bull, as well as the crime novel series – The Barcelona Connection (April 2023) and The Madrid Connection (published this December).

Lorne Walker-Nolan
Originally a prosecutor in Outback Australia, Lorne now lectures in criminology in Barcelona, bringing his first-hand experience from courtrooms and remote police stations to the classroom. He’s currently working on Capricornia Creek, a crime/legal thriller inspired by his years as a Police Prosecutor in the Northern Territory.