Detection Club A-list for Howdunit title

More than 50 crime authors and members of the Detection Club, including Ian Rankin, Mick Herron and Val McDermid, will contribute to a HarperCollins-published title about crime writing.

David Brawn, HC’s publisher of estates, acquired world English-language rights in Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing from Georgia Glover at David Higham. The book is the brainchild of Martin Edwards, Detection Club president and author of Gallow’s Court, who will edit.

The Detection Club is one of the world’s oldest writing societies, founded in 1930 by a group of Golden Age crime authors including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and G K Chesterton. The famous oath its members take when joining is: “Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them, using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them, and not placing reliance on, nor making use of, Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?”

Edwards said: “People interested in writing crime fiction will find Howdunit a unique and invaluable resource, and everyone who loves crime fiction will find it a mine of fascinating information, offering personal perspectives on this most popular of genres from some of the finest crime writers.”

Howdunit will publish in June 2020 and be dedicated to Len Deighton, a member of the club for 50 years. Deighton will also contribute an essay on how he wrote his classics The Ipcress File and SS-GB.

Brawn said: “The idea of compiling the tricks of the trade by the esteemed Detection Club was highly intriguing. When I realised that Martin had assembled contributions from pretty much every current member of the esteemed club—plus some rare articles by many of their Golden Age forebears—my intrigue turned to real excitement.”