HERE COME THE GIRLS: WHAT CRIME FICTION TELLS US ABOUT THE LIVES OF GIRLS AND WOMEN

Presented by the Diana Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction

We read crime fiction for many reasons—to find a sense of order in a chaotic world, to maintain a relationship with a beloved protagonist or revisit a fascinating setting—but we also turn to it for deep human truths, and some of the most interesting crime novels are written by and for women. We see the savagery of teenage girls, the anger of frustrated housewives or abused women, and plain old bad girls—as well as the inventiveness of victims, perpetrators, and truth tellers in these novels. Stilettos, anyone? Maureen Corrigan, the distinguished book critic for Fresh Air and the Washington Post, moderates a discussion with bestselling authors Megan Abbott, Alafair Burke, Gillian Flynn, and Laura Lippman, all previous winners of the Diana Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction, about the feminine and feminist aspects of crime writing.