Author to talk crime and comedy

BENJAMIN Stevenson made his name as a member of stand-up comedy duo The Stevenson Experience, alongside twin brother James, but not everything about them is identical.

A bestselling and award-winning author, Benjamin Stevenson has released a new crime novel this month, Everyone on This Train is A Suspect, and is coming to Ballarat to chat about it with readers.

Stevenson will be at the Old Colonists Club this Sunday 22 October at 12pm in conversation with Collins Booksellers on Lydiard’s events coordinator Renee Price.

“There’s something about crime fiction,” she said. “Very few people don’t like reading it, so the audience is big.

“Benjamin takes quite a satirical look at crime fiction. I’ve just started the new one, and all I want to do is go home and keep reading it because it’s so quirky and funny.

“It’s about crime writers that go away to a festival, and he describes them in a quintessential way. With the humour, Benjamin’s books are a really good break into that crime fiction genre.”

Ms Price is planning to ask Stevenson what inspired him to write this way, and is interested to know whether he is a lover of crime fiction as well.

The event will run for about 45 minutes, with time at the end for attendees to ask questions, before book signings and photos.

“He is quite a young author and will be very entertaining to listen to with that comedy background,” Ms Price said.

“When you’ve heard an author speak and then get to read the book, it brings so much depth and insight to the experience.”

This book is the sequel to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Stevenson’s third novel that’s set to be adapted into a television series. Register at bit.ly/400cvPB.