Homegrown author returns with novel advice

BEST-SELLING young adult crime author and one-time Bendigo resident Troy Hunter returns to town next week to make a guest appearance at the Bendigo Writers Council April meetup.

Hunter is known for his page-turning, dark, fun, heartfelt teen crime novels.

His debut, Gus and the Missing Boy (2024), was shortlisted for both the Ned Kelly Award and the BAD Sydney Danger Award for best debut crime fiction.

Its sequel, Gus and the Burning Stones, was published last year.

At the upcoming session he’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of how to write a whodunnit and taking participants through some practical tips on how to construct their own crime story.

Hunter said although he was always a bit of a book nerd, living in the library and constantly buying second-hand books, he never considered taking up writing as a career.

“I thought it was something other people did,” he said.

“I thought it might be a hobby I could do.

“I used to win short story competitions in my teens and twenties, then I stopped and life took over.

“I got a job and a career, 20 years flew by and suddenly I’m in my 50s and I’m thinking, if I’m ever going to give this writing thing a crack, it probably should be now.”

With two books under his belt and a couple more on the way, Hunter said he’s now at a point where he can work within a structure of key elements he has identified as essential to all crime stories, which he’ll be detailing at the workshop.

“I’ll be talking about these key elements that I reckon every crime story needs, so people can start to construct the bones of their own crime story (in real time),” he said.

“If you like crime, come along, you can learn stuff.

“No-one’s marking your work, you don’t have to show anyone and you don’t have to read out anything.”

BWC Writers Explore April – How to write a crime story with Troy Hunter takes place next Wednesday 29 April at the Bendigo Library from 7pm to 9pm.