writermag.com • The Writer | 41courses and criminal investigation sup-
plies. “Everyone suits up in protective
gear and breaks down doors, drives
police cars, and spins people out during
pursuits,” Lofland says.
Participants may find themselves
learning to shoot with fake ammuni-
tion. They may break into buildings to
search for armed robbers under threat
of gunfire. They learn to check for fin-
gerprints, analyze blood-stain patterns,
and dig for buried bodies in classes
taught by forensic anthropologists.
Workshops have titles like “A
Bloody Mess: Search, ID, and Docu-
ment Blood Evidence,” “The Big
Reveal: Discovering Latent Prints with
Powder,” “Truth or Lies: The Art of
Interrogation,” and “Biological and
Chemical Weapons: Is the End of
Humankind Near?”
Dyer Bennett is Sirchie’s vice presi-
dent of product development and
training. “If they take the arson course,
they’ll analyze burn patterns with an
expert who has 30 years of ATF experi-
ence in arson investigation,” he says of
MurderCon participants. “If they take
the clandestine grave course, they’ll
learn the proper way to excavate bones
and remains in the field. If they take a
drug analysis course, they’ll be taught
not only how to test a suspect sub-
stance but the measures needed to pro-
tect themselves from exposure.”
Lofland’s favorite part of Murder-
Con is watching writers enjoy them-
selves while learning. “They’re like
little kids at Christmas. Their eyes light
up when they try something new or
learn something new,” he says. “The
knowledge gained at the WPA – the
activation of the senses (touch, taste,
smell, hear, see) – is part of what trans-
forms an average tale into a brilliant
work of fiction,” he explains.
Featured presenters
Ray Krone, wrongfully convicted of
murder and on death row for over 10
years, will present at the 2020 confer-
ence. “He was convicted of murder
based on bite-mark evidence, a practice
that has all but been deemed as junk sci-
ence,” Lofland explains. Krone will speak
on “the entire ordeal, from the arrest,
through living on death row, to walking
out the gate as a free man,” he says. “The
detail is invaluable for writers.”
Past guests of honor and presenters –
some of whom will return in 2020 –
include Lee Child, Tami Hoag, Heather
Graham, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Con-
nelly, Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter,
and Craig Johnson.
In 2019, the Southern Vampire Mys-
teries author Charlaine Harris attended,
as did authors and award-winning TV
writers Phoef Sutton and Lee Goldberg.
Thriller author Lisa Klink—a writer for
Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine—also attended.
Past attendees have also included
DNA expert Dr. Dan Krane, cyber-
crimes expert Josh Moulin, O.J. Simp-
son prosecutor and author Marcia
Clark, and coroner Graham Hetrick,
who stars in the TV series The Coro-
ner: I Speak for the Dead.Advice for first-time attendees
Conference registration opens around
Valentine’s Day and often sells out
within hours. Interested writers should
check the website and sign up immedi-
ately after registration opens. The Uni-
versity of California at Riverside offers aconference scholarship, as does the
organization Sisters in Crime. The Mur-
derCon staff has also given scholarships
to high school students interesting in
going into the criminal justice field.
Lofland and his team make sure
attendees have exciting events to
attend from early in the morning until
late at night, every day of the confer-
ence. “There’s always more to see and
do than is humanly possible to accom-
plish in a single weekend,” Lofland
says. “Be prepared to take more notes
than you’ve ever taken in your entire
life. Be prepared to have a lot of fun,
and be prepared to be tired.”Contributing editor Melissa Hart is the
author of Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books
to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Accep-
tance in Tweens and Teens (Sasquatch, 2019).
Twit ter/Instagram: @WildMelissaHar tConference: Writers’ Police
Academy MurderCon
Dates: Aug. 6-9, 2020
Cost: $435
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Discount: For first-time attendees
with Sisters in Crime membership
Contact: Conference director Lee
Lofland at leelofland.com.
writerspoliceacademy.com