40 | The Writer • March 2020
CONFERENCE INSIDER
BY MELISSA HART
V
eteran police investigator
and author Lee Lofland
started the Writers’ Police
Academy 12 years ago.
Weary of reading so many inaccuracies
in mystery and crime novels, he
wanted to provide authors with accu-
rate, hands-on information.
“The 2019 Writers’ Police Academy,
aptly nicknamed ‘MurderCon,’ concen-
trated solely on the crime of murder
and ensuing investigations,” he
explains. “Instead of agent pitch ses-
sions, writers should be prepared to
learn all about police procedure...and
get their hands dirty.”
The Academy gives the same
instruction offered to police officers
and investigators – classes that include
pursuit driving, firearms training,
arson, and other crime scene investiga-
tions, evidence collection, arrest tac-
tics, and TASER deployment during a
four-day event Lofland describes as
“incredibly thrilling.”
Participants from around the world
gather in Raleigh, North Carolina, for
workshops and lectures, a book launchparty, a banquet, and a keynote with a
bestselling murder mystery author.
They may also enter the Golden
Donut Short Story Contest with a fic-
tional submission of exactly 200
words, based on a given photograph.
The winner receives complimentary
conference registration.What you’ll learn
On Friday and Saturday at MurderCon,
participants eat breakfast and board
buses bound for Sirchie, an organiza-
tion that provides forensic trainingWriters’ Police Academy MurderCon
Get hands-on experience in forensics and law enforcement at this immersive
four-day event in Raleigh, North Carolina.Television writer Phoef Sutton uses a metal rod to probe the earth for a body or bone as fellow MurderCon attendees look on, including Southern Vampire
series author Charlaine Harris (standing right of Sutton).
Photo^ by^ Don^O’Neil