At the start of the millennium, seven crime writers banded together to form Murder Squad. The idea was born out of Margaret Murphy’s frustration with a lack of marketing and publicity for her novels, and she knew she was not alone. Seven novelists, all from the north of England, took direct action – a form of marketing vigilantism, if you will, and the Squad has since inspired many imitators. This was the era before social media, but we knew how to write good copy – and working together meant we had a pool of skills we could draw on. We set up a website, produced a brochure, and agreed on a variety of events we could offer.
Our publishers were enthusiastic: here was a low-cost option that would promote the writing of seven respected and (glory be!) self-financing authors. They liked the idea of authors from different publishers working together in this way, and agreed immediately to help distribute the brochure to booksellers, reviewers, and trade magazines. The response was astounding: requests for articles from both trade and local press, booksellers interested in the novelty of having a Murder Squad in-store, libraries and festivals who saw the attraction of being able to mix and match writers with a range of writing styles and personalities.
Fifteen years on, Squaddies have appeared at hundreds of events and festivals. Notable Murder Squad successes are Ann Cleeves, who has won multiple awards for her books and currently has adaptations of her Vera and Shetland series on TV. Similarly, Cath Staincliffe’s Blue Murder TV series ran for five seasons. Meanwhile, Martin Edwards has become Series Consultant to the British Library’s wildly popular Crime Classics series. Inevitably, some members have moved on, but we are pleased to have been joined by Kate Ellis and Chris Simms.
From the beginning, the Squad has always been looking for new opportunities – and one of the most rewarding has been the chance to publish anthologies of our short stories. In short fiction we can experiment, take risks, try out fresh styles, discover different characters and produce work that might be quite unlike our novelistic style. There is a freedom – a liberation – that is exhilarating and challenging in a form in which every word counts. Murder Squad has published two anthologies, both edited by Martin Edwards, and a third will hit the bookshops in September. The first anthology saw Ann Cleeves’s story shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Short Story Dagger award, and in 2012 two stories from the second collection, Best Eaten Cold, were also shortlisted. So, Margaret Murphy and Cath Staincliffe, the shortlistees, dusted off their best frocks and set off for London, elated to be included on a shortlist that featured crime writing greats Mickey Spillane and New York Times bestseller William Kent Krueger.
When Ayo Onatade, chair of the judges, took the stage she described a panel in deadlock. They had rated two entries on the shortlist of equal merit and couldn’t agree on an outright winner. They consulted with the CWA: was there anything in the rules that prevented joint winners sharing the prize? The committee was uneasy: it had never been done before – could the judges take more time to deliberate? The panel reconvened, but it was no good – they couldn’t choose between the two. So, in a break with CWA tradition, two winners were selected. The tension among the publishers and authors in the room was palpable – except for the two Squaddies, relaxed and smiling, ready to applaud the two big names on the list. When Ayo announced Margaret Murphy, for The Message, and Cath Staincliffe for Laptop, they could not have been more delighted or astonished, and winning together made it even more special.
Murder Squad are the authors of the award-winning Best Eaten Cold and other Stories. For updates, offers and news, sign up for Murder Squad’s mailing list at: www.murdersquad.co.uk