CRIMEBITS is a series of unique anthologies released by The Black Spring Press Group (headquartered in London). With the release of the third volume by the end of the year, the popularity of this endeavor continues to grow.
It begins with an open call for submissions. Writers are encouraged to submit up to 250 words that represent the opening gambit for a gripping thriller. This can come from a work-in-progress, a finished piece ready to go out on submission, or a short section written specifically for the contest. With the key criteria being that the 250 (or less) words must grab the reader’s attention and leave them wanting to read more.
Crime fiction author Luca Veste (working with a special guest editor for each volume) narrows down the submissions to the top 100 examples and ultimately awards the best opening gambit with a monetary prize, some mentorship, and an opportunity to publish the finished work down the road. The guest editor for CRIMEBITS 1 was Lee Child, for CRIMEBITS 2 was Val McDermid, and working on the soon to be released CRIMEBITS 3 was Mick Herron.
These three guest editors and Luca Veste himself all write across the various subgenres of crime fiction, so it’s no surprise that the gambits included in each volume stretch from psychological thrillers to police procedurals with stops in action, suspense, and even cozy along the way. Both readers and fellow writers will delight in witnessing how these storytellers craft opening gambits that grab attention and whet the appetite for more.
Along with the 100 openings chosen for inclusion in CRIMEBITS 3, each gambit is paired with a puzzle for readers to complete. These “games” range from crossword puzzles to word searches, from pictograms to logic puzzles, with ciphers and other fun projects included along the way. CRIMEBITS 3 has also chosen to include some opening gambits from already published novels by a star-studded cast of crime fiction authors including Sara Paretsky, James Lee Burke, Michael Robotham, Carl Hiaasen, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lisa Unger, Linwood Barclay, Michael Koryta, and more.
I am thrilled that “Blood is Thicker,” my opening gambit was chosen for inclusion in CRIMEBITS 3. To celebrate, I reached out to some friends who were also selected for this volume (including, Kate B. Jackson, who ultimately took the top prize) to get their thoughts on this unique opportunity. We all hope that you will be intrigued enough to preorder a copy for yourself and that you will consider this the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for crime fiction fans on your holiday lists.
Kate Jackson:
Conventional writing wisdom says never open a story with your character waking up, and yet on a Friday morning in September I woke up to an email with the memo line “News,” letting me know that internationally bestselling author Mick Herron had selected the opening of one of my two entries into CRIMEBITS 3 as the winner. This email arrived smack dab in the middle of a crisis of confidence about my writing, when I’d been feeling inept, discouraged, and irrelevant. The winning segment came from a project I’d just begun writing when I submitted it. I’d also entered an opening from a story I’ve been thinking about for a year but had yet to even start plotting. I was notified in August that each would be included in the book—thrilling and hugely validating, especially because the opening of a story is so important and, for that very reason, often the most challenging to me. To have the opening sentences of the book I’m currently wrestling with chosen as the winner tells me I’m on the right track…despite my embarrassing error of confusing penny loafers with laced Oxfords in an entry judged by Mick Herron, Oxford resident. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d disqualified it for that reason alone!
Fleur Bradley:
Writing this opening paragraph for the CRIMEBITS 3 contest was so much fun, because it allowed me to indulge just a little time on a novel idea I had but had no room in my schedule to write. I had seen a post go by on social media about people choosing to disappear from their own lives, either for shame over something, or other reasons. So I thought: what if there is a service to help you with that? A kind of witness protection, allowing you to start over. I instantly imagined that being a family business. For all I know, this actually exists. Fascinating, right? I hope to write the novel to go with this opening someday.
Clea Simon:
“Elements” was already going out on submission when I heard about the “CRIMEBITS 3” contest, so I like to think it was pretty well finished. That said, as I read it through, I did find a few phrases I wanted to tighten up (and did). Isn’t that always the way, though? I don’t think I have a book out there – and I’ve got more than 30 mysteries in print – that I wouldn’t fuss with, at least a little. And for a psychological suspense, like “Elements,” so much is atmosphere – emotion and setting – so capturing the right mood and conveying it from the get-go is vital. This book is narrated by an older woman who is balancing bitterness and acceptance, all the while trying to focus on her own art. I like to think that its mix of simmering resentment, dark humor, and hard-won insight is why my opening was chosen.
Anne Marie Lewis:
Fresh out of grad school as a voice performance major, I hit the audition circuit hard. I auditioned for every opera company, apprenticeship program and church gig available. Rejected many more times than cast, I was learning the art of auditioning and, along the way, continued to hone my craft. Five years out of grad school I ran into a former classmate, Grace, who was gifted with a shimmering soprano and gorgeous, statuesque features — easily leading lady material. Grace was still studying privately with the same voice teacher she had in our Masters program. At that point I had done dozens of auditions and performed seven solo operatic roles. Grace had no performance experience; she had done zero auditions. Her reason? Her voice teacher insisted she wasn’t “ready.” Knowing her capabilities in grad school, I was baffled at this. It was five years before Grace landed a solo role.
Every time I’ve pivoted as a performer or embarked on a new career adventure, Grace’s story acts a cautionary tale. If after training, coaching and practicing my new craft, I wait until I am “ready,” what fantastic opportunities might I miss? I am at the early, embryonic stage of writing with lots of stories started, characters sketched, plots drafted. Sally Milliken, whom I met at this year’s Malice Domestic, encouraged me to enter the CRIMEBITS 3 contest. I focused on my writing rather than for whom I was writing. Had I taken to heart that Mick Herron and Luca Vesta had a hand in the whole process, I might have allowed a “not ready” excuse to deter me. After learning my submission made the cut did I then focus on what CRIMEBITS 3 actually was. The news was both validating and galvanizing. A switch flipped: maybe my writing is fairly decent and something I should continue to pursue. Unless, of course, Herron and Vesta were forced to choose my entry due to low submissions!
(You can hear Anne Marie Lewis reading a few of the CRIMEBITS 3 opening gambits on her social media profiles, including Facebook, Instagram, and others.)
Kristopher Zgorski:
My submission, “Blood is Thicker,” had started years earlier in a multi-week writing course I was taking, led by Award-winning crime writer Carol Goodman. Across the various class meetings, we would cover the usual topics of setting, character, conflict, dialogue, etc.—with many of the students (including myself) working on the same “end product” for each of the lessons. At one point, we were discussing point of view and I realized that in my ongoing story, I had placed a character in the shower after an extremely traumatic event and really had no option for POV (other than the character himself or an omniscient voice, both of which didn’t work for what I was trying to accomplish). With the class deadline looming, I decided to experiment and write the scene from the viewpoint of the shower water, fully expecting to fail and rewrite it after the class critique. Turned out, everyone loved the scene.
Flash forward to the CRIMEBITS 3 contest announcement. That “story” from Carol Goodman’s class was deemed to be a better fit as a novel—still in the works—but I was clinging to that shower scene. Knowing that Mick Herron has opened several Slough House novels with extremely creative POVs, I decided to take a leap and rewrite that shower scene as the opening moment for my contest submission. Everything clicked into place and it was ultimately chosen for inclusion in CRIMEBITS 3, so I guess the moral of the story is: let the work dictate its needs and be open to experimentation.
CRIMEBITS 3 will be released by the end of the year in both the UK and US market. You can pre-order from your favorite vendor or directly from the publisher.
