Want to create memorable female characters? Our next Heard Word guest wrote the book on the subject – literally. Helen Jacey’s The Woman in the Story is canon for scriptwriters exploring feminist themes. In recent years, she’s been reinventing 1940s detective fiction with her book series Elvira Slate Investigations. Join Helen and learn how to write crime fiction that transcends genre tropes and cultural stereotypes.
That’s Monday the 27th of October, 2025 from 5-7pm GMT on Zoom.
To get feedback on your work sign up to be one of our presenting writers. There are both 20-minute (1500 words) and 5-minute (700 word “lighting round”) slots available. You can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/…/1TfI5…/edit…
Even if you aren’t presenting, please join us to offer feedback. Here is the link. https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/85437743352…
A bit more about our Featured Guest:
Helen Jacey is an author, a multi-modal storyteller, story guru and a creative producer. Her book series Elvira Slate Investigations follows the escapades of unlikely female detective and reinvents 1940s noir detective fiction with a contemporary lens. Helen is the founder of Shedunnit, an indie creative content company, which publishes the Elvira Slate books and related content including songs, music videos, film, and online content. Spotting a gap in the screenwriting books, Helen wrote her first book The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters (2nd ed, 2017 Michael Wiese Productions) to inspire writers creating progressive female characters, and is widely considered to be the seminal guide on the subject of gender and representation. The book is currently celebrating its fifteenth anniversary since first publication and had helped thousands of professional and student writers all over the world. Helen has worked extensively for the international creative industries as a screenwriter, trainer, story mentor and script editor, panellist, public speaker and writing judge. Helen gained her PhD in Screenwriting from the University of the Arts in 2010, and also has served as course leader of several Masters programmes in creative writing for several British universities.