Melissa Pouliot, who worked at the Mail-Times from the mid-90s to 2000 and started a Wimmera-based PR group afterward, has invited a retinue of female crime authors to attend the Sisters in Crime writers festival, a two-day event in Cobargo, New South Wales.

Among the authors attending the event will be Candice Fox, whose bestselling book Crimson Lake has been adapted for the screen as the television series Troppo, and Vikki Petraitis, who has written 18 books including The Frankston Murders and The Phillip Island Murder.

The two-day festival will consist of a writers' discussion panel on Saturday, August 27 and a writers' workshop in Merimbula on August 28.

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The panel discussion will be a live-streamed event, which has been expected to attract an audience from across the world.

Ms Pouliot invited fans of her crime novels, of which many were in the Wimmera, to attend the event, either virtually or in person.

"We have got people who have booked from all over the world to be a part of the Saturday event," she said.

"The calibre of the authors that are coming is out of this world. Australian crime novels, crime fiction and true crime have truly become popular around the world, especially in the last few years."

Other panellists include Sulari Gentill, who writes the bestselling Rowland Sinclair Mysteries and has just released The Woman in the Library which has been featured in The New York Times.

Fleur Ferris, international bestselling young adult and children's book author; Ilsa Evans, bestselling author of 15 novels; Kay Schubach, Community Hero Award finalist and domestic violence advocate; Professor Caroline de Costa, prominent obstetrician and gynaecologist who writes detective novels in her spare time; Dorothy Johnston, who has had two of her novels shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.

Ms Pouliot invited the authors to return after the success of the inaugural Sisters in Crime in Cobargo event in 2016.

"I went to this event and absolutely loved it. I formed all these friendships with different crime writers," she said.

"When Cobargo was so badly impacted by the 2019 summer bushfires, a few of these female crime writers got in touch and said they would love to go back to support the community."

Ms Pouliot is the author of the Find Me series which follows the life of protagonist Detective Rhiannon McVee as she investigates missing persons cases in the Australian outback.

Much of the book was inspired by Ms Pouliot's own experiences with missing persons and the outback.

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Ms Pouliot's cousin Ursula was found by detectives in 2017 after a 30 years investigation into her disappearance.

Much like her cousin's case, Mr Pouliot said the increasing popularity of true crime storytelling had led to the reopening of many cold cases.

"I think that podcasting has really opened up true crime story telling. In the last few years people have become really fascinated with true crime," she said.

"I also think that it has to do with the fact that investigators have access to all this technology, so all old cases are able to be solved.

"You have true crime podcasts trying to get cases reinvigorated. Because of advances in technology, a lot of these old cases are able to be solved, driving up the popularity of true crime story telling."

For more information, visit www.headlandwritersfestival.com.au.

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