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Deadly Dames Event

Shedunnit proudly presents DEADLY DAMES A fabulous vintage night of jazz and fun to celebrate women in 1940s noir!  Featuring Charlotte Glasson’s Swing Shifters and book launch of Dead Language & Other Stories  with reading and talk by Helen Jacey, Reba T’s Shedunnit Murder Mystery Quiz & special guest appearances Where & When:  The Regency Rooms, Crown House, Marina, St Leonards on Sea, TN38 OBE 7.30pm-11.30pm, 12th November 2022 Book tickets here: https://deadlydames.eventbrite.co.uk Share on… Read More »Deadly Dames Event

50 Plus Magazine

Short film scripts that showcase the work of women over 50 are being sought by organisers of an annual competition as part of the UK’s only festival that celebrates older women in film.

Helen’s Crime Writer’s Association Page!

Helen’s creative works span novels, short stories, screenplays, radio drama, essays, articles, screenwriting writing guides and song-writing. Helen has produced trailers, music and music videos, published novels and short stories and is developing several film and television projects. See Helen’s page here  Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn

Confronting Golden Ageism 

Older women in 1940s noir and what Helen Jacey has done about it… Raymond Chandler’s character of Anna Halsey in Trouble is My Business had a remarkable effect on me. I read the rest of the novel wanting more of her and less of sleuth hero Philip Marlow.  Why? Well, not only did Anna possess all the straight talking sass and jaded worldview I admire in a P.I., she is arguably one of the only… Read More »Confronting Golden Ageism 

Hopes, Dreams and brilliant storytelling: WOFFF’s Best Short Script Prize

Why Helen supports the Women Over Fifty Film Festival. At last, the disconnect between being older and hardly ever seeing anyone like yourself on screen is shrinking. As more women in film and TV commission, produce and create content focusing on women’s lives, portrayals of older women are increasingly diverse, empowering, realistic and relevant. The scope and breadth of representation of older women still has a long way to go, but the barriers are crumbling… Read More »Hopes, Dreams and brilliant storytelling: WOFFF’s Best Short Script Prize

Elvira Slate investigator holding a magnifying glass up which enlarges eye

Creating a historical female detective. 

Here is Helen’s feature article about creating historical female detectives, first published in Myslexia Magazine. Intersectional feminism and the 1940s aren’t the most likely prose pals, but when I set out to write Elvira Slate Investigations, I knew what I wanted to achieve: the first 1940s noir feminist sleuth. As women entered the workplace, the war fuelled patriotism and a sense of new independence, albeit at the cost of millions of men facing death. My… Read More »Creating a historical female detective. 

Women Over Fifty 2022 Best Short Script Prize

Best Short Script Prize 2022 Entries are now open for our Best Short Script prize and we’re delighted that for 2022 we’ll be partnering with Shedunnit Productions for the fourth year in a row to offer script consultation and mentoring to the winner.  Creating short scripts is such an artform, so we want to recognise and celebrate that. We’re always blown away by the complexity that can be demonstrated within just a few short pages, showcasing the… Read More »Women Over Fifty 2022 Best Short Script Prize

How Education Helped Dr Helen Jacey Found a Feminist Production Company

During her undergraduate degree, Helen Jacey didn’t know she wanted to be a writer. She did, however, know that she was passionate about the arts, literature and film.  Little did she know that she would go on to become a professional screenwriter, author, lecturer and the founder of Shedunnit Productions: a production company focusing on creating female focused, intersectional stories. Dr Jacey’s first book, The Woman in the Story, was published in 2010 and has since become… Read More »How Education Helped Dr Helen Jacey Found a Feminist Production Company

Meet the writers: Monocle Reads Helen Jacey

Helen Jacey is a professional screenwriter, lecturer, author and founder of Shedunnit Productions, which provides opportunities across media for intersectional feminist work. An expert in female characterisation, her first book ‘The Woman in the Story’ was published in 2010 and has since become the international handbook for screenwriters writing female characters. Jacey is now working on ‘Elvira Slate Investigations’, a 1940s crime noir feminist detective series. See full article here Share on facebook Facebook Share… Read More »Meet the writers: Monocle Reads Helen Jacey

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Miss-representation? Helen in Huffpost

Cuties has been released on Netflix since September 4 Films have been ‘cancelled’ for featuring offensive content way before cancel culture began: in 1973, Stanley Kubrick declared that his film, A Clockwork Orange, should never be played again in his lifetime after the furore it caused. Audiences have called out films which they have deemed to be offensive for decades, but typically, film-makers and distributors have fought back, claiming their work is important in an artistic sense.… Read More »Miss-representation? Helen in Huffpost