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Helen Jacey
Sub-genre: Amateur detective, gangster, Historical, mystery, noir, psychological, Scripted works
Helen Jacey was born in South London, one of the inspirations behind her 1940s detective series Elvira Slate Investigations, a feminist revision of 1940s noir and which features former criminal-turned-private eye Elvira Slate. The series explorse themes of mental health, rehabilitation of offenders, empowerment and feminism in the repressive era of the 1940s, and flips the sexist, racist, homophobic, ageist and ableist stereotypes of most noir fiction.
Helen is the founder of independent publishing and production company www.shedunnit.com which publishes Elvira Slate Investigations and produces stories across platforms including books, film and TV.
A passionate and long-time advocate for better representation of women on screen and in books, Helen’s first book The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters (Michael Wise Productions), was the first creative guide for writers with female protagonists and instantly became an industry bestseller. It is now considered a seminal text, featuring on university reading lists throughout the world.
Helen is also an internationally renowned story consultant. By invitation from numerous film agencies throughout the world Helen has given masterclasses, story consultancy and keynote lectures to support national and local strategies to improve representation of women in front of and behind the camera. She has served as a judge on several screenwriting competitions, a member of industry panels and she frequently writes articles for film and writing publications. Helen has collaborated on many international media productions as a screenwriter, script editor and story consultant, and taught scriptwriting and creative writing UK universities.
Helen gained a BA from University of Manchester, an MA at Screenwriting from the London Institute and her PhD in Screenwriting from the University of the Arts London. She is a member of Women in Film and TV UK, The Crime Writers Association, Society of Authors and the Writer’s Guild GB.
Books by Helen Jacey
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Jailbird Detective: Elvira Slate Investigation Book One 
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Chipped Pearls: Elvira Slate Investigations Book Two
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The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters
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