In popular fiction, character is just as important as in literary fiction—but one story may not be enough. In this session, we will discuss the unique demands of popular fiction and introduce the array of characters who populate stories that rely on discovery or suspense—some of them very shady, indeed. Who should lead the story? What do heroes and villains have in common? Who are the people required to build out your protagonist’s world and make readers believe— and worry?
Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award-nominated and Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of The Death of Us, Death at Greenway, The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, and others. Lori lives in Chicago, where she co-chairs the crime fiction readers’ event Midwest Mystery Conference and teaches creative writing at Northwestern University. Her next novel, Wreck Your Heart, featuring a wannabe country singer, will be released from Minotaur/SMPG in winter 2026. Visit her at www.LoriRaderDay.com.
