Join adept and articulate MC Joe Bennett as he chairs a raucous night of argument and repartee while a stellar line-up of debaters argues the moot, ‘Crime doesn’t pay’.

Trying to convince Joe of their intellectual superiority and verbal dexterity will be Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, writer Steve Braunias, The Press reporter Martin van Beynen, lawyer Marcus Elliott, American novelist Meg Wolitzer and Ngaio Marsh Award finalist Paul Cleave.

The debate will be followed by the presentation of the 2014 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. Which of the country’s best crime novelists will triumph?

The finalists are:

Paul Cleave, Joe Victim
Liam McIlvanney, Where the Dead Men Go
Donna Malane, My Brother’s Keeper
Alan Duff, Frederick’s Coat