Emily Powell

Bringing together scholarship from corpus linguistics, forensic linguistics, and criminology, this book offers a nuanced exploration of moral agency in the pre-crime narratives of offenders. The volume seeks to complement existing literature in forensic linguistics, which often explore criminal narratives elicited after the crime with the benefit of hindsight, by examining texts written in the midst of events. Analyses draw on a corpus of over 200,000 words of manifestos and diaries written by four ‘lone attackers’ who perpetrated mass shootings, and put together accounts of their lives and the preparation for their crimes. Incorporating stylistic approaches to non-fiction texts with those from corpus linguistics, Powell explores the ways in which these texts influence perpetrators and future offenders and, more broadly, the role of narrative as it relates to harmful actions. A closing section includes a taxonomy of moral agency which may serve as the foundation for future research on understanding agency, responsibility, and offending from a linguistic perspective. This book will be of interest to scholars in forensic linguistics, corpus linguistics, stylistics, and criminology.

Bringing together scholarship from corpus linguistics, forensic linguistics, and criminology, this book offers a nuanced exploration of moral agency in the pre-crime narratives of offenders. The volume seeks to complement existing literature in forensic linguistics, which often explore criminal narratives elicited after the crime with the benefit of hindsight, by examining texts written in the midst of events. Analyses draw on a corpus of over 200,000 words of manifestos and diaries written by four ‘lone attackers’ who perpetrated mass shootings, and put together accounts of their lives and the preparation for their crimes. Incorporating stylistic approaches to non-fiction texts with those from corpus linguistics, Powell explores the ways in which these texts influence perpetrators and future offenders and, more broadly, the role of narrative as it relates to harmful actions. A closing section includes a taxonomy of moral agency which may serve as the foundation for future research on understanding agency, responsibility, and offending from a linguistic perspective. This book will be of interest to scholars in forensic linguistics, corpus linguistics, stylistics, and criminology.

This book draws upon genre fiction studies, forensic linguistics, and media studies to investigate the overlap between crime fiction conventions and the writing of missing persons appeals to the public. This book is based on a pilot project funded by the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, entitled 'Genre, Pacing, and Narrative in Police Missing Persons Appeals' (Aug 2021-Nov 2022). The authors identify a missing persons appeal as a literary and linguistic genre in its own right and illustrate the problems that arise when the appeals writing process goes unregulated or unstudied: there is currently little-to-no official, national police guidance, regulation, or standard procedure for writing a missing persons appeal in the UK. The authors also identify opportunities for improving the writing and delivery of appeals by further (and more intentionally) applying crime fiction conventions, narrative devices, and pacing, to maximise audience reach and increase the chances of recovering a missing person. This book will be of particular interest to genre fiction scholars (particularly those interested in crime fiction), forensic linguists, and media studies scholars.

Discover your inner artist and unleash the power of painting for self-care and wellbeing in this inspiring, practical guide. Start Painting Now is an accessible and empowering book that will guide you through the process of ignoring your inner critic and unwinding from the stresses of daily life through the joy of painting. Whether you're returning to art after a long break or starting as a complete beginner, renowned artist Emily Powell and her GP sister, doctor Sarah Moore, will motivate and encourage you to pick up a brush and see where it takes you. Backed by the latest research on the benefits of art for mental health, Start Painting Now will give you the tools to put aside the fear of failure, turn off your phone and immerse yourself in creativity. With inspiring examples from a range of female artists and alongside Emily and Sarah's own work, this book is a brilliant and empowering guide that will compel you to shout from the rooftops, 'I AM AN ARTIST!'