Birmingham Literature Festival - Euro Pass

The Birmingham Literature Festival is 6-16 October and one of the threads is a selection of events which can be covered by a Euro Pass (£30/£24) (or booked individually):

Walter Presents
Writers from the Ukraine
Cristina Sanchez-Andrade
Diego Marani and Frank Witzel: Europanto, pop, politics and paranoia
Jonas Hassen Khemiri and Elif Shafak
David Lodge and Philippine Hamen
The Bridge to Hinterland: With Hans Rosenfeldt and Ed Thomas
Beyond the Water’s Edge

Here is more information on a couple of the sessions:

Walter Presents
October 7 @ 6:00 pm - 7:15 pm
£10/8, Festival Pass/Euro Pass: FREE WALTER PORTRAIT

Walter Iuzzolino, the man behind Channel 4’s hugely successful Netflix of foreign drama, Walter Presents, watched over 3,500 hours of international television to curate a catalogue of TV and online hits including Deutschland 83, Spin and Blue Eyes.

He believes foreign drama is giving people the greedy fix once provided only by novels: “One episode is just not enough. And that type of fiction, built on cliff-hangers, is Dickens. It’s Balzac…. These TV series are also something that unite people. In the same way as people join book clubs, now they discuss TV series’.

In this very special event, hear from Walter himself about how Walter Presents came to be, and what makes it so compelling for UK audiences.

The Bridge to Hinterland
October 8 @ 7:30 am - 8:45 pm
£10/£8, Festival Pass/Euro Pass: FREE

Bilingual, border-town crime drama, The Bridge, set the bar for Nordic Noir. Season 3 attracted over 2 million viewers in the UK and Swedish detective Saga Noren became something of a national treasure. A fourth series is due to be filmed later this year.

Award-winning Welsh crime drama Hinterland was originally broadcast in English and Welsh, a first for BBC television drama.

The first two series have been screened internationally via Netflix. Filming of a third series began earlier this year.

Tonight, for the first time, we bring together the writer-creators of both series, Hans Rosenfeldt and Ed Thomas, to talk about making compelling bilingual TV drama. This is a unique opportunity to hear from the writers behind some of the most talked-about dramas to hit our TV screens in recent years.

Event News: the return of Noirwich

An exciting press release in my inbox today...The return of Noirwich. No authors have been announced yet other than Lee Child but last year there was a Scandi-crime day with Barry Forshaw. My birthday falls in the middle of this festival so I will be keeping a beady eye on noirwich.co.uk.

Crime Writing Festival Noirwich, returns for a second year this September, launching its programme with Lee Child, and announcing new partner Dead Good Books

After the success of last year’s festival, Noirwich Crime Writing Festival is returning to the streets of Norwich from Thursday 17 September to Sunday 20 September to bring award winning authors to the UNESCO City of Literature.

In 2014, over 500 people attended the festival and this year plans to be even bigger with Lee Child announced as the headline act on Thursday 17 September at Jarrolds Department Store.

This year, festival goers can experience the breadth of crime writing, from exciting debuts to new author collaborations at the festival.

This year is particularly exciting as it sees the collaboration change with Dead Good Books joining University of East Anglia (UEA) and Writers’ Centre Norwich (WCN) in partnership for the festival. Dead Good Books is uniquely placed as a community that covers books, TV and film across the industry with a highly engaged crime readership.

Lynsey Dalladay, Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Dead Good Books said:
“I’m thrilled we’re partnering with Noirwich in 2015. The crime fiction community thrives on live events and festivals and we’re committed to bringing the best of our events to our online audience in a creative and engaging way.”

The crime fiction and thriller market is the most popular literary genre in the world, with UK sales alone rising by 80 per cent in the last decade. Norwich became England’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2012, making the festival a perfect fit for Norwich.

This September also sees the launch of a new Creative Writing MA in Crime Fiction at UEA. Drawing on the success of the University of East Anglia’s internationally acclaimed Creative Writing programme, this course will be one of the first fully dedicated, specifically designed, low-residential crime fiction Masters in the world.

Henry Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at University of East Anglia and award-winning crime novelist co-founded Noirwich and commented: “with such exciting partners, and at such an exciting time for the genre, our aim is to make Norwich the world’s leading centre for the study, practice and enjoyment of crime fiction. We believe we are a big step closer this year.”

One of the city centre venues for the festival will be grade 1 listed Dragon Hall, the brand new home of Writers’ Centre Norwich. Jonathan Morley, Programme Director at Writers’ Centre Norwich said: “Norwich currently doesn’t have a free-standing literature festival, so we’re very excited to fill that gap with Noirwich. Celebrating crime fiction (the UK’s most popular literary genre) in England’s only UNESCO City of literature will attract sizeable audiences, enabling local retailers to make a killing!”

The full line-up, tickets and more information about Noirwich can be found on www.noirwich.co.uk

Event News: Noirwich Crime Writing Festival

Many thanks to Sarah Ward for bringing this to my attention! A crime writing festival in Norwich ie Noirwich. It includes a day on Nordic Noir featuring Petrona Award judge Barry Forshaw.

From the website:

A New Crime Writing Festival in Norwich, UNESCO City of Literature.

10 - 14 September 2014

A deadly new festival of crime writing is coming to No(i)rwich this September in an exciting collaboration between the Crime Writers' Association, the University of East Anglia, Waterstones and Writers' Centre Norwich.

Noirwich Crime Writing Festival celebrates the sharpest noir and crime writing over five days of author events, film screenings and writing workshops in Norwich, UNESCO City of Literature. From big events featuring the likes of Val McDermid and Sophie Hannah, to specially developed crime writing workshops with Simon Brett and Henry Sutton, there's something for every reader and writer of crime.

Take your pick from the schedule below and prepare yourself for a series of sinister events...

A Forgotten Mystery: The Life and Works of S.T. Haymon with Dr. John Curran
Wednesday 10th September, 6pm, Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, free event.

New Voices, Old Places with Tom Benn, Eva Dolan and Oliver Harris
Wednesday 10th September, 7.30pm, Waterstones Castle Street, £6 / £4 conc with £3 redeemable against the price of a book at the event and a free glass of wine.

The New Hercule Poirot Mystery with Sophie Hannah and Dr. John Curran
Thursday 11th September, 8pm, Norwich Playhouse, £12/£10 conc

The Skeleton Road: An Evening with Val McDermid
Friday 12th September, 8pm, Norwich Playhouse, £12/£10 conc

Celebrating the CWA Diamond Dagger with Simon Brett and John Harvey
Saturday 13th September, 7.30pm, Waterstones, Norwich, £6/£4 concessions with £3 redeemable from Simon’s latest book at the event and a free glass of wine.

Noirwich Crime Writing Festival Presents Megan Abbott
Sunday 14th September, 2.30pm, Norwich Cathedral Hostry, £6/£4 concessions with £3 redeemable off the price of the book at the event.

A Crime Thriller Workshop with Henry Sutton
Saturday 13th September, 10am-1pm, Writers’ Centre Norwich, £40 or £60 with Simon Brett Masterclass.

A Detective Fiction Masterclass with Simon Brett
Saturday 13th September, 2-5pm, Writers’ Centre Norwich, £40 or £60 with Henry Sutton Workshop

The Golden Age of Nordic Noir
Saturday 13th September,10.30am-4.30pm, Cinema City Education Space, £40/£30 conc.

Enjoy a day dedicated to the art of Nordic Noir. Trish Sheil, film academic, and Barry Forshaw, a leading expert on crime fiction and film, will help you to explore the all-pervading influence of the Scandinavian wave. Using short clips, iconic moments in film history and their personal knowledge, the tutors will guide you through the history of Noir, focussing on the Nordic classics and then exploring French crime film and television, and the blossoming of UK crime drama.

The Killer Inside Me: A Noirwich Frank’s Bar Film Screening
Sunday 14th September 2014, 5pm, Free

Event News: Boris Akunin in London (February 2013)

From an email from the London Review Bookshop:

Russian crime writer Boris Akunin will be in conversation with James Meek about how his writing reflects and interacts with literary traditions, as well as Russian culture, history and politics.

A philologist, critic, essayist, and translator of Japanese, Boris Akunin published his first detective stories in 1998 and has already become one of the most widely read authors in Russia. His Erast Fandorin books, full of literary games and allusions, are translated into English by Andrew Bromfield.

The event is on Friday 1 February at 7.00 pm and tickets are £10, bookable here.

Boris Akunin's bibliography on the Euro Crime website.

Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2012

The shortlist for the first Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Book of the Year has been announced:

Charles Cumming – A Foreign Country (Harper Collins)

Will Jordan – Redemption (Random House)

Philip Kerr – Prague Fatale (Quercus)

Peter May – The Lewis Man (Quercus)

Denise Mina – Gods & Beasts (Orion)

Craig Russell – Dead Men & Broken Hearts (Quercus)

The Award seeks to recognise and reward excellence in Scottish crime writing, first published between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012. Over 40 books of fiction and non-fiction were submitted by UK publishers. Eligible books were by writers born in Scotland, by writers living in Scotland, or books set in Scotland.

Read more about this new convention, Bloody Scotland, held 14-16 September in Stirling, here.

From my database I can identify the eligible fiction titles based on nationality but I don't record residence(!) or non-fiction titles so I have missed some titles (links are to Euro Crime reviews).

Eligible fiction titles

A. Titles by writers born in Scotland

Lin Anderson - Picture Her Dead
M C Beaton - Death of a Kingfisher
M C Beaton - Agatha Raisin as the Pig Turns
Tony Black - The Storm Without
Tony Black - Murder Mile
Sean Black - Gridlock
P J Brooke - Death's Other Kingdom
Christopher Brookmyre - When the Devil Drives
Julie Corbin - Do Me No Harm
James Craig - Never Apologise, Never Explain
Charles Cumming - A Foreign Country
James Douglas - The Doomsday Testament
Gordon Ferris - Bitter Water
Neil Forsyth - San Carlos
Gillian Galbraith - The Road to Hell
Andrea Gillies - The White Lie
Alex Gray - A Pound Of Flesh
Gerald Hammond - The Unkindest Cut
Ewart Hutton - Good People
Quintin Jardine - As Easy as Murder
Quintin Jardine - Funeral Note
Paul Johnston - The Silver Stain
Doug Johnstone - Hit & Run
William Jordan - Redemption
Philip Kerr – Prague Fatale
Alanna Knight - The Seal King Murders
Alanna Knight - Deadly Legacy
Stuart MacBride - Birthdays for the Dead
Val McDermid - The Retribution
Pat McIntosh - The Fourth Crow
Grant McKenzie - K.A.R.M.A.
Shona Maclean - Crucible of Secrets
Catriona McPherson - Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses
Michael J Malone - Blood Tears
David Mark - The Dark Winter
Peter May – The Lewis Man
Louise Millar - The Playdate
Denise Mina - Gods and Beasts
G J Moffat - Protection
Stef Penney - The Invisible Ones
Danielle Ramsay - Vanishing Point
Ian Rankin - The Impossible Dead
Craig Robertson - Cold Grave
Craig Russell – Dead Men & Broken Hearts
Sara Sheridan - Brighton Belle
Anna Smith - To Tell the Truth
Alexander McCall Smith - The Limpopo Academy Of Private Detection
The Mulgray Twins - Suspects All!
Christopher Wallace - Killing the Messenger

B. Titles by writers living in Scotland (but not born in Scotland!)

Anne Perry - A Sunless Sea
Anne Perry - A Christmas Homecoming
Anne Perry - Dorchester Terrace

More Scottish authors and their titles (with reviews of many) are listed on the Euro Crime website

Event News: Chipping Norton Literary Festival

The first Chipping Norton Literary Festival takes place between 20-22 April 2012.

Browse the full programme and buy tickets from the website and follow them on twitter: @ChipLitFest.


For crime fans, the main events are on the Sunday:

Crime Writers' Forum - Plot the Perfect Murder

What makes the perfect murder? A fictional one, at least? Come and find out in this session with four of the UK’s most celebrated crime-writers, Mark Billingham, Sophie Hannah, Dan Waddell and S J Bolton.

Chaired by Peter Guttridge

10am, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £12.50 The Theatre, Chipping Norton


An Audience with Colin Dexter

Colin Dexter is the creator of the world’s most famous detectives: the Oxford-based Morse and his side-kick Lewis. Learn about the life behind the fiction, in this fascinating interview.

Interviewed by Peter Guttridge.

12pm, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £12.50 The Theatre Chipping Norton


Jasper Fforde - Publishing Unconventional Novels

Jasper Fforde explains how Jane Eyre can share a novel with Time Travel and Werewolves, and why he believes genre is the measles of the Book world.

2pm, Sunday 21st April 2012 The Chequers Inn £7.50


Crime Writing Workshop with Helen Black

You’ve written a crime story. How do you add suspense? What exactly is pace? How do you turn your idea into a page-turning bestseller? Find out in this hands-on workshop with crime-writer Helen Black

3pm, Sunday 22nd April 2012 £7.50 Jaffé & Neale, Chipping Norton

Event News: Bloody Scotland

Scotland will have its own crime festival this year. Bloody Scotland will take place in Stirling, 14-16th September 2012. Peering at the photo on the website, joining Ian Rankin will be Lin Anderson, Tony Black, Alex Gray, Allan Guthrie, Alanna Knight, Stuart MacBride, The Mulgray Twins, Craig Russell and many others from this list of Scottish authors.

Follow the progress on twitter: @bloodyscotland
Website: Bloody Scotland

Scottish crime fiction is amongst the best in the world

It is the most popular genre amongst Scottish readers both in bookshops and in libraries, it generates countless screen adaptations, and yet at present none of our 40 plus literature festivals celebrates it.

Bloody Scotland is an innovative festival which will showcase Scottish crime writing and place it in an international context. We will shortly be announcing a stellar cast of leading crime writers.

Stirling is the natural location for a major new festival, with easy access from the cities and also nearby Falkirk, Linlithgow, and Perth. Bloody Scotland seeks to build on the existing strengths of Stirling’s own successful Off the Page festival… and forge something new.

Event News: UK Launch of The Boy in the Suitcase

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnette Friis is being launched at Foyles on 17th January.

DATE: 17th January 2012
LOCATION: The Gallery, Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0EB
TIME: 6.30pm to 8.00pm

Celebrate with us the English language release of the award-winning Danish thriller The Boy in the Suitcase. The evening will feature a lively discussion with the authors chaired by crimefiction expert Barry Forshaw, author of Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction and will include compelling insights from Scandinavian Crime enthusiast and founder of the legendary Nordic Noir Book Club Dr. Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (UCL).

Lene Kaaberbøl has sold more than two million books worldwide as a fantasy writer. Her collaborator, Agnete Friis, is a children’s writer. The bestselling Nina Borg series has been translated into nine languages and was a finalist for the coveted Scandinavian Glass Key Crime Fiction Award.

Blurb: Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can't say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive.

Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.

Event News: Crime Scene: Europe (NYC)

If you can't make the upcoming Crime Across the Continent event in London then perhaps you can get to New York's Crime Scene: Europe, an enticing collection of literary and film presentations between 15 and 20 November. I've been sent a shortened version of the press release:

Europe is in the midst of a crime wave—a surge of creative and innovative detective fiction that pays its respects to the traditions of noir while incorporating the psychological novel, the political thriller, and the border-crossings that reflect the increasingly globalized culture of the EU. The eighth annual New Literature from Europe Festival organized by eight European Cultural Institutes in New York, will present a series of readings and discussions in Manhattan and Brooklyn from November 15-17, 2011, with writers Caryl Férey (France), Zygmunt Miłoszewski (Poland), Ana Maria Sandu (Romania), Stefan Slupetzky (Austria), José Carlos Somoza (Spain), and Jan Costin Wagner (Germany), joined by U.S. guest author Dan Fesperman.

A special film series complements this year’s spoken word programs, featuring both adaptations of crime novels and new approaches to the genre that play with the conventions of film noir. Presented in collaboration with the Museum of the Moving Image from November 18-20, 2011, the series ranges from Czech and Austrian films of the ‘40s and the early ‘50s rarely seen in the U.S., to contemporary productions from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania, including the critically acclaimed works Aurora by Cristi Puiu and The Double Hour by Giuseppe Capotondi. Authors Zygmunt Miloszewski and Jan Costin Wagner will be present to discuss film versions of their novels featured in the Festival.

All literary events are free and open to the public. For tickets for the film screenings, visit www.movingimage.us.

You can read a longer version of the press release with authors bios here.

You can follow New Literature from Europe on Facebook.

Event News: Crime across the Continent

On Friday 18 November there is a fabulously enticing day of lectures for anyone interested in translated crime fiction, at the British Library. One of Euro Crime's favourite translators will be speaking. Here's the programme:

This study day, organised by the European Studies department of the British Library, explores contemporary crime fiction from across Continental Europe.

The speakers will include academics, publishers, writers and translators. Among the topics covered will be crime fiction as a vehicle for social and political analysis, both contemporary and historical, and the part crime fiction has to play in the transmission of European cultures. The day is principally as a seminar for researchers but the contributions will appeal to an audience of specialists and non-specialists.

Programme

09:30-10:00 Registration

10:00-11:15 Beyond the whodunnit

Chair: Christopher MacLehose, MacLehose Press
Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College, London), Crime and Happiness: Scandinavian Crime Fiction and End of the Welfare State.
Aka Morchiladze, Crime fiction as device.
Angela Kimyongür (University of Hull), Dominique Manotti and the roman noir.

Break

11:30-13:15 Looking back at history

Chair: Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen
Giuliana Pieri (Royal Holloway, London), Camilleri’s “historical” crime novels: Sicily, Italy and the Risorgiment.
Olga Sobolev (London School of Economics), Boris Akunin and the Rise of Russian Detective Genre.
Claire Gorrara (Cardiff University), Past crimes, present memories: French crime fiction and the Second World War.
Danusia Stok, The force of setting in the fiction of Marek Krajewski.

Lunch

14:15-15:00 The Scandinavian Crime Fiction Phenomenon

Barry Forshaw, Through a Glass Darkly: Mankell, Larsson and Nesbø.

Break

15:30-17:15 Translating cultures/languages

Chair: Ros Schwarz
Gary Pulsifer (Arcadia Books), EuroCrime in the wake of the Nordic Invasion.
Amanda Hopkinson (City University), Catalan cops and Spanish seductions: making crime pay.
Gunnar Staalesen and Don Bartlett (courtesy of the Royal Norwegian Embassy), From Norway to Norfolk; author and translator in conversation.

I'm very tempted to go, though I worry I'll be out of my depth!

Book a place (the price is £20) via the British Library's website.

A few notes from the Crime Scars Event

Yesterday, Petrona and I went to the World Literature Weekend session, Crime Scars featuring Karin Alvtegen and Håkan Nesser with Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen:


I made a few notes:

Karin Alvtegen's first novel Guilt is her only crime novel not yet translated. Her most recent book is not crime at all. She's not writing at all at the moment as she has no ideas. She worked very closely with translator Steven Murray on Shadow and Shame. It's up to the translator to find the rhythm in their own language.

Three years after the death of her brother, which occurred when she was 9 months pregnant, she had a breakdown and whilst on sick-leave sat and wrote Guilt. She says she has to know the whole story in her head before writing it down.

Håkan Nesser fifth and last Barbarotti is in the computer at the moment. He doesn't understand Van Veeteren at all but Barbarotti is like a little brother so he is more in control. In response to a question from the audience, he said Van Veeteren's fascination with tooth-picks is because he's an ex-smoker.

High density of crime writers in the 25 million population of Scandinavia. Jakob's succinct answer to why are Scandinavian authors so popular at the moment is that "they are damn fine writers".

Authors who write in English such as Elizabeth George, P D James, Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters are very popular in Sweden. It's ironic that 80% of books translated are from English as many Swedes can read English.

Someone was live tweeting in front of us so you can read more snippets from this talk and other WLW events on twitter at #wlw11 and especially at @lrbshop.

Upcoming Crime Fiction Events in London

Here are a couple more crime fiction events in London coming up soon:

As part of the Free the Word Festival:

FRIDAY 8 APRIL

Criminal Justice

Dominique Manotti, Margie Orford & Nii Ayikwei Parkes, chaired by Dreda Say Mitchell

Friday 8 April at 6.30pm

Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA

Tickets: £8 (£5 PEN Members and Concessions) or £25 for full festival ticket

Book tickets to Criminal Justice online

Crime writing is one of the world’s most tenacious literary genres, creeping around political and cultural barriers. Yet despite the harsh spotlight it shines on power and corruption, crime writing is often written off as simply a form of popular entertainment. The bestselling French author Dominique Manotti debates the impact of crime writing with the South African crime novelist and reporter Margie Orford and Nii Ayikwei Parkes, poet, novelist and publisher. Award-winning crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell asks if their writing makes any difference to society – or is it just an opiate for the masses?

and at Foyles (booking required but tickets are free):

Crimes and Misdemeanours: Russian Detective Fiction, with Grigory Chkhartishvili aka Boris Akunin

13th April 2011 6:30pm - 7:30pm Charing Cross Road Literary Event

Often referred to as the 'undisputed champion' of Russian crime fiction, Boris Akunin has plumbed the depths of tsarist Russian history as inspiration for his sinister characters and labyrinthine plots. This evening he sheds light on the truth behind the fiction, the differences between British and Russian crime and the true origins of his pen name.

This event is supported by the British Council and Academia Rossica as part of the Russia Market Focus 2011 cultural programme at The London Book Fair.

Jo Nesbo signing in London

Jo Nesbo will be signing copies of The Leopard and his earlier books at:

WATERSTONE'S LEADENHALL MARKET*
Monday, 7 March 2011, 12:30PM

This is a rare opportunity to meet Jo Nesbo. The bestselling author of 'The Snowman' will be signing copies of the heart-stopping thriller 'The Leopard' and his earlier Harry Hole novels. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Customers not purchasing their copy of a Jo Nesbo book on the day of the event, may be asked for proof of purchase.

Further details: 0843 290 8439

*Leadenhall Market, 1-3 Whittington Avenue, City of London EC3V 1PJ

Upcoming Crime Fiction Events in London

Several European authors in translation will be making appearances in London in the next few months.

1. The Nordic Noir book club has their first event, on Thursday, 3 February 2011 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM, at which Håkan Nesser will be speaking:

Join us in exploring Sweden's crime fiction, with speakers including best-selling author Håkan Nesser.

What does the landscape of Swedish crime fiction look like? What do we learn from Nesser, from other writers, from their book covers? What real and mental landscapes do readers (and viewers) of Swedish crime in the UK see?

Find out all of this and more, in the first of our UCL's Nordic Noir book club events, at the Horse Hospital, an atmospheric, Grade II listed venue in the heart of literary London.

The ticket price includes a glass of wine. Other light refreshments will be available to purchase at the event, provided by Scandinavian Kitchen.

Please note: The Eventbrite booking agent requires that you use a credit card to buy tickets. If you do not have a credit card, please contact Nichola Smalley (n.smalley(at)ucl.ac.uk) to reserve a ticket.

Details of the venue and how to buy tickets by credit card can be found at their website.

2. Events involving Italian author, Alessandro Perissinotto whose Blood Sisters will be published on 11 February:

From Hersilia Press's website:

Barry Forshaw and Michael Gregorio with Alessandro Perissinotto
Italian Institute of Culture, SW1X 8NX, London, UK
7 February 2011, 7:00 pm

Alessandro Perissinotto academic and novelist
Royal Holloway Central London site, Bedford Square, 2 Gower Street, WC1E 6DP, London, UK
8 February 2011, 5:00 pm

Italian writers in the UK and Ireland: Alessandro Perissinotto
Humanities Research Institute, 29-31 Clarendon Place, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, Leeds, UK
9 February 2011, 5:00 pm

3. As part of a Scandinavian month, Gunnar Staalesen will be visiting Willesden Green Library on Thursday 3 March 2011 from 7 - 9 pm:

Willesden Green Library
95 High Road
London NW10 2SF
020 8937 3400
Free Event
Book sale Refreshments

As well as reading from his new book, he will be presenting the winner of a short story competition - the opening sentence having been written by Camilla Ceder:

Have you got what it takes to be the next Stieg Larsson or Henning Mankell?

If so there's a place on a Birkbeck College creative writing course up for grabs when you take part in the Brent Libraries short story competition.

Swedish crime fiction author Camilla Ceder has written the opening lines.

"In theory, Margaret had functioned well as his partner. She was a faded beauty who had once been a celebrated singer. It would not have hurt for her to drink less."

All you have to do is complete the story is no more than 2,000 words.

Entries must be received by 12 noon on 23 February 2011.

Full details and terms and conditions can be found on the Brent Libraries website.

Crime Event at the Indie Alliance Weekend

I've had press releases from Faber and Quercus about this upcoming event at Foyles in London:

Saturday 11 September and Sunday 12 September
INDIE ALLIANCE WEEKEND

Brought to you by the Independent Alliance with PD James, Geoff Dyer, Emily Woof, Philip Kerr & many more…
It may sound like something from Star Wars, but really the Independent Alliance is a network of independent publishers, joined together to ensure their extraordinarily diverse output reaches the widest audience possible. Publishing everything from internationally best-selling crime-writers, to Booker Prize winners, to those undiscovered gems only an independent house can unearth, this weekend they bring to Foyles a vast array of authors for two full days of literary events - including discussions on counterculture and how to write non-fiction, and speed-dating Indie-style. Join us for one or both days, as we celebrate independence in all its forms.

The crime event is:

2pm – 3.15pm: Crime Time
PD James (Faber), Philip Kerr (Quercus), Adam Creed (Faber), & Elizabeth Wilson (Serpent’s Tail)
The popularity of crime novels never seems to wane, but what is it really that captivates us so about crime? Is there a winning formula for the ultimate whodunit, or is any setting, any character ripe for murder and intrigue? Our distinguished crime writers discuss.

(Chaired by Peter Guttridge.)

One ticket covers the whole day and the costs are £15 one day/ £25 both days (concessions are available) and can be purchased via the events page at Foyles bookshop.

Upcoming Talks at the Italian Cultural Institute

I've just received the following press release about a series of talks at the Italian Cultural Institute which will involve several crime writers:

“IN CONVERSAZIONE”
AN INNOVATIVE SERIES OF LITERARY TALKS
AT THE ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE

The series, curated by Maxim Jakubowski, will feature 8 leading English-speaking writers in conversation, discussing why they so often write about Italy, Italians and Italian Culture.

The warm love affair between British & American and Italian literature and culture is a treasured relationship that goes back several centuries, and this will prove an invaluable occasion to examine its contemporary relevance and examples as writers like Sarah Dunant, Iain Pears, Michelle Lovric, Lindsey Davis, David Hewson, Donna Leon, Tobias Jones, and Maxim Jakubowski will appear in conversation with critic Barry Forshaw, author Lauren Henderson and Maxim Jakubowski to discuss their appreciation of all things Italian.

Expect revelations, surprises and intimate confessions!

27 September 7pm SARAH DUNANT with Maxim Jakubowski
11 October 7pm IAIN PEARS with Barry Forshaw
15 November 7 pm MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI with Barry Forshaw
6 December 7pm MICHELLE LOVRIC with Maxim Jakubowski
17 January 7pm LINDSEY DAVIS with Lauren Henderson
21 February 7pm DAVID HEWSON with Barry Forshaw
DONNA LEON with Maxim Jakubowski ( specific date in April to be advised)
09 May 7pm TOBIAS JONES with Lauren Henderson

Contact: Anna Mondavio Tel. 020 7396 4409 anna.mondavio@esteri.it

Italian Cultural Institute 39, Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8NX

rsvp.icilondon@esteri.it

Harrogate Crime Writing Festival News

A recent email from the organisers of the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, has this to say about next year's programme:

The 2011 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate will take place 21 - 25 July.

Programme Chair Dreda Say Mitchell has put together an astounding line-up of Special Guests for a festival that will take its flavour from the 'grittier and true crime end of the spectrum'.

The Special Guests confirmed for 2011 are:

Lee Child | Martina Cole | Tess Gerritsen | Dennis Lehane | Howard Marks

You can book now, details are on the website.

The Play's the Thing - Deathtrap

Deathtrap by Ira Levin will be on at the Noel Coward Theatre in London later this year. Previews begin on 21st August 2010, with the opening night on 7th September 2010 and it will then run into the new year.

Simon Russell Beale and Jonathan Groff star in a new Matthew Warchus production of Ira Levin's comic murder thriller 'Deathtrap'.

Groff plays the part of Clifford, a gifted young writer who befriends Sidney Bruhl (Russell Beale), a best-selling novelist and playwright. He turns up at Bruhl's Connecticut home with a new stage thriller which turns out to be superior to anything Bruhl has done.

Deathtrap took Broadway and the West End by storm in the 1980s and became a hugely succesful motion picture with Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve.

Watch the trailer here.

The Play's the Thing - Sherlock Holmes

The Secret of Sherlock Holmes is to run from 20th July, for eight weeks, at The Duchess theatre in London's 'glittering West End':

Peter Egan and Robert Daws will recreate the partnership of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson on stage when The Secret Of Sherlock Holmes comes to the Duchess theatre from 20 July (previews from 15 July).


Premiered in 1988, Jeremy Paul’s play centres on a seemingly deadly encounter between Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Holmes and his nemesis, arch criminal Professor Moriarty, at Reichenbach Falls. As secrets and betrayal are slowly revealed, Watson finds his loyalty and friendship tested to the very limit, Holmes is forced to turn his unswerving powers of deduction upon himself and the true relationship between Holmes and Moriarty is finally revealed.

Tickets can be booked via this website though there may be other ways(!).

Event News: Dominique Manotti and Joan Smith

I stumbled across this event: Dominique Manotti and Joan Smith on the Political Crime Novel on Wed 17 Mar, 07.30 pm at Médiathèque - Institut français (London):

Dominique Manotti's latest translation, Affairs of State, tells of foreign workers in a landscape where murder has a political meaning. Joan Smith's recent thriller, What Will Survive is political in a broader sense. Both writers see the world as something far removed from the cosy village life of traditional crime fiction, more in common with Nordic authors such as Stieg Larsson than Agatha Christie. The pair will discuss their influences, their aims, and why the crime novel is pre-eminently a political form.

Prices: £5, conc £3