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.

Harrogate - Nordic Crime Readers Group Session

I've had a couple of requests as to which titles/authors were mentioned in this session so here they are to the best of my memory...

Ann (Cleeves) started off by asking people how they'd found the Mari Jungstedt books Unseen and Unspoken. The poor quality of the translation was commented on which lead to Ron Beard from Quercus commenting on a similar problem with Helene Tursten's The Torso which also has an American translation. Ann then moved on to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson which Maxine Clarke and I enthused about.

Also sitting in with the session was Johan Theorin who explained about some of the Swedish crime fiction prizes including The Sherlock which was cancelled in 1987 due to lack of suitable entries. The genre was kick-started by Henning Mankell in the 1990s.

Ann mentioned that Mankell's books always start with a vivid scene eg a chair in the middle of an empty road - a technique she has nicked - and hopes that the Kenneth Branagh tv series will brings his books back to prominence.

Maxine spoke more about Helene Tursten and the debt owed to the masters, Sjowall and Wahloo the husband and wife team who wrote ten books starring Martin Beck, after whom a prize has been named.

Ann then went round the other Nordic countries beginning with Norway; Karin Fossum's work was touched on, in particular Black Seconds and Don't Look Back and then (my personal favourite) Jo Nesbo including my plea for people to read The Redbreast first.

Then representing Denmark - Leif Davidsen. Lime's Photograph was praised and I mentioned the excellent The Serbian Dane.

For Iceland, of course Arnaldur Indridason and there was some discussion of the Dagger winning Silence of the Grave.

And for Finland, Maxine spoke up for Ice Moon by Jan Costin Wagner a haunting book written by a German author who spends half the year in Finland.

A general discussion of recommendations brought up the Eric Winter series by Ake Edwardson and The Beast by Roslund-Hellstrom.

Many more authors can be found on the Euro Crime website, by country: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.