Three Book Friday with Hull Noir

Hull Noir are gearing up to record the next THREE BOOK FRIDAY. They will set it live 25th June (6pm) via YouTube. Tune in with Nick Quantrill and learn which titles make Dr Heather Martin & Joe Thomas tick

Three Book Friday with Hull Noir

 

Hold the date - Hull Noir’s back!

 

FROM THE HULL NOIR WEBSITE

Hull Noir, the city’s celebrated crime festival, is back with a bang for a day-long online event on Saturday 20 March. 

The inaugural 2017 festival was held to huge acclaim from crime fiction lovers, with hundreds flocking to panels, talks, film screenings and discussions over seven action-packed days. They then returned with a one-off panel the following year, bringing Eva Dolan, Ali Harper, Sarah Hilary, and Jo Jakeman together as part of Humber Mouth Literature Festival.

For 2021, Hull Noir marks the 50th anniversary of the British crime classic, Get Carter – adapted from Ted Lewis’s seminal crime novel Jack's Return Home. For Lewis, who studied at Hull Art School in the late 1950s and whose novels reference the city and its hinterland, the towns on the south bank of the Humber, and the bleak Lincolnshire coast, 2021 is also the 50th anniversary of his novel Plender, this year’s festival read. 

Nick Triplow, Hull Noir co-organiser and author of acclaimed Ted Lewis biography, Getting Carter, says: 

“We were disappointed not to be able to host the Festival last year – particularly to mark what would have been Lewis’s 80th birthday and 50 years of Jack’s Return Home – but we’re just glad to be back in business". 

Festival co-organiser, Hull born crime writer, Nick Quantrill says:

“We’ve been working hard to put together a day of fascinating panels exploring crime writing from around the north - and further afield! - so get ready to book your tickets and climb inside the heads of some of the most talented crime writers in the UK.”

Confirmed authors already include Mark Billingham, celebrating 20 years of Tom Thorne, with his novel Cry Baby, Laura Shepherd Robinson, whose debut Blood & Sugar won the Debut Crown at the Historical Writers’ Awards, New York Times Bestselling author of The Whisper Man, Alex North, and Hull-born Ian McGuire, whose novel The North Water was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Also appearing will be Hull’s prolific novelist Louise Beech, Sunday Times bestseller Harrier Tyce, author of Blood Orange, and many more.

As festival co-organiser and publisher, Nikki East says:

“This year will be different, but isn’t everything? We hope people will join us for a day of crime discussion and debate from the comfort of their own homes. They don’t even have to take their slippers off.”

There’ll be no charge for tickets, which will be available from Sunday 21 February along with the full festival lineup. Follow the Hull Noir Facebook and twitter (@hullnoir) for all the most up to date information.

Hull Noir

Saturday 18 November 2017

SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES

10:00 - 11:00am

Nick Quantrill & David Mark

vs.

Lilja Sigurdardottir & Quentin Bates.  The panel look at the style, influence and distinctions and conflicts of Hull and Iceland as locations and inspirations for crime writing.

CRAPHOUSE TO POWERHOUSE

11:30 - 12:30pm

Danielle Ramsay, Jay Stringer, Luca Veste and Paul Finch discuss post-industrial crime fiction in the North and how the M62 draws a virtual line through the national crime fiction psyche.

BREAK

12:30 - 1:30pm

​

INTO THE DARKNESS : THE NEW NOIR

1:30 - 2:30pm

As eras come and go and each generation defines itself by what came before. Jake Arnott, Emma Flint, Joseph Knox and Cathi Unsworth look at the challenges of writing contemporary noir fiction and the power of historical setting.

GETTING CARTER : TED LEWIS AND THE HARD BOILING OF BRITISH CRIME FICTION

3:30 - 4:30pm

Howard Linskey, Russel McLean, Sean O’Brien, Andrew Spicer and Nick Triplow discuss the influences of American hardboiled writing in British crime fiction, and the part Ted Lewis played in establishing an authentic British tradition.

TEA

4:30 - 6:45pm

​

MARTINA COLE : A CRIME WRITING SILVER JUBILEE

7:00 - 8:00pm

The most borrowed author in prison libraries; the most shoplifted from British bookshops:  best-selling Queen of British crime fiction, Martina Cole, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the publication of her first novel, Dangerous Lady, in the company of critic, author and crime fiction aficionado, Barry Forshaw.

Sunday 19^th November 2017

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER : GOLDEN AGE VS DIGITAL AGE

10:00 - 11:00am

From wire messages, telegrams and Hansom cabs to new tech, dark web and the emergence of new formats, Abir Mukherjee, Rachel Rhys and Matt Wesolowski discuss the influence of technologies on crime writing and publishing with Ayo Onatade.

BEHIND BARS : FREEDOM, OPPRESSION & CONTROL

11:30 - 12:30pm

With a background of Hull’s historical links to the slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce and traditions of resistance, Eva Dolan, Kati Hiekkapelto, Stav Sherez and William Ryan explore ways in which crime fiction deals with characters living under oppression or imprisoned by circumstance. 

BREAK

12:30 - 1pm

​

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK : EXPLORING ROADS LESS TRAVELLED

1:00 - 2:00pm

Daniel Pembrey, Sarah Ward and David Young discuss the unfashionable and hitherto undiscovered landscapes, languages and settings for crime writing with Jacky Collins, and cast fresh light on where new territories for writing might be found.

BRAWLERS & BASTARDS

2:30 - 3:30pm

From Bill Sikes through Jack Carter and beyond, Steph Broadribb, Mick Herron, Harry Brett and Craig Robertson look at the ways in which crime authors redeem the irredeemable and create antiheroes from the most unlikeable protagonists.

A YEAR IN THE LIFE

4:00 - 5:00pm

Bringing the festival to a close, Mark Billingham and John Connolly take a not entirely serious look at their writing years with Daily Telegraph crime fiction critic, Jake Kerridge. The best, the worst; a year to remember, one to forget; the tears, tantrums and triumphs of a crime writing life.

Newcastle Noir!

Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd | Newcastle Noir – after such a popular and successful event last year, we have another crime-filled weekend for you. Workshops, walks, talks and panel discussions with some of the best crime writers around. Book early, it’s sure to fill up.

A weekend pass is available for all nine panel discussions for £40/25.

Advance payment essential.

Saturday 2nd May

10-12noon | Writing Workshop with Christiana Gregoriou, Bea Davenport and Barbara Nadel. £25/20 (includes Saturday and Sunday workshops).

11am-12pm Classic Crime Readings with Kay Hepplewhite FREE

11am-1pm Murderous Newcastle Walking Tour with Pat Lowery, Newcastle City Guide. Begins at the Castle Keep, ends at the Lit & Phil. £4.

12.30-1.30pm Panel discussion: Northern Landscapes with authors Howard Linskey, Nick Quantrill and David Mark Craig Robertson, chaired by Luca Veste £5/3

2.30-3.30pm Panel discussion: Writers in Prison with Mari Hannah, Russ Litten and Alexandra Sokoloff, chaired by Louise Ridley £5/3

4.30-5.30pm Panel discussion: Award winning crime-writers Martyn Waites and Mark Billingham in conversation £5/3

6.30-7.30pm Panel discussion: From page to screen to page with Cilla and Rolf Börjlind, Erin Kelly and Christopher Brookmyre £5/3

8.30pm-9.30pm Panel discussion: Gangsters & Gangs with Philip J. Howard, David McCaffery and Steve Wraith, chaired by Charlotte Bilby £5/3

Sunday 3rd May

10-12noon Writing Workshop with Christiana Gregoriou, William Ryan, Bea Davenport and Barbara Nadel. £25/20 (includes Saturday and Sunday workshops).

11am-1pm Murderous Newcastle Walking Tour with Pat Lowery, Newcastle City Guide. Begins at the Castle Keep, ends at the Lit & Phil. £4.

11.30am-12.30pm Panel discussion: Crime in Translation with Dominique Mannotti, Roz Schwartz, Quentin Bates and Ragnar Jónasson, chaired by Jacky Collins £5/3

1.30-2.30pm Panel discussion: Crime Authors/Creative writers with William Ryan, Bea Davenport and Barbara Nadel, chaired by M. J. MacGrath £5/3

3.30-4.30pm Panel discussion: Legal Eagles with Peter Murphy, Steve Cavanagh and Clare Donoghue, chaired by Ayo Onatade £5/3

5.30-6.30pm Victorian Villanies with Gail-Nina Anderson FREE.

7.30-8.30pm Panel discussion: New Blood with Eva Dolan, Susi Holliday, Kati Hiekkapelto and Susan Wilkins, chaired by Sarah Ward £5/3

Newcastle Noir is assisted by a grant from the Northern Rock Foundation and an anonymous donation from a French screw-making company.

To reserve your place:

Please reserve your seat by calling (0191) 232 0192, emailing library@litandphil.org.uk or by calling in.

You can also follow Newcastle Noir on Twitter @NewcastleNoir

Chris Simms talks Sleeping Dogs with Nick Quantrill

Chris Simms is the acclaimed author of the Manchester-based DI Spicer series, and more recently, the DC Khan series, set in the same city.  Chris was named as one of Waterstone’s 25 authors of the future.  His novels continue to win awards and gather critical acclaim.  Chris talks to Nick Quantrill about his work.  Nick Quantrill is a Hull based author whose Joe Geraghty novels are published by Caffeine Nights.

Nick - “Sleeping Dogs” is your seventh in the DI Spicer series.  Can you tell us a little about it?

Chris - The action is split between Jon Spicer’s stomping-ground, Manchester, and a community out in the wilds of Galway, Ireland.  Events are sparked by the appearance of a huge fighting dog in Spicer’s local park.  Only the intervention of the family’s pet Boxer, Punch, saves Jon’s young daughter from being horrifically mauled.

Jon then finds evidence of a link to Ireland and realises the attack had been carefully planned by people who know exactly where he lives.  It’s every policeman’s worst nightmare.

In previous Spicer novels, I’ve built up Jon’s back-story – including the fact his great grandfather, Padraig, was an Irish navvy who fought his way out of the slums of 19th century Manchester through bare-knuckle fighting.  I wanted to explore Jon’s family history in Sleeping Dogs – and disturbing long-buried secrets seemed the ideal way to do it. 

Nick - Was taking Spicer out of his home city of Manchester a deliberate decision to test

him even more that you have previously?  His personal life, always a strength of the series, seems to be particularly tested.

Chris - Yes, I purposefully took him out of his comfort zone to see how he fared in a foreign country with all sorts of cultural issues to contend with.  What I didn’t want to do is take the easy option and give his enemies paramilitary links: it had to be more subtle – and personal – than that.

Nick - After setting the first six books in the series in Manchester, did you find it a challenge to write about a different place, or did it enable you to find new aspects of Spicer’s character?

Chris - The part of Ireland Spicer ends up in is rugged and raw.  I love landscapes like these and, during the course of the novel, found myself painting parallels between the terrain and Spicer.  Galway’s coast is regularly battered by vicious storms; Spicer gets similar treatment at one point from the locals he’s tangling with. 

Nick - You’ve published “Sleeping Dogs” yourself, but Severn House publishes your latest series starring DC Iona Khan.  Are you officially a hybrid author?

Chris - I suppose so – though it wasn’t planned this way.  Until recently, the publishing industry giveth, and the publishing industry taketh away.  As an author, you did as you were told if you wanted to keep writing.  Now, if an author and publisher don’t see eye-to-eye, the author has the option of going it alone.  I knew “Sleeping Dogs” was a cracking read – possibly the best Spicer yet – so I couldn’t bear to abandon it.  That’s why, for me, the emergence of independent publishing has been a lifeline.  Only a few years ago, “Sleeping Dogs” would never have seen the light of day.  Obviously, this all represents a huge loss of power for publishers. 

Nick - What were the challenges and pleasures of publishing “Sleeping Dogs” yourself?

Chris - Being with a publisher is like having a security blanket.  Things, you like to believe, are all being taken care of.  Whip that blanket away and you feel exposed.  It’s just you.  But you know what?  It was just me when I wrote my first novel over 12 years ago.  Gritting my teeth and sending if off to agents.  Waiting for weeks, then seeing the rejection slips trickle in.  Gritting my teeth and sending if off to more agents.

Independent publishing lets you rediscover all of that.  It’s hugely exciting.  Yes, it forces you to do things like marketing and publicity you previously hoped the publisher was attending to.  Yes, you have to agonise over what price to charge.  But unlike publishers, I’m not trying to protect my book printing business: so my eBooks cost just £2.99.  What’s so liberating is that more people are buying copies of my eBooks now than ever before.  As a result, I’ve been able to bring out print copies too.   

Nick - What’s next for Spicer?  Can we expect more of his investigations, or is his race run?

Chris - I’ve given up trying to predict events in this game!  “Sleeping Dogs” ends with the door wide open for more DI Spicer.  DC Khan - as a female struggling in the macho environment of the Counter Terrorism Unit - continues to intrigue me.  But I’ve also written a novel-length ghost story; “Sing Me To Sleep” launches soon – and it combines the pace of a crime novel with the suspense of a supernatural thriller.  Ideally, I’ll find a way to continue with all three types of book.

More information about Chris Simms and his books can be found on his website.  You can also find him on Facebook.

Sleeping Dogs is available now at Amazon.  For more information, see www.chrissimms.info