Icelandic Noir Programme

              Noir in the North

Conference Programme

@noirinthenorth

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Wednesday, November 16^th

9.30-10.00                   Registration

2^nd Floor, Hotel Saga

10.00-10.15                  Opening Remarks (Room: Katla II)   

Stacy Gillis & Gunnþórunn Guðmundsdóttir             

10.15-11.30                  Keynote Address (Room: Katla II)

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, ‘Yin Yang’

            Chair: Gunnþórunn Guðmundsdóttir

11.30-12.00                  Refreshments

12.00-13.30                 Panel One

1A) Noir & the Past (Room: Katla II)

Chair: Dagný Kristjánsdóttir

·           Melissa Jacques (University of British Columbia), ‘Mid-Century Modern and the Aesthetics of Fascism’

·           Christopher James (Bridgewater College), ‘Bleakness and Tenacity: Fin-de-siècle French Literature and Nordic Noir’

·           Daisy Neijmann (University of Iceland), ‘Fair Shores: Pastness and Authenticity in Arnaldur Indriðason and Ann Cleeves’

1B) Noir & National Identity (Room: Hekla I)

Chair: Giti Chandra

·           Kerstin Bergman (University of Lund), ‘From Solidarity to Neo-liberalism: The Swedish Police Novel’

·           Nina Muždeka (University of Novi Sad), ‘Nordic Noir and Subversive Sociopolitical Commentary: A Norwegian Example’

·           Catherine Nickerson (Emory University), ‘Lilyhammer’s “Land of Second Chances”’

1C) Noir & Space (Room: Hekla II)

Chair: Anne Marit Waade

·           Lughan Deane (University College Dublin), ‘Ghost Estates, Building Sites and Dead Developers in Irish Crime Fiction’

·           Graeme Gilloch (Lancaster University), ‘Views from The Bridge: Panoramas, Non-Places and Spatial Hieroglyphs’

·           Kjartan Már Ómarsson (University of Iceland), ‘White Nights: The Nordic Periphery in Baltasar Kormakur’

13.30-14.30                 Lunch

Restaurant Skrúður (1^st Floor, Hotel Saga)

14.30-15.45                 Keynote Address (Room: Katla II)

Bruce Robbins (Columbia University), ‘The Place of Nordic Noir in the History of Violence’

                           Chair: Stacy Gillis

15.45-16.15                  Refreshments

16.15-17.45                  Panel Two

2A) Noir & the Epic (Room: Katla II)

Chair: Felicity Hand

·           Jillene Bydder (University of Waikato), ‘The Detective and the Sagas: Erlendur in the Novels of Arnaldur Indriðason’

·           Giti Chandra (University of Delhi), ‘Dragon Tattoos, Crime, and the City: The Contemporary Epic’

·           Michael Treschow (University of British Columbia), ‘Outsiders: Grettir the Strong and Carl Mørck’

2B) Noir & the Child (Room: Hekla I)

Chair: Sara Kärrholm

·           Katarina Gregersdotter (Umeå University), ‘The Child as Outsider and Avenger in John Ajvide Lindqvist’

·           Franziska Kretschmer (University of Freiburg), ‘The Child is a Vamp: The Supernatural Femme Fatale in John Ajvide Lindqvist and Tomas Alfredson’

·           Andrew Nestingen (University of Washington), ‘Kid Stuff: Nordic Noir and Quality’

2C) Noir & Work (Room: Hekla II)

Chair: Christinna Hobbs

·           Iratxe Fresneda (University of the Basque Country), ‘Female Detectives in Nordic Noir: Bron/Broen and Forbrydelsen’

·           Kate Hinnant (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire), ‘Life and Work, Work and Life: Traversing Boundaries in Nordic Noir’

·           Fiona Peters (Bath Spa University), ‘Saga, Sarah and Kurt: On the Borderline’

20.00                           Conference Dinner (for those who have pre-booked)

                                    Fiskfélagiđ

ÌËÌËÌ

Thursday, November 17^th

9.30-11.15                                Panel Three

3A) Noir & Genealogies (Room: Katla II)

Chair: Jóhannes Gísli Jónsson

·           Björn Norðfjörð (St. Olaf College), ‘To Be or Not To Be (Noir)’

·           Alda Björk Valdimarsdóttir (University of Iceland), ‘When Murder Comes to Town: The Dark Vision of Gerður Kristný’

·           Pao-Hsiang Wang (National Taiwan University), ‘“Seneca Cannot Be Too Heavy, Nor Plautus Too Light”: Heavy Business and Light Desire in Kaurismaki’s Hamlet Goes Business’

3B) Noir & Women (Room: Hekla I)

Chair: Nina Muzdeka

·           Lorna Hill (University of Stirling), ‘Bloody Women: Female Protagonists Transforming Contemporary Scottish and Scandinavian Crime Fiction’

·           María Socorro Suárez Lafuente (University of Oviedo), ‘Female Crime Writers and Their Detectives: The Nordic Countries and Spain’

·           Gerardine Meaney (University College Dublin), ‘The Woman Between: A Social Network Analysis of The Fall and The Bridge’

·           Jon Wilkins (Independent), ‘Irene Huss: Mother, Wife, Detective’

3C) Noir & Reception (Room: Hekla II)

Chair: Kate Hinnant

·           Ingibjörg Ágústsdóttir (University of Iceland), ‘A Brooding Nordic Noir? Noirish Elements in Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites’

·           Sara Kärrholm (Lund University) and Carina Sjöholm (Lund University), ‘The Power of the Good Example: The Packaging of Characters and Places in Contemporary Nordic Noir’

·           Delphine Letort (Université du Maine), ‘The Transnational Values of Noir in Danish and American Television Series’

·           Jacqui Miller (Liverpool Hope University), ‘A Labyrinth of Noir: Martin Beck, Translation and Adaptation’

11.15-11.45                  Refreshments

11.45-13.00                  Keynote Address (Room: Katla II)

Mary Evans (London School of Economics), ‘Dark Nights and Moral Diversity: Very Good and Very Bad in Nordic Noir’

         Chair: Gunnþórunn Guðmundsdóttir

13.00-14.00                 Lunch           

Restaurant Skrúður (1^st Floor, Hotel Saga)

14.00-15.30                 Panel Four

4A) Noir & Gender (Room: Katla II)

Chair: Gerardine Meaney

·           Guðni Elísson (University of Iceland), ‘The Monster in the Closet: Bisexuality and Discursive Unease in Arnaldur Indriðason’s Bettý’

·           Anna Sigríður A. Guðfinnsdóttir (University of Iceland) and Jóhannes Gísli Jónsson (University of Iceland), ‘Femininity, Masculinity and Style in Arnaldur Indriðason’s Bettý’

·           Björn Þór Vilhjálmsson (University of Iceland), ‘Male Violence and Female Victimhood: Social Justice in Steinar Bragi’s Kata’

4B) Noir & Peripheries (Room: Hekla I)

Chair: Jacqui Miller

·           Felicity Hand (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), ‘Reading Gunnar Staalesen’s The Consorts of Death Ecocritically’

·           Christinna Hobbs (Liverpool John Moores University), ‘“Depressing, hideous…Beautiful”: Nordic Noir and the Postcolonial North’

·           Anne Marit Waade (Aarhus University) and Kim Toft Hansen (Aalborg University),  ‘Locating Nordic Noir’

4C) Noir & Definitions (Room: Hekla II)

Chair: Delphine Letort

·           Parnal Chirmuley (Jawaharlal Nehru University), ‘Timely Translation: The Creation of Nordic Noir as an Identifiable Genre’

·           Andrew Pepper (Queen’s University Belfast), ‘Nordic Noir, Transnationalism, and Problems of Definition’

·           Patrick Kent Russell (University of Connecticut), ‘Understanding American and Nordic Noir Critiques through Hard-Boiled Interrogations of Wealth and Crime’

15.30-16.00                 Refreshments

16.00-16.45                 Roundtable (Room: Katla II)

“Whither Nordic Noir: Networks, Funding Bids, Publications & Other Plans”

Chairs: Stacy Gillis & Gunnþórunn Guðmundsdóttir

17.30-19.30                 Keynote Address & Reception (Reykjavik City Hall)

Val McDermid

                                    Chair: Stacy Gillis

Keynote Address in association with Iceland Noir Festival

& Reykjavik UNESCO City of Literature.

Reception Hosts: The British Embassy in Iceland

Five Favorite Detectives by Antti Tuomainen

Today I am delighted to be joined by the wonderful Antti Tuomainen for the latest stop oh his Finish Invasion blog tour.  Antti's latest book The Mine is out now.  Like most crime writers he is also a big reader and in his post he talks to us about his five favourite detectives.  I guess that one should not really be too surprised about those he chose.

Rust Cohle

"World needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door." - Rust Cohle

The first season of True Detective is probably my favorite single season of television. (Although any season of The Wire might come close.) And Rust Cohle, played so memorably by Matthew McConaghey, is the ultimate world-weary detective. He's a true loner and a philosopher and quite probably the most obsessed man on the planet. What makes him such a great character also is that he is full of faults, almost enough to destroy him, and yet I completely understand him. That takes some great writing.

 

Matthew Scudder

Lawrence Block is one of the greats of crime writing, ever. He's written about 100 books in a career that's been going now for over 50 years. He has had, and still has, at least three series going. To me, Matthew Scudder is my favorite of his series characters. Scudder is an ex-cop, recovering alcoholic and not even a licensed PI, but still takes on cases as favors to people in exchange of cash, of course. The Scudder novels (and short stories) take place in New York City and it's perfectly rendered in these excellent, atmospheric books. Noir and good. Highly recommended. You could start with Eight Million Ways To Die or A Walk Among The Tombstones. 

 

Philip Marlowe

It's not really Marlowe, it's Chandler, of course. He's the one writing Marlowe's thoughts and lines. And they're still excellent.

 

Turner

I don't remember if Turner has a first name. James Sallis is one of my favorite crime authors and the Turner trilogy is very good, even if we never even find out the main character (and the narrator's) name. Turner is, or becomes, a sheriff in a small Southern town and investigates whatever brutality comes up. There are time shifts as Turner reminisces his days as a big city detective and currently serves the small community. Sallis writes so well. It is always a pleasure to read him even if the plot doesn't take you where you expect it, or don't expect it to. I can't decide which one.

 

Jackie Brown (not a detective, but…)

Elmore Leonard wrote a novel titled Rum Punch whichwas made into a film by Quentin Tarantino titled Jackie Brown. And Jackie Brown is indeed the name of the main character. She is a flight stewardess caught in the web of arms dealing, drug trafficking, thugs, cops, feds and who knows what else. She's a great character and it's a great story of survival, growth and standing up for yourself. A very classical character journey in a highly entertaining fashion. Also, you can't beat Leonard's dialogue.



The Mine

Janne Vuori, an investigative journalist for the Helsinki Daily, receives an anonymous tip about illegal activity at a nickel mine in the small town of Suomalahti in northern Finland. According to his source, the mining company is causing an environmental disaster. Janne and a photographer drive to the mine to investigate, but are briskly kept off the grounds by the head of mine security at Finn Mining Ltd. Determined to find out the truth, Janne begins to investigate the company in order to shed some light on its shady business. When executives of the company start dying one after the other in mysterious accidents, he realizes that he’s become embroiled in a dangerous game that might just cost him his life.

You can find out more about Antti Tuomainen and his books can be found on his website.  You can also follow him on Twitter @antti_tuomainen.

LA Larkin on Ice in London

Book reviewers are always on the lookout for something new, something fresh and something unusual; so it was a delight to meet up with fellow literary commentators in London to listen to British-Australian writer LA Larkin talk about her British debut thriller Devour.  

Top : L-R Karim & Forshaw, Karim & Phil Patterson

Bottom : Jon Coates & LA Larkin

Devour was picked up by Constable an imprint of Little, Brown and speaking to her publishers, I remarked how interesting it is to see a Techno-Thriller make their 2017 offerings.

So what’s Devour about?

Their greatest fear was contaminating an ancient Antarctic lake, buried beneath the ice for millions of years. They little knew the catastrophe they were about to unleash.

Welcome to the high octane world of Olivia Wolfe.

As an investigative journalist, Wolfe lives her life in constant peril. Hunted by numerous enemies who are seldom what the first seem, she must unravel a complex web of lies to uncover an even more terrifying truth.

From the poppy palaces of Afghanistan and Antarctica's forbidding wind-swept ice sheets, to a top-secret military base in the Nevada desert, Wolfe's journey will ultimately lead her to a man who would obliterate civilisation. She must make an impossible choice: save a life - or prevent the death of millions.

And who is LA Larkin?

Louisa Larkin, has been likened to Michael Crichton and Matthew Reilly. The Genesis Flaw was nominated for four crime fiction awards and Thirst described as, 'The best Antarctic thriller since Ice Station Zebra'. An adventurer at heart, Larkin has spent time in the Antarctic, with scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and the Australian Antarctic Division.

L. A. Larkin lives in Sydney and London, and teaches mystery and thriller writing.

So a cadre of London critics including Jon Coates of The Express, Jake Kerridge of The Telegraph, and The Man of Noir, Barry Forshaw and many others found ourselves breaking bread with Louisa Larkin at The Reindeer Room, where we were introduced to Devour –

Then after our meal, we ventured into The Ice Bar, which was an extraordinary experience as this video indicates –

And here are some photographs of the event, for after the 45 minutes in the artic temperatures; we had to have strong hot coffee, fortified with gin to recover.

Shots have copies on discount and available for pre-order here as Devour looks like a very interesting thriller to kick start 2017.

Shots eZine would like to thank Constable, Little Brown, Sophie Ransom and her colleagues for organising a rather interesting lunch, and cocktails in London’s Ice Bar – a rather suitable venue to launch Devour, with its permafrost narrative and delightful author.