NOIRELAND Returns in 2020 with a One-Day Festival

Belfast’s NOIRELAND International Crime Festival is returning on 28 March 2020. This year’s one-day festival showcases some of Ireland’s greatest crime novelists, lends a helping hand to aspiring writers, and highlights Belfast significant impact on the world of crime fiction, on page and on screen. 

THE PROGRAMME 

This year the festival falls into three parts:’ The Writers’ Morning’, ‘A Noirish Afternoon in Belfast’ and ‘A Noirish Night of Stars’. Special guests include bestselling crime writers from the UK - #1 bestseller Mark Billingham, multi-award-winning novelist Abir Mukherjee, and Ann Cleeves creator of the Vera and Shetland series. The programme is packed to the brim with Ireland’s own international bestsellers: Liz Nugent, Brian McGilloway, Adrian McKinty, Jane Casey and Steve Cavanagh – with exclusive previews of their latest novels.

NUTURING TALENT


A keystone of NOIRELAND is the nurturing of new and emerging local talent. ‘The Writers’ Morning’provides an accessible and affordable introduction to creative writing, followed by a session with publishing professionals offering insights and practical advice on getting into print. Prices for these sessions have been kept deliberately low to encourage anyone with an interest in writing to join in. More information can be found on the NOIRELAND website. 

A ONE DAY FESTIVAL
  

While in previously NOIRELAND has taken place over the course of a weekend, this year it is a one day only event. When planning the festival in autumn 2019, concerns over Brexit and its impact on Northern Ireland convinced the programme committee that a digested version of the festival would be more appropriate in uncertain times. Plans are already being put into place for a return to the full-scale weekend event for 2021. 

NOIRELAND takes place 28 March 2020 at Belfast’s Clayton Hotel. The full programme can be found below. 

WRITER’S MORNING 

Our beginner’s guide to writing is the perfect introduction to the creative process, and a great kick start to following your dreams of being a novelist. Our experts will provide an overview of a book’s lifecycle, from writing your book to then getting it published. 

SO YOU WANNA BE A WRITER? 

10:00-11:45 

TICKETS: £20/£15
 -

Have you always fancied the idea of writing a novel but didn’t know where to start?
 Gerard Brennan, an acclaimed crime novelist and tutor, provides an introduction to the world of creative writing, to help get you started. Over the morning Gerard, will be discussing the importance of structure, plotting and how to create characters. A great taster for all aspiring authors. (Includes a break at 11am). 

ASK THE EXPERTS 

12:00-13:00 

TICKETS: £8/£6
. 

So, you’ve got your idea for a novel, you might even have a manuscript, but what’s the next step to getting published? NOIRELAND has brought together a panel of publishing experts – Katherine Armstrong, Editorial Director at Bonnier Zaffre, Angela McMahon, Director of Flow Communications and crime PR specialist, and Lisa Moylett, an experienced literary agent at the CMM Agency in London. 

A NOIRISH AFTERNOON IN BELFAST 

Explore the city’s dark side on Saturday afternoon with a choice of tours and a special screening of Odd Man Out, Belfast’s very own Film Noir. 

NOIRELAND WALKING TOUR 

14:00-15:15 

TICKETS: £10.  


We’re partnering with Belfast Hidden Tours for a very special NOIRELAND tour of the city. Simon Maltman, a crime writer and expert on the city’s ‘noirist’ corners, will take you on a special NOIRELAND walking tour. The walk, which lasts roughly 75 mins, visits locations from award-winning crime novels, iconic sites from television’s most popular dramas and explores the landmarks, pubs and alleyways featured in Odd Man Out, one of the best Film Noir movies of all time. 

ODD MAN OUT at the Movie House, Dublin Road


15:30-17:30


TICKETS: £6/£5
.  

We have teamed up with Belfast’s Movie House for a special screening of Odd Man Out(1947), Carol Reed’s masterpiece set in Belfast. It is one of the earliest examples of film noir to be made outside of the US and has been a major influence on some of cinema’s greatest filmmakers, including Roman Polanski who cites it as his favourite movie. The event includes a special introduction to our noir matinee, providing insight into its production, the crime novel that inspired it and how Odd Man Out has influenced film makers and writers since. 

A NOIRISH NIGHT OF STARS

AN ENGLISHMAN, AN IRISHMAN AND A SCOTSMAN 

WALK INTO THE NOIR 

18:00-19:00 

TICKETS: £10/£8.  


Three pals – and crime writing greats – get together for a bit of craic, to chat about where they come from, their writing and their latest novels. Last year three award-winning women crime writers had us rolling in the aisles, so this year Mark Billingham, Steve Cavanagh and Abir Mukherjee will be bringing their wit, wisdom and one-liners to NOIRELAND. No pressure lads, but your counterparts from last year were hysterical! 

A CRIME OF THE TIMES 

19:30-20:30 

TICKETS: £8/£6
. 

May you live in interesting times’ and we certainly do! Crime fiction is one of the best mediums to explore issues of the day, while still entertaining readers along the way.
  Paul Waters, the Belfast-born broadcaster, will be exploring the hottest topics around, talking to Jane Casey about the dark world of elite gentlemen’s clubs post #MeToo, Alan Judd on his latest thriller about spies at the heart of the Brexit negotiations, Gary Donnelly on how we deal with our past in his cop thriller set in contemporary Belfast, and Liz Nugent on her new novel exploring the cult of celebrity and its inherent dangers. 

ANN CLEEVES interviews BRIAN MCGILLOWAY 

21:00-22:00 

TICKETS: £10/£8
.  

One of the highlights of NOIRELAND 2019 was Brian McGilloway’s interview with bestselling crime novelist Ann Cleeves. The old friends are back again, but this time Ann will be interviewing Brian about his new novel The Last Crossing, described as ‘the peak of what crime fiction can do’ (Steve Cavanagh) and an ‘extraordinary novel’ (Adrian McKinty).
 A must-see event for fans of Brian McGilloway, Ann Cleeves and anyone who loves truly great crime writing. 

JACK-A-NOIR-Y: 

The Detective Up Late 

22:30-23:30 

TICKETS: £10/£8.  


NOIRELAND 2020 ends on Saturday night with Jack-a-noir-y, our bedtime story for grown-ups. So grab a drink, settle down and listen to an exclusive extract from a very hotly anticipated novel. This year our bedtime story will be from The Detective Up Late, a new Sean Duffy novel from Adrian McKinty, which won’t be hitting the shops until 2021! Adrian will be introducing the book in person and talking a little about his award-winning 
Sean Duffy series. 

TICKETS AND CONCESSIONS 

Tickets are available at the NOIRELAND box office: www.noireland.com/box-office, or at the venue on the day (28 March). 

People in receipt of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, or Job Seekers allowance, Students, Children (12–18 years) and disabled people are entitled to a concession discount. 

PASSES 

A pass to all events at NOIRELAND is available to purchase: £75/£50 conc. A ‘Writers’ Morning Pass’ is available to purchase: £25/£18 conc.
A ‘A Noirish Night of Stars’ is available to purchase: £32/£22 conc. 

Terms & Conditions apply. See our website for more details: 

www.noireland.com 

GETTING TO NOIRELAND 

NOIRELAND takes place at the Clayton Hotel, 

22-26 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast BT2 8HS 

The venue is just 5 minutes from the train and bus centre on Great Victoria Street, with its links to Belfast International and Belfast City airports.
Visit www.translink.co.uk to plan your journey. 

Adrian Dunbar to read at NOIRELAND’s Jack-a-NOIR-y

The NOIRELAND International Crime Fiction Festival is thrilled to announce Adrian Dunbar will be appearing at this year’s weekend event which takes place 8-10 March in Belfast.  

The renowned Northern Irish actor and star of BBC’s Line of Duty will be presenting ‘Jack-a-NOIR-y’, a bedtime story for grown-ups. Dunbar will be reading an exclusive extract from A Book of Bones, the forthcoming new novel from international bestseller John Connolly.  

Jack-a-NOIR-y is a brand new event for NOIRELAND 2019. The Irish love of a good yarn is renowned, and has fostered a nation of storytellers. The soaring popularity of audiobooks and podcasts shows it’s not just the Irish who love listening to a great story, so this is sure to be a festival favourite.

Jack-a-NOIR-y is the closing event of Saturday’s festival programme and takes place in the atmospheric surroundings of the penthouse room of Belfast’s Europa Hotel. It will feature a filmed introduction from John Connolly, followed by Adrian Dunbar reading an extended extract from A Book of Bones. 

This is a return visit to NOIRELAND from Dunbar, who appeared alongside Jed Mercurio in ‘Behind the Scenes of Line of Duty’ at the inaugural 2017 festival. He is one of Ireland’s greatest actors, and has become a household name since playing DCI Ted Hastings in the BAFTA-winning crime series, which is filmed in Belfast. 

The Genius of Betrayal by Stewart Binns

An autobiographical/first person approach to a fictional novel is a tried and tested technique, but it has advantages and disadvantages. It allows the reader intimate access to the character’s/author’s innermost thoughts, whether they be their positive aspirations or their darkest fears. It also offers the immediacy and tension of reality, but lays bare things that have been hidden away, or, are best not said.

In my case it offered a convenient way of telling a story I wanted to tell and saying some things I wanted to say, without compromising anything for which I have huge respect and without damaging anyone who doesn’t deserve to be damaged.

The genesis of Betrayal began in 2015. After writing two major historical series, one set in the Middle Ages and one focused on the First World War, I wanted to explore a more contemporary subject, one that could have real meaning for people living today.

In searching for a topic, I came across a soldier’s story, Rain, written by Barney Campbell. It’s also a first person/autobiographical tale about a British officer and his two tours of Afghanistan in 2009. I was completely absorbed by the book and read it in 48 hours. At the end, I was exhausted and in floods of tears.

Rain was the emotional spark that led me to think about Betrayal. Barney’s story made me think back several decades to my own modest time in the military and provoked memories which I had chosen to bury.

It wasn’t that my experiences were horrendous, like those described by Barney, and I certainly didn’t do anything even vaguely heroic, but they were in the context of a time in our country’s modern history which does not bear much moral scrutiny.

It also led me to think a lot about myself: who I am, where I come from and what I have done, both laudable and not so laudable. I am a child of the 60s, when I was appropriately radical, a persuasion that has survived to this day, even though I have to admit to many periods of doubt and introspection.

Anyway, the thoughts prompted by Barney’s novel made my realise that I had the basis of a sort of cathartic novel set amidst real events and real people in very distressing circumstances.

For me, the early 80s was a dark period in our history and Northern Ireland was one of the most shadowy parts of it. I wanted to tell a story of those times, which would cast a light on murky corners that have been hidden/obscured for many years.

My own military experience was with the SAS, for which I passed selection in 1980.  I applied for no other reason than bravado, not the most worthy of motives. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to try all sorts of challenges in all sorts of extreme conditions. It was a chance to play with some very special kit and meet some exceptional people. It was like a wonderful adventure holiday, paid for by the taxpayer. Except, of course, for the all-to-real business of Northern Ireland and Britain’s increasingly dubious role in the conflict.

I was able to go to Belfast several times during those days. They were visits that, added to my Anglo-Irish heritage, a lifetime’s interest in Irish history and many other visits, both north and south of the border, allowed me to weave the narrative of Betrayal.

So, I had a character and a context, but my respect for the Regiment and its soldiers, quite apart from my signature on an Official Secrets Act document, meant that I did not want to compromise anyone involved in one of the finest military cadres in the world. The details of Special Forces operations are kept secret for very obvious and good reasons.

So Betrayal is entirely fictional, as are the central characters, including Jim, the fictional me. Jim is only loosely based on the real me and is no more than a flimsy caricature, but he serves my purpose.

Finally, for obvious reasons, I am the only one who knows which parts of the story are true and which parts are fiction and that is how it must remain.

Betrayal by Stewart Binns (Published by Michael Joseph)
January, 1981. Jim Dowd is a British Special Forces soldier, highly-trained and loyal. With his colleague, army intelligence officer, Maureen O'Brien, he enters a bitterly divided Belfast with a mission: to go undercover with new identities, infiltrate one of the city's most dangerous Catholic communities, and help change the course of a war that nobody is winning. The Ardoyne is a perilous world, cut off from the law and run by dangerous men, where even a hint of Jim's and Maureen's true identities will prove fatal. But it is also full of pride, courage and loyalty, and Jim realises he admires this community - and as relationships form, his guilt at his deception grows ever stronger. When they receive shocking orders, Maureen knows they must act swiftly and ruthlessly, but can she rely on Jim? And if they rebel, are they betraying their country, or are they being betrayed?

More information about the author can be found on his website. You can also find him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @StewartBinns

Noireland!

FESTIVAL PROGRAMME 

Europa Hotel, Belfast

FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER

9:30-11:00 Crime writing workshop 1

Crime screenwriting workshop 2

11:30:1:00 Crime writing workshop 1 Crime screenwriting workshop 2

2:00-3:30 Crime writing workshop 1 Crime screenwriting workshop 2

4:00-5:30 Crime writing workshop 1 Crime screenwriting workshop 2

6.30pm-7:15pm OPENING NIGHT PARTY

Join us for a celebration of crime fiction. You will be in the company of some of the legends of crime writing, along with hottest new talent around.

7:30pm-8:30pm LINE OF DUTY

In the spotlight The BBC’s award-winning crime drama Line of Duty has been voted one of the best cop shows of all time. Its creator Jed Mercurio, Adrian Dunbar who plays Superintendent Ted Hastings and the show’s producer Stephen Wright talk about working on one of the greatest crime series on the small screen.

9-10pm BENJAMIN BLACK in conversation with David Torrans John Banville, one of Ireland’s greatest novelists talks about his other life as crime novelist Benjamin Black. From his misanthropic pathologist Quirke, who first appeared in Christine Falls, to his latest historical crime novel Prague Nights, fans will get an insight into what it takes to juggle two separate identities and genres.

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER

10am-11am A SAFE FEAR

What makes you really scared? Caz Frear, Jo Spain, Ali Land and Steve Mosby discuss why we use crime fiction to explore our deepest fears.

11.30am-12.30pm IDENTITIES

Adrian McKinty, Abir Mukherjee, Stella Duffy and Louise Welsh reflect on questions around identity and how crime fiction explores sexuality, gender, race, culture and religion.

2pm-3pm BORDERLANDS

Borders have shaped the people who live near them for centuries – the culture, politics and the crime that arise because of them. Brian McGilloway, David Young, Arne Dahl and Claire McGowan discuss with Craig Robertson how borders across Britain, Ireland and Europe have inspired their crime writing. They also take a look into the future at what opportunities Brexit might pose for a crime writer.

3.30pm-4:30pm THE DARK SIDE OF COUNTRY LIFE

Beneath the chocolate-box façade, for many crime writers the countryside is a deadly place. From murder mysteries to claustrophobic thrillers, rural life can be a dark and threatening existence. Graeme Macrae Burnet, Anthony J. Quinn, Andrea Carter and Ruth Ware discuss their latest dark tales from the countryside.

5pm-6pm AMERICANA

Stuart Neville (who also writes as Haylen Beck), Helen Callaghan, Ray Celestin discuss why the USA attracts so many crime writers as a setting for their novels – whether they’re American or not. Is America just the perfect location for a crime and, if so, why?

8pm-9pm ROBERT CRAIS in conversation

International bestseller Robert Crais is one of crime fiction’s most influential writers. His career started in television where he was one of Hollywood’s hottest screenwriters, working on legendary shows including Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey and Miami Vice. He then became a full-time novelist, creating one of crime fiction’s most loved partnerships Elvis Cole & Joe Pike.

10pm-late HALLOWEEN PARTY

A criminally good Halloween party! Live music and an award for the best crime-themed costume.

SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER

10.30am-11.30am

TELLING A CRIME STORY 

Steve Cavanagh, Craig Robertson and Eoin McNamee talk to Diana Bretherick about our fascination with real crime and why some people find criminals so fascinating. They discuss the constraints and morality of constructing a narrative around a real crime, either through fiction, or through journalism.

12pm-1pm VIKING v CELT

It’s been over a millennium since the first Viking invasion of Ireland and crime fiction fans are enjoying the current invasion a lot more! But are the Celts and the Vikings so very different? We explore the similarities between Scandinavian and Irish crime fiction with two of the greatest proponents from each side: bestselling novelists Arne Dahl and Liz Nugent.

2:30pm-3:30pm CHRISTIE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The whodunit has been hugely popular for well over a century. Three contemporary crime novelists Ruth Ware, Martin Edwards and Andrew Wilson, discuss how the murder mystery is being re-invented for modern audiences.

4pm-5pm SOPHIE HANNAH

The multi-talented, bestselling novelist Sophie Hannah talks to journalist Jake Kerridge about her writing career. From her gripping psychological thrillers to the internationally bestselling Hercule Poirot follow on novels, Sophie is one of Britain’s best-loved crime novelists.