NoirWich Crime Writing Festival celebrates 5th year with block buster line - up

A star cast of crime writers has been confirmed for Noirwich as the festival returns to celebrate its fifth year from 13- 16 September 2018. The event brings together crime-writing giants Val McDermid, Nicci French, Paula Hawkins and Elizabeth Hayes, alongside panels celebrating killer debuts and cutting edge writing from across the genre.

Organised by the National Centre for Writing and the University of East Anglia (UEA), the events form part of a city-wide celebration of activities in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of literature. The long weekend is also set to include writing workshops, crime themed cocktails and a murder mystery musical from new Poirot novelist Sophie Hannah.

Kick starting Noirwich 2018 are married couple Nicci French, who will celebrate their 21-year crime writing career discussing Day of the Dead, the much anticipated finale to their Freida Klein series. Queen of Crime Val McDermid will deliver a talk on violence and gender within the genre for this year’s Noirwich Lecture sponsored by The Times and The Sunday Times Crime Club; acclaimed literary novelist John Banville will discuss his double life as crime fiction writer Benjamin Black; and global sensations Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware will be in conversation about their chart topping thrillers.

Not-to-be missed events also include an insightful session with experts from UEA who will explain the facts behind fingerprints, forensics and postmortem evidence; a spellbinding hour on witchcraft and superstition with authors Syd Moore, Cathi Unsworth and Roz Watkins; an in-conversation with novelist and screenwriter Robert Thorogood about his BBC One hit Death in Paradise; and a panel on books to screen with Sarah Pinborough, Jane Lythell and Matt Wesolowski.

Avid crime readers can enjoy the best new and cutting edge work the genre has offer, as the festival showcases upcoming, debut and boundary-pushing authors. UEA’s MA Crime Fiction graduates will launch their anthology Postmortem at local pub The Murderers; Amer Anwar, Claire Askew and Stuart Turton will discuss their distinguished debuts; and Leo Benedictus, Jacob Ross and Louise Welsh will talk about their recent work and creating something new in the genre. The festival will conclude with a fun hour of readings to celebrate its fifth birthday headlined by New York Times bestseller Elizabeth Hayes.

Chris Gribble, Festival Co-Director and Chief Executive of the National Centre for Writing, said: “Crime fiction is phenomenally popular and has become the UK’s top selling fictional genre this year- beating all others put together. Noirwich is a wonderful celebration that brings people from far and wide to our UNESCO City of Literature for a four-day spectacular of the most exciting and diverse crime writing that the world has to offer.”

Henry Sutton, Festival Co-Director and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the UEA added: “Noirwich is at the cutting edge of the most exciting, dynamic and popular literary and filmic genre in the world. But it’s so much more as well; it’s a place for great, timely and entertaining discussions in the friendliest of environments. Meet the people who shape imaginations and who can make you laugh. Crime writers know how to have fun.”

The Noirwich Crime Writing Festival draws on its setting as a site of significant cultural heritage to offer a unique city-wide experience, with events and fringe activities complementing Norwich’s existing local attractions. Between panels, visitors can discover local food with a crime twist, follow the city’s crime and punishment walking tour, stay at Agatha Christie’s favourite hotel, browse one of Margaret Atwood’s favourite bookshops (The Book Hive) or take a trip to the dungeons at the medieval Norwich castle.

Another Crime, Another Place: the role of location in crime fiction.’ - St Hilda's Mystery and Crime Conference 2017

St Hilda’s College Mystery and Crime Conference 18 / 20 August 2017

‘Another Crime, Another Place: the role of location in crime fiction.’

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is our Conference Guest of Honour and Natasha Cooper will chair the conference

Friday 18th August

6.45pm RECEPTION

7.30pm THE GUEST SPEAKER DINNER

With Mark Billingham - Where jokes go to die …

Saturday 19th August

8.00 - 9.00am BREAKFAST

9.10am Welcome: The Committee

9.20 – 10.50am

Val McDermid - "I now describe my country as if to strangers."

Lin Anderson and Lorna Dawson - Place, People, Particulates and Provenance: How soil trace particulates help track a killer in ‘None but the Dead’

10.50 - 11.20am COFFEE BREAK

11.20 - 12.50pm

Andrew Taylor- The Cinderella of Crime: is setting is the unsung heroine of crime and other fictions?

Manda Scott - Six Senses: Miss Smilla, Snow and the creation of place

12.50 - 1.50pm LUNCH

2.00 - 3.30pm

Belinda Bauer - The Devil’s In The Detail You Can’t See On Google Maps.

Sharon Bolton- The Entirely Unnecessary Research Trip or, as Einstein put it: "Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

3.30 – 4.00pm TEA BREAK

4.10 -- 5.40pm

Abir Mukherjee - Place, time and committing murder to scratch an itch: how writing a crime novel helped me make sense of my heritage.

Miranda Carter - Wheredunnit: Crime fiction’s worlds and how they got me to Thuggee

5.45 – 6.30pm SIGNING SESSION FOR ALL AUTHORS
7.15pm DRINKS
7.45pm THE CRIME AND MYSTERY DINNER

With A Murder Mystery written and hosted by Ann Cleeves and Professor Lorna Dawson

Cast : The Usual Suspects …

Sunday 20th August

8.30 -- 9.30am BREAKFAST

9.30 – 11.00am CONFERENCE LECTURE by our Guest of Honour, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

11.00am – 11.30am COFFEE

11.30am – 1.00pm

Jake Kerridge - Mayhem Parva: The Perfect Place for a Murder

Henry Sutton - On The Edge: East Anglian Noir

1.00pm CLOSING REMARKS

1.15 LUNCH

Conference speakers and contributors, 2017:
Lin Anderson, Tartan Noir novelist and screenwriter, author of the Rhona MacLeod forensic crime thriller series, and a co-founder of the annual Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival.

Lorna Dawson, head of the Soil Forensics Group at the Hutton Institute and honorary professor in Forensic Science at Robert Gordon University, who has worked as tv drama forensics advisor on Vera and Silent Witness, and with crime authors including Ann Cleeves and Lin Anderson.

Belinda Bauer, former journalist and screenwriter, who won the Carl Foreman BAFTA for her screenplay The Locker Room. Her debut novel Blacklands earned her the CWA’s Gold Dagger, and Rubbernecker won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2014.

Mark Billingham, TV writer and stand-up comedian whose series of Tom Thorne novels, starting with Sleepyhead, have been adapted for TV in an acclaimed series starring David Morrissey. Winner twice of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

Sharon Bolton (previously S. J. Bolton) is the critically acclaimed author of some of the most bone-chilling crime books ever written. She has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2014 she won the CWA Dagger in the Library for her whole body of work.

Miranda Carter, As historian, writer and biographer her biography of Anthony Blunt won the God Dagger for Non-Fiction. Now, under the name MJ Carter, she writes the Victorian thrillers, the Blake Avery series.

Natasha Cooper, novelist, first turned to crime with the lighthearted Willow King series, then with the Trish Maguire novels. She chaired the Crime Writers' Association in 1999/2000. She broadcasts, reviews, writes features and short stories and talks to reading groups and literary festivals in the UK and US.

Ann Cleeves is the 2017 winner of The Diamond Dagger, the highest honour in British crime writing. Best known for the Vera Stanhope books and the Shetland Island /Jimmy Perez novels, both these series have been adapted into award-wining television favourites.

Jake Kerridge, journalist and critic who writes on arts and books for several publications and ‘takes an unhealthy interest in violence and murder as the Telegraph's crime fiction critic.’

Val McDermid celebrated, best-selling and multi-award-wining Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels featuring her most famous creation The Wire in Blood, and the Kate Brannigan and the Lyndsay Gordon series. Val is an Alumna and Honorary Fellow of St. Hilda's College.

Abir Mukerjee, who was working as an accountant when won the Telegraph-Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition with his debut novel, A Rising Man. Set in India in 1919, it is hoped to be the first of a series featuring Capt Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee.

Manda Scott, Edgar-nominated author of the best-selling Boudica series and the Sebastos Pantera Roman novels, who began her career with a series of crime novels set in Scotland.

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is the internationally bestselling Icelandic crime author of the award-winning Thóra Gudmundsdóttir series and several stand-alone thrillers. She made her crime fiction debut in 2005 with Last Rituals, which has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Henry Sutton, Award-winning crime novelist and academic whose novels include My Criminal World and Get Me Out of Here. He is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia and co-director of the MA in Prose Fiction UEA Creative Writing Course.

Andrew Taylor winner of the Cartier Diamond Dagger and the triple winner of the Historical Dagger. His books include The American Boy, the Roth Trilogy (filmed for TV as Fallen Angel); The Anatomy of Ghosts, shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year; and, most recently, The Ashes of London.

And announcing Conference Guest, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, the Queen of Nordic Noir. Author of the bestselling Thora Gudmundsdottir crime series and several stand-alone thrillers including ‘I Remember You’ (Icelandic Crime Fiction Award.)

The Conference Dinner will be held in aid of The P D James Fund which supports to the work of the English School and students at St Hilda’s College kindly endowed by Honorary Fellow PD James.


The Mystery and Crime Weekend

Launched in 1994, this conference, which offers authors an opportunity to explore a theme, has become a most significant entry in the calendar of crime fiction conferences and is a wonderful way to spend a weekend with like-minded devotees of crime fiction. The theme this year is’ Another Crime, Another Place: the role of location in crime fiction’ and the remit to the speakers is to examine the many areas crime fiction covers: the police detective, historical, ‘hard- boiled’, clerical, classical fairy tales, domestic, the golden age gems, the light-hearted, etc. We offer challenging talks, excellent meals, on-site accommodation, Oxford itself and amazing camaraderie.

The Conference Programme

The Weekend begins with a Reception and the Conference Dinner on Friday evening. The conference (Saturday & Sunday) is divided into morning and afternoon sessions with breaks for tea/coffee. The Conference Lecture, on Saturday morning, will be given by the Guest of Honour, this year Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. Lunch is offered both days and there is a second Dinner on Saturday evening. Plenty of opportunity is given for discussion, questions and just relaxing with the speakers and other participants.

About St Hilda’s

St Hilda’s College, Oxford University is on the banks of the River Cherwell overlooking the meadows and spires of Oxford. Its lovely gardens sweep down to the river, which is famous for punting and picnics. The centre of Oxford is a few minutes walk away, but the College itself lies in a pleasantly secluded area away from the noise and bustle of the city. B&B is offered and can be extended before or after the conference. Access by train is good and there are excellent coach services to Oxford from Central London and from Heathrow & Gatwick airports. And it is one of the few places in Oxford with parking.

Bookstore

A bookstore, kindly provided by Blackwell’s, will be open continuously throughout the weekend and will aim to have as many of the speakers’ books as possible and of the other crime-writers attending the conference.

Accommodation

Accommodation at St Hilda’s is mainly in single rooms but we do have a few twin rooms and where a twin room is not available couples are put in adjoining rooms. Unfortunately the college cannot guarantee en-suite accommodation but all rooms have washbasins and all buildings have bathrooms with showers which are private, individual units that have recently been modernised. Tea & coffee making facilities are provided in every room.

Queries

For further information including booking extra B&B dates or with any special requirements not mentioned on this site please call Triona Adams at St Hilda's College Development Office 01865 276 828 or email triona.adams@st-hildas.ox.ac.uk


Booking information can be found here and here.

Times Crime and Thriller Writing Masterclass

Do you want to be a crime writer? A really successful crime writer? We have recruited a panel of the top names in crime and thriller publishing to share their expertise at our Crime Club Masterclass on Monday, March 20. For just £45 you can join us to learn the secrets of creating great crime and thriller fiction.

On the panel (from left):

Henry Sutton runs the University of East Anglia's MA in Crime Fiction, and has written nine novels: ask him about structure, craft and technique.

Charles Cumming is the author of eight spy thrillers, partly based on his own experiences with MI6. Charles will share his ideas about turning fact into fiction, and how to write from both experience and imagination.

Literary agent Jane Gregory has masterminded the careers of Val McDermid and Minette Walters, among others, and knows exactly what she's looking for in the next great crime writer.

Julia Wisdom edits and publishes Stuart MacBride, SJ Parris and Simon Toyne. She can tell you what publishers want and don't want.

Sophie Hannah, an international bestseller, writes intricate psychological thrillers and with the blessing of the Agatha Christie estate she has also written two brand-new Hercule Poirot novels. Who better to discuss what the modern writer can learn from Agatha Christie, and what works — and what doesn't work — to create a successful psychological thriller?

The masterclass will give all guests access to each of the panel in small groups, so there will be plenty of opportunity to have your specific questions answered.

To find out more, and to book, click here.

Another Crime, Another Place - St Hilda's College Mystery and Crime Conference 2017

St Hilda’s College Mystery and Crime Conference   18 / 20 August 2017

We are pleased to announce that the theme of the 2017 conference will be

‘Another Crime, Another Place:  the role of location in crime fiction.’

Natasha Cooper will take the Chair and our other award-winning regular conference speakers include Val McDermid and Andrew Taylor. We will also welcome the speakers confirmed so far:

Lin Anderson, Tartan Noir novelist and screenwriter, author of the Rhona MacLeod forensic crime thriller series, and a co-founder of the annual Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival.

Lorna Dawson, head of the Soil Forensics Group at the Hutton Institute and honorary professor in Forensic Science at Robert Gordon University, who has worked as tv drama forensics advisor on Vera and Silent Witness, and with crime authors including Ann Cleeves  and Lin Anderson.

Mark Billingham, TV writer and stand-up comedian whose series of Tom Thorne novels, starting with Sleepyhead, have been adapted for TV in an acclaimed series starring David Morrissey.  Winner twice of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

Belinda Bauer, former journalist and screenwriter, who won the Carl Foreman BAFTA for her screenplay The Locker Room. Her debut novel Blacklands earned her the CWA’s Gold Dagger, and Rubbernecker won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2014.

Jake Kerridge, journalist and critic who writes on arts and books for several publications and ‘takes an unhealthy interest in violence and murder as the Telegraph's crime fiction critic.’

Abir Mukerjee, who was working as an accountant when won the Telegraph-Harvill Secker Crime Writing Competition with his debut novel, A Rising Man. Set in India in 1919, it is hoped to be the first of a series featuring Capt Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee.

Manda Scott, Edgar-nominated author of the best-selling Boudica series and the Sebastos Pantera Roman novels, who began her career with a series of crime novels set in Scotland.

Henry Sutton, Award-winning crime novelist and academic whose novels include My Criminal World  and Get Me Out of Here. He is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia and co-director of the MA in Prose Fiction UEA Creative Writing Course.

And announcing Conference Guest, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Queen of Nordic Noir.  

Author of the bestselling Thora Gudmundsdottir crime series and several stand-alone thrillers including ‘I Remember You’ (Icelandic Crime Fiction Award.)

The Conference Dinner will be held in aid of The P D James Fund which supports to the work of the English School and students at St Hilda’s College.

BOOK NOW :  Priority booking is available until 31^st March 2017 at www.mysteryandcrime2017.eventbrite.co.uk

More news, including the full programme and social media updates, will follow soon.

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The St Hilda’s College Mystery and Crime Conference Planning Committee are:  Triona Adams, Natasha Cooper, Jean Harker, Jake Kerridge, Val McDermid, Andrew Taylor and Bronwyn Travers

Line-up revealed for Noirwich Crime Writing Festival 2016

Some of the biggest names in crime writing including Ian Rankin, Peter James, Charlie Higson and Sophie Hannah are coming to the city for the third international Noirwich Crime Writing Festival, 15-18 September 2016.

Crime is the most popular fiction genre in the UK and over 1,500 readers are expected to visit Norwich for what is fast becoming one of the highlights of the crime writing calendar. With events taking place at Writers’ Centre Norwich’s home Dragon Hall, Jarrold, and the University of East Anglia (UEA), as well as a fringe festival across the city, a killer weekend is guaranteed!

The festival kicks off with Sunday Times bestseller Peter James at Jarrold on Thursday 15 September. On the Friday, Ian Rankin headlines at UEA and events take place all day at Dragon Hall on Saturday 17 September – rounding off with a Bloody Brunch on the Sunday - where visitors can enjoy a Bloody Mary and brunch with six sensational crime writers.

Chris Gribble, Chief Executive at Writers’ Centre Norwich, one of the festival organisers, says

“We’re delighted that audiences locally and nationally will be able to enjoy some of the biggest and most exciting crime writers of the moment. This festival will grow and grow and help Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, promote tourism and attract new visitors to our cultural attractions and businesses”.

Henry Sutton, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at UEA and award-winning crime novelist is one of the founders of Noirwich. He says “We want to make Norwich the world’s leading centre for the enjoyment and study of crime fiction; this year’s fantastic line-up brings us a big step closer to that goal”.

Lynsey Dalladay, Head of Marketing, Interest Brands at Dead Good Books (Penguin Random House’s crime community) says “We’re delighted to be partnering with the festival for a second year running. The quality and variety of events at this year’s Noirwich is outstanding and offers crime fans the inside scoop on crime writing. It’s going to be a thrilling four days.”

For details and tickets see: www.noirwich.co.uk