ICELANDnoir
Read in the dark
Welcome to Iceland Noir 2018
In 2014 we also invited Lilja Sigurðardóttir to the organising team and she added some much-needed energy and ideas to the mix. For the 2016 event, we were joined by expat Kiwi and Reykjavík resident Grant Nicol, who then went back home and is now in the process of organizing Rotorua Noir in NZ. We have had great help in realizing Iceland Noir in the past from some awesomely talented people including Ulfhildur Dagsdóttir, Markús Már Efraím, Jórunn Jónsdóttir of the All-Iceland travel agency as well as the Reykjavík Unesco City of Literature and Promote Iceland.
Iceland Noir was born in 2013 over a curry in one of Reykjavík’s finer Indian restaurants. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Ragnar Jónasson and Quentin Bates were idly wondering why Iceland had never had its own crime fiction festival. The idea gelled and by the time we all met again Crimefest in Bristol a few weeks later, it seemed we had all been thinking much the same thoughts and Iceland Noir was born on the spot. We asked Ann Cleeves if she’d appear if we were to go ahead with a small crime fiction festival in Reykjavík later that year. To her immense credit, she didn’t hesitate. She didn’t consult her diary or her publicist, but just said ‘yes’ right away, and from that point on there was no turning back. We had six months to organise it all and plenty of people thought we were either wildly over-ambitious or just nuts. But it all worked out. The first Iceland Noir took place in the Nordic House in Reykjavík in November 2013 as a one-day event. It was a great success, in spite of being a little rough around the edges, and we learned a lot from it – enough to organise an even better event in 2014. After Iceland Noir 2014, the scene switched to Lerwick, where Shetland Arts borrowed the date for the excellent Shetland Noir festival in November 2015.
Iceland Noir is run mostly without subsidies. This means that it’s funded by those who take part, on the basis that everyone who attends in whatever capacity pays the festival pass fee and we keep the price of this as low as it feasibly can be to cover costs. With the tourist boom in the last years this cost has unfortunately gone up and Reykjavík is now one of the most expensive cities on the planet. We are truly sorry for this but, at the same time we are sure that for crime-fiction aficionados, Iceland Noir is definitely worth it! Our aim in running it is to have a good time with a bunch of like-minded crime aficionados and to preferably not make a loss, and we’re proud to have achieved those aims and hope to do the same in November 2018 now that plans are in progress for a two-day festival. For 2018 we welcome award winning crime author Óskar Guðmundsson to the group and with him a fresh breeze of new ideas. Iceland Noir 2018 will take place in the Iðnó theatre by the Reykjavík pond, a beautiful 19th century building in a very typical Reykjavík style, brilliantly located in the heart of downtown. Lilja Sigurðardóttir Óskar Guðmundsson
Ragnar Jónasson Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Our program Thursday & Friday Thursday, November 15th 17.00 Crime-writing workshop with Will Ryan
Join Irish author William Ryan for a workshop in which he’ll help you to create a ghost story, or any story, from scratch – with a spooky setting, a ghost or two, and a band of intrepid characters.
18. 00 New Icelandic Noir
Some people say that it is absolutely incredible that such a small nation, only 330 thousand people, in a country that has almost no crime and uses a language that no-one alse can read, can produce such a lot of amazing crime writers, We agree. Check out some of the Icelandic crime writers that have not been published in other languages. Yet. And meet the man who wrote a book on Iceland´s most famous case, the Guðmundar- and Geirfinnsmálið. Quentin Bates (M), Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, Kristján Atli Ragnarsson, Róbert Marvin, Simon Cox
21.00 Noir at the Bar Reykjavík.
A blend of local talent and visitors gather for short readings from their books (in English) over a drink. Organized by the one and only Dr. Noir (Jacky Collins)
Friday, November 16th 8.30 Registration and welcome at Iðnó.
You will feel like a ghost waking up this early in the dark and cold. Welcome to Reykjavík! Your latitude is 64°North. Dress in three layers and drink warm coffee before you go outside and you will survive. Remember: it´s all part of the Iceland Noir experience!
9.00 Go Berserk!
Just like our Viking forefathers (and the occasional foremother) ate the Berserk-mushroom (Berserkjasveppur) to get extra power and courage in battle, these authors go berserk on the pages of their awesome crime thrillers. William Ryan (M), JD Fennel, Max Seeck, Luca Veste, Sólveig Pálsdóttir
10.00 Quitting your day job?
In Iceland everyone has at least two jobs. Both because we haven´t
really found out yet exactly how credit cards work, but also because we are so few that we need everyone to do as much as they can, to keep the country going. So, our First Lady is also a literary entrepreneur and runs the Iceland Writers Retreat (yes, check that out!) and in that capacity she will be interviewing a wonderful actor who is also a writer. Hugh Fraser and Iceland’s First Lady Eliza Reid in conversation
13.00 Agatha goes all poetic
Our own Icelandic Agatha, Ragnar Jónasson, takes to the stage here as a moderator asking Sjón all sorts of questions. We know Sjón likes his crime fiction but we also know he is a bit out of place here as he is not exactly a crime writer but a poet/Björk collaborator/Academy award nominated lyric writer/ world champion at air-guitar and one of Iceland´s finest literary writers. We just thought you might like to see him before he wins the Nobel Prize. Ragnar Jónasson and Sjón in conversation
14.00 Psycho Sækó
If you want to roll the R´s like an Icelander and get those crisp Nordic S´s under control you should practice this little verse we use to teach our children to enunciate properly: Stebbi stóð á ströndu, var að troða strý, strý var ekki troðið nema Stebbi træði strý. You´re welcome. Now you can practice Icelandic pronunciation on these author names... Yeah! Sounds amazing, right? Abby Endler (M) Alexandra Sokoloff, Sarah Pinborough, Kevin Wignall, Simon Kernick
15.00 Puffin Panel
The puffin question has become acute with the influx of tourists to Iceland. The shops around town that sell puffin cuddly toys and puffin T-shirts are locally known as Lundabúðir (Puffin-shops) and we have a hard time understanding this fascination foreigners have for this bird as for us Icelanders, the puffin is food. Yes, we eat it. But would these intriguing authors ever eat a puffin? Jacques Filippi (M) Barbara Allan, Iain Reid, Jónína Leósdóttir, Roxanne Bouchard
16.00 Fermented Sharks
The best known Icelandic delicacy (eherm...or you know: food. Or eherm...you know, what we call food) is the fermented shark. The shark is not for wusses. It has character, it has taste, it will blow you away! Just like these two great authors will do in their conversation. Mark Billingham and Val McDermid in conversation
17.00 You say Canada, we say Kanada In late 19th century, after one of those dramatic eruptions we sometimes get, 20% of the Icelandic nation moved away, most of them to Canada. But our First Lady, Eliza Reid, is one of very few Canadians to have moved to Iceland. Therefore we love all things Canadian. Like Eliza and best selling crime wonder Shari. Shari Lapena in conversation with Iceland´s First Lady Eliza Reid
17.45 The Icepick Ceremony
11.00 Arctic Noir
Award ceremony for the 2018 Icepick award for best crime novel in Icelandic translation, presented to author and translator by first lady Eliza Reid.
12.00 Audiobooks panel
Móðir, kona, meyja is a phrase from a poem by Matthías Jochumson that we use on festive days to describe how much we adore and value women. We also like to brag about the gender equality in Iceland and our liberal attitude towards minorities. But what does crime fiction say about our societies and can it contribute toward improvement? Ian Payne (M), Mari Hannah, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Can you feel the cold? Are you chilled to the bone? Well, put on an extra layer of wool and get a warm drink in you (preferably with a shot of Brennivín in it) as these chillingly good authors will freeze the blood in your veins when they tell you about their writing in a cold climate. Jacky Collins (M), Christoffer Petersen, Michael Ridpath, Óskar Guðmundsson, Quentin Bates Icelanders have an old tradition of reading aloud to each other. It was called “húslestur” or house-reading and it was a big part of our grandparents and great-grandparents upbringing. Maybe that is why Icelanders have taken to audiobooks in a big way. Here to discuss the wonder of the listening pleasures are wonderfully clever people that represent different sides of the audiobook industry. Lilja Sigurðardóttir (M), Karen Sullivan, Stefán Hjörleifsson, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
18.00 Móðir, kona, meyja - mother, woman, maiden
Our program Saturday Saturday, November 17th 9.00 Hangover Panel
The hangover is much more than an occasional state in Iceland. It’s a way of life. If you are awake on a Saturday morning at 9 o’clock and not hung over, you are either still drunk or something is terribly wrong. We expect these fabulous authors to contribute to Icelandic society by telling us their recipe for their best hangover cure. Jake Kerridge (M) Danielle Ramsay, Laura Castoro (DD Ayres), Valentina Giambanco, William Burton McCormick
10.00 The Hot-pot
The best way to enjoy the outdoors in Iceland is sitting in a hot-pot by one of Reykjavík’s many swimming pools, enjoying the conversation immersed up to your neck in thermal water. When you get out you will be as sizzling as these beautiful and brilliant authors who take the stage in Iðnó at 11. Karen Robinson (M) Felicia Yap, Jeffrey Siger, Louise Voss, Stuart Neville
11.00 Buried in the Turf House
As late as the 19th century explorers from the civilised world who came to Iceland described Icelanders as living in holes in the ground. This misunderstanding is hereby corrected: the so-described holes in the ground were our traditional turf-houses, for which we seem to have now developed a romantic fondness, but were in fact dark, damp and overcrowded, thereby being the perfect location for dark domestic tales. Like these impressive authors write. Michael Nevin (M) Louise Mangos, Mary Torjussen, Sarah Ward, Sandra Ireland
12.00 Audiobooks panel
Icelanders have an old tradition of reading aloud to each other. It was called “húslestur” or house-reading and it was a big part of our grandparents and great-grandparents upbringing. Maybe that is why Icelanders have taken to audio books in a big way. Here to discuss the wonder of the listening pleasures are wonderfully clever people who represent different sides of the audio book industry. Lilja Sigurðardóttir (M), Ed James, Karen Sullivan, Stefán Hjörleifsson, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
13.00 The Scottish Invasion
Icelanders feel closely connected to Scots. Not only do they like their whisky just like we like our brennivín and feast on haggis (ours is called slátur) but like us, it is a bit hard to understand them when they speak. Remember that whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye so prepare yourself for the Scottish invasion! Michael Malone (M), Christopher Brookmyre, Craig Robertson, Doug Johnstone, Val McDermid
14.00 The Agatha Panel
Our prime minister truly knows her crime stuff. Being an Icelandic politician she has seen a lot in her long and impressive career but she is also one of the few Icelandic experts on crime fiction. We expect her to drill these amazing guys with some hard questions and show less mercy than if they were the opposition in Parliament. They better know their Agatha ... Katrín Jakobsdóttir (M), Hugh Fraser, Martin Edwards, Ragnar Jónasson, Ármann Jakobsson
15.00 Super and Natural
You’ve probably heard that the majority of Icelanders believe in elves, what you didn’t know is that we believe in ghosts too. And trolls. And black magic (ever heard of necropants? No? No wonder you´re skinned then...) And all things super-natural. Prepare for goosebumps and cold shivers down your spine when these authors take the stage. David Headley (M) Connie di Marco, James Oswald, William Ryan, Michael Malone
16.00 Eurovision Panel
There will be glitter! There will be glamour! Yes. It is the Eurovision panel! For Icelanders Eurovision is a big annual event most people celebrate. The Reykjavík streets are empty while the song contest is on, just as they will be when these wonderful authors take the stage and speak of their books. Douze points! Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (M), Antti Tuomainen, James Oswald, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir
17.30 Movie Night – I Remember You (Bíó Paradís)
Head up to Hverfisgata street, a five minute walk from Iðnó (or 10 minutes, if the streets are icy) to the Bíó Paradís cinema, to enjoy a subtitled screening of the amazing film based on a story by Icelandic crime queen Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. Dr. Noir will have a short talk with Yrsa and Þorvaldur Davíð, one of the actors b efore the screening, while you start munching on your popcorn. Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Þorvaldur Davíð (Thor Kristjansson) in conversation with Jacky Collins (M)
SATURDAY NIGHT Brennivín in the jar!
21.00 Drunken Authors Panel
This was the most sought after panel by authors so we had to draw the names from a hat. Preparations for this panel are made in the bar so maybe you should also prepare yourself there, to be flully albe to enjoy litsening to the drunk bbabling ... Jake Kerridge (M) Karin Salvalaggio, Kevin Wignall, Stacy Allen, Ævar Örn Jósepsson.
22.00 Fun lovin´crimewriters
An awsome night of fun in Iðnó from 20:30
Chris Brookmyre, Doug Johnstone, Luca Veste, Mark Billingham, Stuart Neville, Val McDermid.
Introduced on stage by Ian Payne We have Björk, we have Mezzoforte, we have Sigurrós, we have Of Monsters and Men, but we don´t love any of them as much as we love the Fun Lovin´ Crime Writers! Stopping by Iceland on their World Tour, we expect them to do what they usually do: murder songs for fun.
ICELANDnoir
ICELANDnoir
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