Saturday 20 February

saturday

kings college chapel, aberdeen

Image: VisitScotland / Kenny Lam

Saturday 20 February, 10am Chaired by Theresa Talbot BOLD NEW VOICES

Femi Kayode, Susie Yang and Saima Mir

FREE TO VIEW

It’s always exciting meeting the bestsellers of the future, and we’re delighted to showcase three debut authors whose novels are some of the hottest properties around. Femi Kayode trained as a clinical psychologist before working in advertising. He won the UEA/Little Brown Award for Lightseekers, the first book in a terrific new international crime series featuring investigative psychologist Philip Taiwo. Susie Yang’s debut, White Ivy, tells the story of Ivy Lin, a Chinese immigrant in America who’s desperate to assimilate with her peers. Susie Yang received a doctorate of pharmacy, then launched a tech start-up in San Francisco, while studying creative writing. After living in the US, Europe, and Asia, she now resides in the UK.

Saima Mir is an award-winning journalist who grew up in Bradford. The Khan, her thrilling crime debut, introduces Jia Khan, a successful lawyer whose father was both head of the northern Pakistani community she grew up in, and the force behind its organised crime syndicate.

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Saturday 20 February, 12pm WORKSHOP: Character-Building For Series Writers

With D.V. Bishop

FREE TO ATTEND/TICKETED

Characters are the driving force in any story, even more so when you’re planning out a series featuring a recurring cast. How do you create characters that capture readers’ imaginations - and that will sustain a series of novels? In this bespoke workshop for Granite Noir, novelist and creative writing tutor David (D. V.) Bishop explores different ways to conceive and build a character that lasts. How much do you need to know about your characters before you start writing? And how much should you share with readers? D.V. Bishop is an award-winning screenwriter and TV dramatist whose love of Florence and the Renaissance inspired his crime fiction debut, City of Vengeance, which won the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland 2018.

NB: This workshop is 90 minutes long. You must be aged 16 or older to attend. Only 18 spaces. Book early to secure your place.

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Saturday 20 February, 2pm Chaired by Bryan Burnett Paying it Forward

Will Dean, Catherine Ryan Howard, S.J. Watson

FREE TO VIEW

To outsiders, success can look meteoric and instantaneous - but we know it’s about hard work, talent, and yes, a dash of luck. Join us for an hour with three superstars who go from strength to strength. Find out how they’ve handled success, and their ongoing outreach efforts to help others up the ladder, designed to inspire anyone who’s stuck, or new writers at the start of their careers.

Will Dean writes the acclaimed Tuva Moodyson mysteries, set in Sweden. But his newest, The Last Thing To Burn, is a standalone novel, a claustrophobic, horrifying story about human trafficking and domestic abuse. Catherine Ryan Howard is the Queen of High Concept, whose most recent book, The Nothing Man, was a #1 Irish Times bestseller and shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year 2020. S.J. Watson’s debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep, was an international success, selling more than 6M copies worldwide. The film of the book starred Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. His latest, Final Cut, is a tense, mature exploration of his fascination with memory, narrative and identity.

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Saturday 20 February, 3pm Celebrating Josephine Tey’s 125th Anniversary Backlisted Podcast at Granite Noir Andy Miller, John Mitchinson, and special guest Val McDermid FREE TO VIEW

Inverness-born Josephine Tey (real name Elizabeth MacKintosh), was a popular Golden Age crime writer. Her first novel, The Man in the Queue (1929), introduced Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard. The most famous Inspector Grant mystery, 1951’s The Daughter of Time, was voted the greatest mystery novel ever written by The British Crime Writers’ Association. Bestselling author Val McDermid, an ardent fan of Tey’s work, has chosen Miss Pym Disposes as the centrepiece of this collaboration between Backlisted podcast and Granite Noir. McDermid’s most recent novel, her 40th, is the bestselling Still Life. Backlisted Podcast - which has topped a million downloads, and was recently chosen as one of Oprah Magazine’s best book podcasts - is dedicated to old books, and hosted by John Mitchinson and Andy Miller. We’re delighted to welcome them to Granite Noir.

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Saturday 20 February, 4pm Chaired by Janet Smyth Righting Wrongs

Katherine Rundell

For ages 9+

FREE TO VIEW

Arriving in NYC from England, Vita Marlowe finds out her beloved grandfather has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman. Desperate to see him happy again, she devises a plan to outwit his enemies. She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into a lawless, death-defying plan. This is the story of a special heist, pulled off by a group of children who’ll do anything to right a wrong. Katherine Rundell is the bestselling author of five children’s novels, for which she has won the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize amongst many others. She spent her childhood in Africa and Europe, and attended the University of Oxford. As well as writing, she studies Renaissance literature, and, as a direct result of writing The Good Thieves, she’s honing her skills on the flying trapeze.

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Saturday 20 February, 6pm Chaired by Alex Clark Enter The Gilded Cage

Camilla Läckberg

FREE TO VIEW

Granite Noir welcomes the Queen of Swedish Crime Fiction, bestselling author Camilla Läckberg, whose books have sold over 28 million copies worldwide. A former economist, Läckberg grew up in Fjällbacka, a small fishing community located on the west coast, almost exactly halfway between Uddevalla and Strömstad. Her Fjällbacka novels were adapted for television in 2012, and the following year saw the premiere of the film The Hidden Child, based on the fifth book in the Fjällbacka series. Her newest novel, The Gilded Cage, is a gripping psychological thriller hailed by the New York Times Book Review as, “Smart, unflinching… [a] novel of female empowerment and triumph over the patriarchy.” It’s the story of a woman who seems to have it all - and what she’s willing to do to protect that seemingly perfect life.

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Saturday 20 February, 8pm Chaired by Jacky Collins An Audience with Jo Nesbo

FREE TO VIEW

Jo Nesbo is one of the world’s bestselling crime writers, and the creator of Harry Hole, one of the most intriguing characters in crime fiction. He’s an international number one bestseller whose books are published in 50 languages, selling over 33 million copies around the world. Before becoming a crime writer, Nesbo played football for Norway’s premier league team Molde, but injury put paid to that career. After three years’ military service he attended business school and formed the band Di derre (Them There). They topped the charts in Norway while Nesbo worked a day job as a financial analyst. When commissioned to write a memoir about life on the road with his band, he came up with the plot for his first Harry Hole novel instead. The rest, as they say, is history! Nesbo’s most recent novel, The Kingdom, the story of two brothers coping with a devastating family legacy, is a simmering, complex thriller delivering shocks and surprises at every turn.

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