What do Hull and Iceland have in common? Noir of course! @nholten40 @HullNoir

Eeeeeeek! I can’t believe a week has already passed since I left the fabulous city of Hull after attending a criminally awesome event: Hull Noir 2017! My hat goes off to Nick Quantrill, Nicola East and Nick Triplow for organising such an interesting and fun-filled weekend! I had a BLOODY blast!

I need to first say that I will no doubt forget to mention someone, or something and for that I can only blame the complete buzz I was feeling and my ageing memory – I can’t even say it was the vodka as I only consumed THREE alcoholic beverages over the whole weekend! WTF? Soooo unlike me! I’m also pretty sure I had drunk more vodka-infused drinks when I used to look for the best fake id websites to keep up with my older friends on a night out. You know, the times when you were just not old enough to drink alcohol legally? I can’t believe I even did that, but it felt right at the time, which is why I can’t believe I only drank three alcoholic beverages over this entire weekend.

Anyway, I arrived on the Friday and was invited to attend the Getting Carter: Ted Lewis and the Birth of Brit Noir book launch. I was absolutely in my element – surrounded by authors everywhere! I was gobsmacked! Nick Triplow, the author of this book, was in conversation with the gorgeous Cathi Unsworth and they spoke about Ted Lewis and his influence on crime writing.

That first night and much of the weekend was spent meeting up/hanging out with fellow bloggers: Anne Cater and her hubby, Jen Medlicott and her fabulous sis, Susan Heads, Rachel Emms, the bloomin’ brilliant Abbie Rutherford, Darren Paterson, Sheila Howes and the legend that is Ayo Onatade! If I have left anyone out, I can only apologise! My partners in crime that weekend, also included the gorgeous Nic Parker and Alison Baillie!

This is the first crime festival that I have actually attended ALL of the panels…bar one…which I was gutted to miss, however I had an amazing reason to…Anne Cater and I interviewed THE Martina Cole! OMFG!! That was fantastic and once I decipher the recording (I promise, I am on it Anne!) we will both be sharing our Q&A interview with you all! #WatchThisSpace

What I loved about the panels at this event were how they were spaced out, the topics and the great banter that flowed! The day was long but I enjoyed each and every one of them and learned so much! Again, hats off to the organisers and the authors for such a great time! Below is a list of the panels and a few pics!

Sleeping with the Fishes: Hull vs Iceland This panel included: David Mark, Lilja Siguroardóttir, Quentin Bates and Nick Quantrill!

Unfortunately I missed Craphouse to Powerhouse: The North, Crime Fiction and post-Brexit blues. This panel included: Danielle Ramsey, Jay Stringer, Luca Veste and Paul Finch.

I loved Into the Darkness: the new noir with Jake Arnott, Emma Flint, Joseph Knox and Cathi Unsworth.

Next it was Get Carter: Ted Lewis and the hard-boiling of British crime fiction with Howard Linskey, Russel McLean, Sean O’Brien, Andrew Spicer and Nick Triplow.

Saturday night ended on a real high when Barry Forshaw was in conversation with Martina Cole! Such a great closing to a fabulous day – I laughed so much!

I spent the rest of that evening/night in pure author stalking mode and even managed to remember to take some pics! I am so bad at that!

It was early to bed for this ‘lil crimebookjunkie as the next day was spent in #allthepanels kicking off with Getting Away with Murder– Golden Age vs Digital Age. This was such a great panel!! Abir Mukherjee (who is incredibly funny by the way!), Rachel Rhys, Matt Wesolowski discussed the influence of technologies on crime writing and publishing with the amazing Ayo Onatade!

Next there was a great discussion on the Behind Bars- Freedom, Oppression and Control panel with the wonderful Eva Dolan (love her!!), Kati Hiekkapelto, Stav Sherez and William Ryan!

The afternoon kicked off with Off the Beaten Track- Exploring Roads Less Taken with Daniel Pembrey (who I still can’t look at without humming Jessie’s Girl – read The Harbour Master and you’ll know why), Sarah Ward, Antti Tuomainen, David Young and the absolutely friggin fabulous Jacky Collins!

It was the Brawlers and Bastards – The Rise of the Unlikeable Protagnist then with a fitting and absolutely funny panel that included: Steph Broadribb, Mick Herron, Harry Brett and Craig Robertson! I thoroughly enjoyed this panel and even learned how to break a leg…thanks Craig! ?

The final panel of the day and indeed the weekend had me crying with laughter! A Year in the Crime Writing Life with Mark Billingham, John Connolly and Daily Telegraph crime fiction critic Jake Kerridge. OMG I was in stitches! Superb ending to a superb weekend!

Hull Noir exceeded my expectations and I give it #AllTheFrigginStars! I only hope this was not the last of it as I would definitely like to see a return of this Noir-filled weekend! Oh…I even managed to buy some books and get them signed! Woohoo!

It was fantastic to see people again and meet new people too! These events always make my heart swell as I am surrounded by people who just get it, get me, get why crime (in the fictional sense) is just amazing! So that’s it! Happy reading, fellow weirdos!