If all goes well, the last weekend in January will be crime-filled. And making this a grisly dream come true is the Noir Literature Festival that brings the lovers of grisly crime thrillers and their writers for two days in Delhi.
Back with a new name, the Noir Literature Festival—previously known as the Crime Writers Festival—will have plenty to choose from. “We have tried to expand the festival in terms of scope and content,'' says Mita Kapoor of Siyahi, who is the producer the festival. “We try to represent as many genres of crime as we can. This year we have a session on sports and crime as well as food and crime.”
Over the years, the festival has tried to link crime writing to socio-political happenings. Crime novels are often not just about the solving of mysteries as much as it is about a commentary on the times that they are set in. This year, with it being four years after the gruesome rape case of Nirbhaya, it is natural that the festival will look at a session on gender crime.
While the festival has expanded—there are many more writers from across the globe, from Austrailia to Norway, the newest crime writing hotspot—it will be in a diet version this time. The reason? Demonetisation. “It will be the cheapest festival in the peak season,'' says Kapur who is hoping that next year things will be different. “I have big dreams for the festival,'' she says.
Some of the writers expected are Ashwin Sanghi, Laura Elizabeth Woollett and Hans Olav Lahlum among others.
