Iceland Noir 2022 Lineup Revealed!

ICELAND NOIR 2022 LINEUP REVEALED!

(with even more authors to be announced!)

If there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s that I’m constantly looking for my next reason to return to Scandinavia--and today, I’m hoping to give you your next reason to do the same! If you’ve been around Crime by the Book for a little bit, you’ll know what a huge fan I am of the outstanding Iceland Noir crime fiction festival. I first attended this very special festival in 2016, and I’ve been back every year the festival has been on since then. (You can read my recap of my experience at Iceland Noir 2021 here!) Today, the Iceland Noir team revealed their 2022 line up… and it’s truly their best festival lineup yet. Bonus: there are even more author announcements to come as we get closer to the festival date! I’m so honored and thrilled to be returning to Iceland Noir this fall to moderate panels at this outstanding crime fiction festival, and I hope to see you many of you in Reykjavik this coming November!! If you’ve been tempted to attend Iceland Noir in the past, this lineup might just be the final push you’ve needed to attend. Read on for more information on the festival, the 2022 lineup, and more! 

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ICELAND NOIR 2022—Dates & Details:

Where: Reykjavik, Iceland

When: November 16 - 19, 2022

Purchase Tickets Here

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL:

Iceland Noir is a literature festival celebrating darkness in all its forms, held in Reykjavík at the darkest time of year. Founded by internationally bestselling Icelandic authors Ragnar Jónasson and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, now joined by fellow authors Óskar Guðmundsson and Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, the festival started as a celebration of Crime Fiction in 2013. In the years since then the festival has evolved and grown in scope and scale to welcome writers outside of the genre and, more recently, expanded to include film and television through screenings and panels. What brings everything together is the theme of darkness. . . Living at the edge of the Arctic Circle, in a country famous for its wild weather, active volcanoes and stunning moon-like landscapes, Icelanders have developed a unique relationship with the darkness that covers the country for much of the year, and in it, found a seemingly endless capacity for creativity.

Connect with Iceland Noir: Website | Facebook | INSTAGRAM | Twitter 

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Iceland Noir 2022 Authors

The Iceland Noir festival always does an amazing job connecting readers with crime writers from Iceland and beyond, but this year is by far their best lineup yet. Honestly, their 2022 festival lineup might be my favorite crime festival lineup I’ve ever seen. Iceland Noir 2022 will feature some of my all-time favorite crime writers, both from Iceland and the UK—read on and you’ll see exactly what I mean! And this isn’t even the final lineup yet; additional authors will be announced as we get closer to the festival this fall. I’m absolutely thrilled to be participating in Iceland Noir 2022 as a moderator, and I can’t wait to get to interview some of these amazing writes and get to watch all of the outstanding panels and author appearances that this festival will have to offer attendees!

GUESTS OF HONOR:

​​Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrin Jakobsdóttir

First Lady of Iceland Eliza Reid

AND:

RUTH WARE

Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key and One by One have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth lives near Brighton with her family.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOKS: The Turn of the Key & The Death of Mrs. Westaway

PAULA HAWKINS

Paula Hawkins ​​worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. Her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, has been a global phenomenon, selling 23 million copies worldwide. Published in over forty languages, it has been a No.1 bestseller around the world and was a No.1 box office hit film starring Emily Blunt. Into the Water was also a global No.1 bestseller, spending twenty weeks in the Sunday Times HB fiction Top 10 and selling 4 million copies worldwide.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOK: The Girl on the Train

CLARE MACKINTOSH

Clare Mackintosh has sold more than two million copies of her books sold worldwide, and is the multi-award-winning author of I Let You Go. Both Clare’s second and third novels, I See You and Let Me Lie, were number one Sunday Times bestsellers.Clare’s latest thriller, Hostage, was published in June 2021. Together, Clare’s books have been published in more than forty countries. Clare is patron of the Silver Star Society, a charity which supports parents experiencing high-risk or difficult pregnancies. She lives in North Wales with her husband and their three children.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOKS: I Let You Go & Hostage

RICHARD OSMAN

Richard Osman is an author, producer and television presenter. His first two novels, The Thursday Murder Club, and The Man Who Died Twice were multi-million-copy number one bestsellers around the world. The third book in The Thursday Murder Club series will be here to cause even more trouble in 2022. He lives in London with his partner and Liesl the cat.

MARIAN KEYES

Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. The multi-million copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years – such as Rachel’s Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups – has millions of fans around the world. They are irresistibly drawn by her warmth and wit, fearless honesty, relatable characters and relationships, and sheer storytelling magic. Not only has Marian inspired and entertained countless readers, but also the next generation of writers too. Marian also uses her position to raise some of the most challenging issues of our time, including addiction, immigration, depression, domestic violence and the Repeal the Eighth campaign. In addition to her novels, Marian has written two collections of journalism, as well as been the star of the second series of her hit show Between Ourselves aired on BBC Radio 4 at the start of 2021. Again Rachel, the sequel to her ground-breaking novel Rachel’s Holiday, will be Marian’s fifteenth novel.

SOPHIE HANNAH

Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling crime fiction writer. Her psychological thriller The Carrier won the Specsavers National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year in 2013. Sophie is the author of the bestselling Poirot continuation mysteries. The Point of Rescue and The Other Half Lives have been adapted for television as Case Sensitive, starring Olivia Williams and Darren Boyd. Sophie is also a bestselling poet who has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot award. Her poetry is studied at GCSE and A-level. Sophie is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She lives in Cambridge with her family.

MARK BILLINGHAM

Mark Billingham was born and brought up in Birmingham. Having worked for some years as an actor and more recently as a TV writer and stand-up comedian his first crime novel was published in 2001. He is the author of the Tom Thorne series of crime novels as well as several stand-alones. Mark lives in London with his wife and two children. He is currently writing his next novel.

AJ FINN

A. J. Finn lived in England for many years before returning to his native New York. His debut novel, The Woman in the Window, has been published in more than forty languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. In 2021 it was adapted for the screen in a huge film starring Amy Adams and Gary Oldman.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOK: The Woman in the Window

LIZ NUGENT

Liz Nugent has worked in Irish film, theater, and television for most of her adult life. She is an award-winning writer of radio and television drama and has written critically acclaimed short stories both for children and adults, as well as the bestselling novels Unraveling Oliver and Lying in Wait.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOKS: Lying in Wait & Little Cruelties

RYAN TUBRIDY

Ryan Tubridy, host of The Late Late Show, is one of Ireland’s leading and best-loved television and radio presenters. His shows include Radio Telefís Éireann’s The Tubridy Show, which examines all aspects of Irish politics, society and culture, and the television chat show Tubridy Tonight on RTÉ One. Ryan is also the author of the books JFK In Ireland, Patrick and the President and The First Christmas Jumper.

SARAH PINBOROUGH

Sarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling and Sunday Times Number one and Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 30 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes, now a smash hit Netflix limited series, Dead To Her, now in development with Amazon Studios, and 13 Minutes and The Death House in development with Compelling Pictures. Sarah lives in the historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the Cock and Bull story, with her dog Ted. Her next novel, Insomnia, is out in 2022.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOK: Insomnia (available in the US April 2022!)

KAMILLA EINARSDOTTIR

Kamilla Einarsdóttir​ was born and raised in Reykjavik. The author of two novels, Kamilla was nominated for the prestigious Icelandic Literary prize in 2021. Her first novel was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre of Iceland. Currently working as librarian, but with a varied career history which includes a strip club and the Post Office, Kamilla is also extremely skilled at cartwheels, but politely requests that you do not ask her to do them when she is drunk, because it ended in chaos last time.

CJ COOKE

CJ Cooke is a bestselling author of gothic novels. Her latest novel The Lighthouse Witches explores the history of witchcraft in Scotland. Also an academic at the University of Glasgow, she lives in the countryside with her husband and four children.

CBTB FAVORITE BOOK: The Lighthouse Witches

& EVEN MORE AUTHORS TO BE ANNOUNCED!

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MEET THE ICELAND NOIR TEAM:

Ragnar Jónasson

Ragnar Jónasson is an international number one bestselling author who has sold over two million books in thirty-two countries worldwide. Ragnar was born in Reykjavík, and from the age of seventeen has been translating Agatha Christie's novels - he has translated fourteen to date - alongside his own prolific writing, family and job working as a lawyer. Ragnar founded Iceland Noir in 2013 with fellow Reyjavík resident, friend and global bestselling author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and translator Quentin Bates. He is currently writing a novel with the Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and we are very excited that both his international bestseller The Darkness and his Dark Iceland series are soon to be a major TV series.

WHERE TO START WITH RAGNAR’S WORK: I absolutely love Ragnar’s work across the board, but I’d have to recommend his outstanding Hidden Iceland Trilogy. The first book in this trilogy is The Darkness. Read this trilogy in order - it has a fantastically clever structure!

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is the author of the internationally bestselling Thora Guðmundsdóttir crime series, the Huldar and Freyja series and several stand-alone thrillers. Born and raised in Reykjavík, as well as writing Yrsa works as senior partner in one of the country's largest engineering consultancies, alongside being an author, organiser and co-founder of Iceland Noir with Ragnar. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages and in 2011, her stand-alone horror novel I Remember You (Ég man þig) was adapted for the big screen, with the resulting film hitting the no. 1 spot in Icelandic ticket sales the year it came out. Yrsa and also collects extremely beautiful shoes, something that previous guests of the festival will be all too familiar with.

WHERE TO START WITH YRSA’S WORK: Yrsa is another one of my all-time favorite authors! If you’re looking to dig into a gritty procedural series, check out her book The Legacy; if spine-tingling ghost stories are more up your alley, try her book I Remember You.

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir joined the Iceland Noir team in 2020. Eva, like Óskar, is a rising star of the Icelandic literature scene. Now living in Reykjavík, Eva was born and raised in Akranes, a small town about half an hour drive from the city that is the setting for her brilliant debut novel, The Creak on the Stairs (Marrið í stiganum). Eva has been writing stories since she was a child, but being a mother, knew it would be difficult to find time to write her first novel around her 9 - 5 job. In order to have time to write, she got a job as a flight attendant - and in just nine months, finished the first draft of her novel.

WHERE TO START WITH EVA’S WORK: Eva is currently writing an excellent procedural series. Start with the first book in the series, The Creak on the Stairs!

Óskar Guðmundsson

Óskar Guðmundsson joined the Iceland Noir team in 2018. A Reykjavík native, Óskar had been writing stories since his teenage years, but it wasn't until 2011 that he decided to write his first novel. In 2021 his brilliant and accomplished debut crime-thriller was published in English as The Commandments (Hilma). Óskar is also an extremely talented artist and photographer and has the greatest laugh in all of Iceland.

WHERE TO START WITH OSKAR’S WORK: Oskar just recently had his first book translated into English! Check out The Commandments.

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ICELAND NOIR - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Here are a few of the frequently-asked questions I’ve received about Iceland Noir over the years, and my responses to them! For more information on the festival, check out the Iceland Noir website and my blog post recapping Iceland Noir 2021.

Who can attend Iceland Noir?

Anyone! You don’t need to have any sort of special connection to the festival or book-related platform (e.g. bookstagram account or blog) to attend. The festival is attended by a mix of readers, bloggers, publishing professionals, and authors, and all are welcome to attend. You do need to purchase a ticket to the festival to attend, but once you’ve got your ticket, you are able to attend all of the festival events!

What does a typical day at the festival look like?

A typical day at the festival (based on my experiences thus far!) tends to begin with the first panel of the day at about 10:00 AM. Panels last 50 minutes each, followed by a 10-minute break in between each panel. There is typically a break in festival events for lunch, and then panels resume in the afternoon and continue into the evening. Many of these panels are multi-author conversations, and then there are also “spotlight interviews” with guests of honor. One of my favorite things about the festival is that there’s only one event per hour—at some other crime fiction festivals, there are multiple events happening simultaneously, which means you have to choose between them (and sometimes you end up missing out on something you would’ve liked to see!). At the Iceland Noir festivals I’ve attended, there has only been one event per hour, which means you never have to feel like you’re missing out on anything.

What if I don’t know anyone there? Will I feel welcome?

The first time I attended Iceland Noir, I didn’t know anyone there either! My first Iceland Noir was in 2016, when Crime by the Book was brand-new. I went on a total whim, and it was the best decision ever. Not only did I feel welcome from day one, but I ended up making dear friends there whom I’ve kept in touch with in the years since! One of my favorite qualities of Iceland Noir is what a warm, welcoming festival it is—because it’s on the smaller side, it feels very intimate and not at all intimidating. If you’re interested in trying out a crime fiction festival but not sure where to start, I think Iceland Noir would make a perfect “starter” festival because of how friendly it is.

I don’t speak Icelandic—will that be a problem?

Not at all!! All of the Iceland Noir panels are conducted in English. Reykjavik is also a very friendly city for us English speakers. Just about everyone there speaks English, restaurants have English menus available, etc.—it’s extremely impressive, and makes for a very easy travel experience for those of us who don’t speak Icelandic!

What is Reykjavik like? Will I be able to get around easily?

Reykjavik is such a beautiful and charming city! The weather is (obviously) very cold, so dress accordingly! It’s also very expensive, so do keep that in mind when planning your budget for the trip. In terms of ease of getting around, Reykjavik is small, which makes it easy to navigate and very walkable. The Iceland Noir team does a great job providing maps to the various venues in their welcome information for festival attendees, which I really appreciated! The festival venues are about a 5-minute walk from one another, so it’s nice and easy to go back and forth between the two. One thing that you will want to keep in mind: the airport you’ll fly into, Keflavik, is about a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik. But never fear, there is a very handy bus service that goes from Keflavik to the city center. Booking a ticket for the bus is easy and inexpensive in comparison to taking a taxi!

Where should I stay during Iceland Noir?

There are a number of very convenient hotel and Airbnb options in downtown Reykjavik! I would definitely suggest finding a hotel or Airbnb close to the festival venues so you can easily pop back to your room during the day if needed. I stayed at the City Center Hotel this year which was truly a perfect location (it’s literally on the same street as Kjarval!), and at Iceland Noir 2018 I stayed at the Hotel Reykjavik Centrum, which was also quite convenient! There are a bunch of options in the center of the city (including Airbnb options if that’s more your style!).

HOPE TO SEE YOU AT ICELAND NOIR 2022! XX a