Noirwich Crime Writing Festival announced two virtual UNESCO City of Literature Virtual Writers in Residence for the 2020 Festival: Anita Terpstra from Leeuwarden, and Paddy Richardson from Dunedin, New Zealand. Supported by Festival organisers at the National Centre for Writing and University of East Anglia, they will create new work and foster connections between Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, and their home city.
Anita Terpstra’s debut thriller Nachtvlucht (Night Flight) was nominated for ‘de Schaduwprijs’ (the Shadow Prize) and the Crimezone Thriller Award. Samen (Together) was nominated for ‘De Gouden Strop’ (the Golden Gallows). Her books have been translated in German and French. Paddy Richardson is the author of two collections of short stories and seven novels. Through the Lonesome Dark was shortlisted for the New Zealand Historical Novel Award and longlisted for The Dublin International Literature Award.
Proud
Terpstra: ‘I’m honoured to be chosen as writer of virtual residence at Noirwich Crime Writing Festival. We don’t have literary festivals that celebrate crime writing in the Netherlands, unfortunately, and Norwich must be so proud it has. Maybe my city Leeuwarden, which is now a UNESCO City of Literature, can host a crime writing festival one day. I do hope my residency puts Leeuwarden ‘on the thriller writing map’, so to speak, and am looking forward to sharing my writing with the (virtual) visitors of the festival.’
Online format
The 2020 Noirwich Crime Writing Festival will take place in an online format on 10 – 13 September 2020 with a programme of live Q&As, interactive creative writing workshops, a virtual book group and discussion panels. As UNESCO City of Literature Virtual Writers in Residence, Terpstra and Richardson will have the opportunity to appear on The Writing Life Podcast over the Festival weekend and write up to two commissioned pieces of writing.
For the full programme and ticket information, see noirwich.co.uk and follow @NOIRwichFest on Twitter.
Picture: Harry Cock
