I Wish I Was Back Home In Derry

Gerard Brennan (right), the ever affable host of Crime Scene Norn Iron, drops a line to see if I’ll plug Derry’s ‘Night of Crime’, which takes place at Derry Central Library tomorrow evening, September 24th. To wit:

Thanks to the City’s first ever Culture Night, Libraries NI, in partnership with Derry City Council, is inviting fans of crime thrillers along to Derry Central Library’s ‘Night of Crime’ event.
  Over half a million people are expected to explore and engage with culture on the evening of 24th September and at this Derry Central Library event, fans of crime thrillers will be able to enjoy readings by two renowned local authors of crime fiction, Eoin McNamee and Stuart Neville, who read from their work from 8pm to 9.30pm. This will be followed by an open discussion, led by Gerard Brennan of the blog Crime Scene NI, about the emerging crime writing scene in Northern Ireland.
  Trisha Ward, Business Manager with Libraries NI explains:
  “Culture Night is a night of entertainment, discovery and adventure and Derry Central Library is proud to be involved. Arts and cultural organisation, including libraries, will open their doors with hundreds of free events, tours, talks and performances for you, your family and friends to enjoy – and Libraries NI is delighted to be working with Derry City council to make this ‘A Night of Crime’ event, featuring respected crime thriller novelists and bloggers, a success.”
  Eoin McNamee, is originally from Kilkeel, County Down and saw his first book, the novella THE LAST OF DEEDS, shortlisted for the Irish Times Literature Prize. In his new novel, ORCHID BLUE, due out in November, he returns to the territory of his acclaimed Booker longlisted THE BLUE TANGO. The evening will include readings from this book as well as from the crime fiction titles McNamee has published under the name John Creed.
  Stuart Neville burst onto the crime writing scene in 2009 with his Belfast set novel THE TWELVE. The sequel to that award- winning debut, COLLUSION, has just been published. Both books confront in an unsparing manner post-ceasefire Northern Ireland.
  Gerard Brennan, of the Crime Scene NI blog, will also be in the library to chair the event and to stimulate discussion. He has edited REQUIEMS FOR THE DEPARTED, published earlier this year, an anthology of short stories inspired by tales from Irish mythology. His work is due to appear in the MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST BRITISH CRIME 2010.

  For all the details, clickety-click here …
  I’ve said it here before, and no doubt I’ll be saying it again, but ORCHID BLUE and COLLUSION are two excellent novels from writers who have important things to say about Northern Ireland, past and present. Should be a cracking night …