Nu Art Icon

Explore Nuart Aberdeen / Create your own tour

We are starting off a series of focusing on individual city centre businesses who are thinking up innovative ways to carry on during lockdown by looking at Aberdeen Performing Arts Online Granite Noir. The festival, now in its fifth year, will bring writing talent from all over the world to the city (virtually) and is free to view!

After a difficult 2020 for all those in the theatre community Aberdeen Performing Arts is kicking off 2021 with their annual celebration of crime fiction, and doing so entirely online!

The programme, running from 19-21 February, features live and pre-recorded conversations which will stream live on the Granite Noir website, as well as workshops and events for younger audiences, all of which are free to view online.

Home grown talent includes best‐selling Scottish author Peter May who discusses his novel Lockdown and Aberdeen’s own Stuart MacBride and Ian Rankin, discussing how fashions come and go in literature. Granite Noir reflects the close ties between the North East of Scotland and Scandinavia and welcomes Scandi‐Noir superstars Jo Nesbo and Camilla Läckberg to talk about their latest work. From his home in the USA David Baldacci, one of the world’s favourite storytellers, makes his first appearance at Granite Noir to talk to Lee Randall about his life and work and the conclusion of his thrilling Atlee Pine trilogy


The festival is brought to the city by Aberdeen Performing Arts in partnership with Aberdeen Library Service, Aberdeen City and Shire Archives and the Belmont Filmhouse and supported by Aberdeen City Council and Creative Scotland.

Jane Spiers, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts, said “With a wonderful line‐up of the very best crime writers from right here in Scotland and across the world, we’re looking forward to welcoming both authors and audiences to explore the heart of darkness that is Granite Noir – from the comfort of their own homes. While 2020 has been a year of challenges, we hope that Granite Noir can offer a little bit of easily accessible distraction, fascination and inspiration for lovers of crime fiction
wherever they are in the world.”

Find out more and see the full programme at the Granite Noir website here