Granite Noir Crime Writing Festival

11/06/2026

Aberdeen Grammar School pupils put their grey cells to work for Granite Noir’s 10th anniversary in February - and the results are nothing short of brilliant!

Students took part in writing and research workshops before crafting their own crime stories set in the past of the Granite City. The standard was exceptional, with three stories selected to be read aloud by their authors or a professional actor at this year’s festival.

A team of young illustrators then stepped in, creating artwork to bring each tale to life. Their words and images are now published in a special book, produced by Grammar School staff and students. A copy of the book has been gifted to each contributor as well as the school library to act as a legacy for the project.

A copy of the book is currently on display at the Music Hall as part of Light the Blue 2026 - building a creative bridge between our festivals and celebrating the next generation of storytellers. Be sure to drop in and see the results for yourself!

A huge well done to everyone involved. You’ve raised the profile of Granite Noir among young people and created an unforgettable learning experience.

17/04/2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a freelance Author Curator to shape and deliver the programming for Granite Noir 2027!

Granite Noir presents Scottish and international crime writing, with a strong Nordic connection, alongside new voices, cross-genre work, and audience-focused events.

We're looking for a freelancer who can bring their experience in literary programming and publishing to enhance the well loved festival for its 11th edition.

📚️ What you’ll be doing:
You will lead on the author strand of the festival programme, shaping and securing writers across headline, mid-list, and emerging levels.

🗓️ When:
June 2026 – February 2027 approx.

💷 Fee:
£6,000

📌 How to apply:
If you’re interested, visit https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/work-with-us/

🕒 Closing date : Thu, 14 May 2026

25/02/2026

And with that, the tenth year of Granite Noir is now over.

We'd like to take the time to thank everyone involved. A festival like this can't take place without the great work of a lot of people.

To every single author, expert and chair, thank you for giving your time and sharing your expertise with our audiences. You kept them enraptured, entertained and left them with insights and ideas to think about. Every single one brought something unique to the table and it made this noir festival a colourful one.

To our wonderful Aberdonian partners: Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums, Central Library, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives, Robert Gordon University and The Belmont Cinema, thank you for lending us your spaces and collaborating with us to create a truly memorable programme of events.

To everyone that participated in our competitions or as a local in the limelight, thank you for joining in and enriching the Granite Noir community.

To our partners in crime Waterstones, thank you for your ongoing enthusiastic support throughout the years.

Thank you to Creative Scotland, whose funding and support help us to make this festival happen. And to EventScotland for their continued support and for making live-streaming possible to a wider Granite Noir audience.

And last but not least, thank you to our supportive and loyal audience members. To old and new, to those that have been here for all 10 years and to those that just joined us. Thank you for coming along to pack out and even sell out some of our venues.

See you next year 👋

📸 Credit: James Murison, Nadia McQuaker-Kajiwara, Louise Chan and Richard Frew.

24/02/2026

A huge congratulations to our short story competition winner Andrew Robb! 🎉⁠
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We tasked everyone to write about the number 10 in some way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Granite Noir. And Andrew won the panel over with his brilliant short story, Pay on Exit.⁠
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Andrew's been a keen fan of the crime genre and an avid supporter of the festival for years. We couldn't be happier to award his talent and wish him all the best in his literary endeavours.⁠
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And thank you to The Press and Journal and Evening Express for partnering with us on this competition to help unearth Aberdonian talent.

Read Pay on Exit and his full interview over at The Press and Journal below.

The transport planner has been inspired by Granite Noir and decided to base his story in a famous Aberdeen car park

23/02/2026

Day 6

Final Day!

The end to the week and the end to the festival. And what a delicious treat it was.

From scrumptious afternoon teas to devious cocktails at night. We brought all senses alive over at The Terrace in His Majesty's Theatre.

And a Granite Noir favourite, Bold New Voices showcases new and emerging talent within the crime writing scene and we couldn't have been more pleased to invite Natalie Jayne Clark, Laura Elliott, Elspeth Wilson to our couches, chaired by Eris Young.

We brought back Hexagone for a second year for all the puzzle loving detectives in the crowd. And this time, it was hosted in the mysterious depths of HMT. Did you get through all the clues without any help?

Cowdray Hall also stuck with us to the end with a film screening and a talk on Ghouls, Witches and Killers discussing the forbidden knowledge of Aberdeen with Dr Rachael Ironside and Dr Saorfhlaith Burton

And last but certainly not least! Spectacular international author Shari Lapena closed out your Granite Noir discussing her latest book, She Didn’t See It Coming, in conversation with Bryan Burnett.

We'll save our gratitudes for another post but here's a quick one to thank everyone for making this tenth year of Granite Noir such a great one 🩶

📸 Credit: Richard Frew, James Murison, Nadia McQuaker-Kajiwara and Louise Chan

Creative Scotland

22/02/2026

Day 5

We're in the last stretch of the festival and we'll be sad to say goodbye. But for now, let's enjoy the last couple of events together.

Yesterday we welcomed back many authors back onto our Lemon Tree couches for more author conversations, workshops that delved into forensic science and a create your own crime story with children's author, Vivian French.

And we ended the evening by celebrating Shetland's 10th series with legendary author Ann Cleeves, Dr James Grieve, Alison O'Donnell and Dawn Steele, chaired by Nicola Meighan. Such a great way to mark both of our special tenth editions.

See you around for the final evening of this years Granite Noir 👋

📸 Credit: Nadia McQuaker-Kajiwara, James Murison and Richard Frew Photography

Creative Scotland

22/02/2026

A Friendly Reminder!

Missing Without A Trace has moved venues and will be taking place at the Lemon Tree tonight at 8pm, not the Music Hall.

Please make sure you amend your journeys to suit this change in location and get yourself comfy in our seats.

In addition, for those that can't make it in, it will be our final livestream of the day and the entire festival.

Catch it here: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/granite-noir-2026-livestream/

21/02/2026

Remember! If you can't make it in person, we have some events still to come that are being livestreamed.

STILL TO COME

Saturday
⏯️ Messy, Complicated and Dangerous Women in partnership with Scottish BPOC Writers Network at 6pm
⏯️ Shetland: A Celebration at 8pm

Sunday
⏯️ Bold New Voices & BSL livestream at 1pm
⏯️ Stalking Hell & BSL livestream at 3pm
⏯️ Missing Without A Trace & BSL livestream at 8pm

Watch it here: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/granite-noir-2026-livestream/

With thanks to EventScotland for making this possible.

Creative Scotland

21/02/2026

Day 4

A packed day with packed venues!

So nice to see so many people enjoying the different events of Granite Noir. City Archivist Phil Astley hosted the annual Exhibition Talk in Cowdray Hall, a talk that sits alongside the curated work gathered in the Music Hall which you can still go and see for the next wee while.

And we didn't go quietly into the evening. It was a bag of giggles for the Queens of Crime siting on our couches last night. Val McDermid and Denise Mina brought their insights as strong pillars of the Scottish crime writing scene and plenty of laughter from their fond friendship together, along with Fiona Stalker.

Can't wait to carry it on into the final days of the festival 👏

📸 Credits: James Murison and Richard Frew Photography

20/02/2026

The Launched Into Eternity Exhibition Talk takes place today at the Cowdray Hall Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums at 6pm.

Join City Archivist Phil Astley as he discusses the latest bit of curated work that he and the rest at Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives have put together to explore the spectacle of executions.