Shetland Noir
Midsummer in Shetland is very special. It's the time of the Simmer Dim when it hardly gets dark, when the seabirds are back on the cliffs and the wildflowers are at their best. This year, Shetland Noir took place in June too. My co-conspirator Marsali Taylor - who lives and writes in the islands - and I wanted the visitors to see the place at its best.
We're lucky because it's easy to attract visitors north. People are intrigued by a place that lies on the same line of latitude as parts of Greenland and Alaska. They've heard of the knitting and might have seen something of its bleak beauty on TV documentaries and the adaptations of my Shetland books, but they're keen to see for themselves.
Ann with Louise Penny in Shetland
Catriona Macdonald and fellow musicians
This year we had some stellar headliners: Lee Child, Louise Penny, Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Vas Khan talked about their fiction and Lady Lorna Dawson, the Scottish forensic soil scientist brought some true crime tales into the mix. Our moderators and interviewers were brilliantly prepared and allowed their subjects space and time for a real exploration of their work.
The supporting cast was equally entertaining. I think my favourite session was the first one - meet the panellists, when every author was on stage and had exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds to talk about themselves before the lights dimmed and a gun shot rang out.
Mareel, the magnificent arts centre sitting right on the water, must be one of the best settings ever for a book festival. It's intimate, friendly, with a bar and theatre and smaller rooms for workshops. It helps that we had it all to ourselves on the festival weekend.
I think the highlight for most people was Saturday night. Thanks so much to Shetland Arts for organising it. We had a real Shetland supper in the Bigton Hall, then made our way to St Ninian's beach, where a bonfire had been built and musicians and a storyteller were waiting for us. In the half light of the Simmer Dim, with the sound of the waves on the shore behind us, it was truly magical.
Catriona Macdonald and fellow musicians
Will there be another Shetland Noir? I think plans are afoot. But not for another three years!
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