Noirwich Crime Writing Festival today announced two virtual UNESCO City of Literature Virtual Writers in Residence for the 2020 Festival: Anita Terpstra from Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, 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 the Shadow Prize and the Crimezone Thriller Award. Samen (Together) was nominated for 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.

Anita Terpstra said:

‘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.’

Paddy Richardson said:

‘I feel thrilled and very honoured to have been selected for the UNESCO City of Literature digital writers’ residency at Noirwich Crime Writing Festival. For me, personally, I see this as an opportunity to make contact with, and share my writing and experiences with, other writers and readers of crime fiction. I also see this as an opening for my home city, Dunedin, to make literary connections with Norwich, another UNESCO City of Literature. ‘

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.

Peggy Hughes, Programme Director at NCW said:

‘Following on from our inaugural Noirwich UNESCO City of Literature Writer in Residence in 2019, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir from Reykjavík, we’re seizing the opportunity to welcome two Virtual Writers in Residence to join us at this year’s Festival. We can’t wait to introduce Anita and Paddy to our brilliant and curious Noirwich audiences: though the current situation prevents us from welcoming writers to Norwich in person, we will connect virtually and be transported by their words and ideas instead. We’re always excited to find new ways to connect with our fellow cities of literature and to introduce our writers and readers to each other.’

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. Featured writers include critically acclaimed US author Attica Locke alongside Oyinkan Braithwaite, Olivier Norek, Sophie Hannah, Jill Dawson and more. All events (excluding writing workshops) will be free to watch or join.