As well as celebrating the best of crime literature, the tenth edition will dig into real life crimes.
Aberdeen has been running a crime writing festival for a decade now. Granite Noir grew out of Scotland’s outsized contribution to the genre and the city’s own atmosphere: granite architecture, North Sea weather, a strong sense of place.
Ten years on, it’s become one of the few regular gatherings where crime writers and readers from across the country can actually meet. For a genre that sells enormously but doesn’t always get the literary festival spotlight, that matters. Scottish crime fiction has a dedicated audience, and Granite Noir gives them somewhere to go.
The tenth edition runs from 17 to 22 February 2026, with the expected big names in attendance. Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Ann Cleeves. But what caught our attention this year is an exhibition that sits outside the fiction entirely.
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The bodies are real this time
Launched Into Eternity: Aberdeen, Scotland and the spectacle of execution, 1560–1963 traces the city’s long relationship with capital punishment. From the witchcraft panic of the late 16th century through to Scotland’s last hanging, City Archivist Phil Astley will host a discussion about the show, curated by Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives.
It’s a wee reminder that crime writing doesn’t emerge from nowhere. The genre draws on real anxieties, real injustices, real violence. Aberdeen has its share of all three. Panels on witch hunts, a talk called What Television Gets Wrong About Forensic Science, and a discussion titled Dangerous Ideas Afoot: Do We Need the Police? sit alongside the author conversations.
Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland, noted that the festival is “testing the borders of genre writing and the spaces where artforms meet, telling these stories on screen and through exhibition, as well as on the page.”
Some of the authors appearing at Granite Noir X: Ann Cleeves, Denise Mina, Doug Johnstone, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Shari Lapena and Val McDermid.
The anniversary stuff
Granite Noir X (that’s the Roman numeral, not a mysterious rebrand) leans into its tenth birthday. Ann Cleeves’s Shetland celebration is timed to the publication of The Killing Stones, a new Jimmy Perez novel, as the TV adaptation also hits its tenth year. Doug Johnstone marks 20 years since his debut and his 20th book in as many years.
Beyond the conversations, the programme includes Into the Dark, an evening of spoken word with Shane Strachan, Gray Crosbie, Mae Diansangu and Aditya Narayan. Hexagone, an audio haunt that debuted in 2025, returns. So does Behind the Crime Scene Tape with Dr Wendy Deegan.
For younger readers, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, a University of Aberdeen graduate and New York Times bestselling author, leads a session on writing YA fiction for ages 14+.
The details
Granite Noir X takes place across His Majesty’s Theatre, Music Hall, the Lemon Tree, Robert Gordon University, Central Library and Cowdray Hall. Some events will be livestreamed, and BSL interpretation is available for selected sessions.
Ten years is a decent run for any festival. That Granite Noir is marking it by digging into Aberdeen’s real history feels on-brand for a genre that’s always been fascinated by the past. Tickets go on sale today at 10am through Aberdeen Performing Arts or the box office.
