Val McDermid.

After launching in 2013, and holding a smashing event in 2014, Iceland Noir is back for 2016 with a line-up celebrating the great dames of crime fiction, if not the great Danes. The main panel at the event, scheduled 17-20 November, will be women authors and they’re to include Val McDermid (Scotland), Viveca Sten (Sweden), Leena Lehtolainen (Finland) and Sara Blaedel (Denmark). They’ll be talking about their dark authorly dealings at the darkest time if year in Reykjavik.

The venue will be the Nordic House, which looks great under the midnight sun (above) but is altogether spookier in November. It’s just near Iceland’s university, and sits upon a wild fowl sanctuary which is probably a perfect place to dispose of a body or two.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir at the scene of the crime.

The event is being organised by Quentin Bates, Ragnar Jonasson, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Lilja Sigurdardottir and Grant Nicol – all of whom set their crime books in Iceland. “We have a very full line-up of participating authors, around 50 of them altogether from Britain, various parts of the Nordic region and the US, ranging from fairly cosy to hardcore,” says Quentin Bates.

“There are writers with a stack of books behind them, and there are newcomers with promising debut novels just out and another on the way. Some joined in previous events and there are newcomers who haven’t ventured this far north before, such as our four headliners who are all new to Iceland Noir.”

Crime fiction-related excursions will be part of the event – watch our site for further details – and you may also be able to see the Northern Lights.

Last year the event took a year out and an alternative festival was held in Shetland, but now Iceland Noir is back you can start planning your trip to the most fantastic crime setting on earth. Crime Fiction Lover is proud to be the event’s media partner, and you can read our coverage of Iceland Noir 2014 here.

Tickets start at £45.00. Find out more at the event’s website.