Closing Talk

This year’s closing event will see two huge and entertaining writers in the murder mystery genre chat about their love of Agatha Christie and her influences on their work.

Ragnar Jónasson is the Icelandic author of the award-winning and international bestselling Dark Iceland series, as well as the Hulda Trilogy and standalone crime fiction. The Times selected The Darkness as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945. Snowblind was selected as one of Top 100 Crime Fiction of all time by Blackwell’s. Ragnar is also the co-founder of the Reykjavík international crime writing festival Iceland Noir, while from the age of 17, he translated 14 Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic. His latest book is a locked-room mystery called Death at the Sanitorium.

Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and Sydney-based author, whose third novel Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone became a huge bestseller and will soon be released as a TV series. He has since written the equally witty and humorous follow-up, Everyone On This Train is a Suspect, with his brand-new Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret due out in October.

They will be interviewed by journalist and literary critic, Jake Kerridge, who has been the crime fiction reviewer for the Daily Telegraph since 2005.

Information

Getting to the venue

The Spanish Barn is in the grounds of Torre Abbey. This is on Torquay seafront and walkable from most hotels in the area. It is also right next to Torquay Train Station. The nearest car park is Torre Valley - Torbay Council

Accessibility

There is a drop-off point and limited parking within the grounds for disabled visitors. Entry to the Spanish Barn is relatively level, but there are a few cobble stones to cross, before entering the completely flat interior. We have space for wheelchairs, although if you let us know in advance, we can ensure that there is ample dedicated space for the number of wheelchair users. We have also raised the height of the main stage this year, so that guest speakers can easily be seen. We also have two TV screens midway down the barn screening what is happening on the stage. We also have a disabled toilet available to the rear of the Spanish Barn.

If you have any particular access requirements or enquiries, do please get in touch and we will do whatever we feasibly can to accommodate you. Please email admin@iacf-uk.org