Saturday, November 27, 2021

Iceland Noir's After Party

 


Jeff–Saturday

 

Last Saturday, I wrote about the wisdom of Iceland Noir’s curated approach to matching panelists to their moderators, and I named some of the legends of the international mystery community honored by the festival.  All of that took place in the heart of Reykjavik, divided between two magnificent facilities separated by no more than a five-minute walk.

 

 




 


 

This week it’s all about the festival’s legendary “after party.” No, not the Saturday night disco get together in a private club overlooking the city, where Barbara and I got the crowd rocking and rolling–plus yours truly into a bit of limping.

 


What I’m talking about is the now traditional Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday trip by festival panelists and their partners to parts of Iceland hand-picked for their mysterious beauty and camaraderie-inducing magic by the festival’s organizers, Ragnar, Yrsa, Oskar, and Eva (right to left). 

 


Those three days create new friendships and reaffirm the “family affair” nature of the festival.  This year nearly forty of us caravanned along the south coast to our base of operations at the Hotel Ranga—after a delightful Sunday brunch hosted by Iceland’s First Lady at the official residence of the nation’s President.

 


 

 

Under pain of mysterious consequences, I’m sworn not to reveal the substance of the many confidences shared over those days, nor am I able to remember the names of the places we visited. BUT I do have photographs.  They will reveal some of our fellow travelers and the sort of venues we visited.  All I can say is this: There is nothing like Iceland Noir.


HOTEL RANGA



 


 

 


 


 


 


 


 

THE NOTORIOUS BLACK SAND BEACH

 












But now we’re home.

 


8 comments:

  1. I'm not sure I'm even talking to you anymore, Jeff. Grrr!

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    1. You should have come, Michael!! Then we could have had the pleasure of MICHAEL STANLEY. although just having Stanley was still pretty cool.

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    2. If it's any consolation, Michael, you were sorely missed by all. As for not talking to me any more, can we at least exchange high-fives?

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    3. Okay. I'm still talking to you. But don't push it...

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  2. I am with you on this one, Michael. Too bad no one who was a chairman of Bouchercon ever thought to make that conference as wonderful as Icelandic Noir!

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    1. Thank you, Sis, for giving me an opening for offering an explanation to our readers of the seminal differences between Bouchercon and Iceland Noir.

      As we all know, Bouchercon is the "Big Daddy" of America's crime-lover conventions, with well over a thousand attendees, venues set each year in a different city from the last, and operating through different Local Organizing Committees approved by Bouchercon's National Board and general membership.

      Iceland Noir is much smaller, set in Reykjavic, and operates under roughly the same leadership from year-to-year.

      But the main difference between Bouchercon and Iceland Noir is this: Bouchercon is a FAN CONVENTION, Iceland Noir is essentially a Writers Festival.

      In order to please both fans and authors, Bouchercon provides free books to fans through the generosity of publishers, offers concurrently running tracks of panels affording fans up to a half-dozen choices for each time slot, and a major book room for signings and book purchases.

      Iceland Noir offers none of that. No free books, no book room, no official signings, and no competing panel tracks. It's all about each author having the opportunity of attending the other's panel.

      I love both formats. And remain fiercely loyal to each.

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  3. Brrrr. What a harsh AND beautiful land. The people aren't bad, either...

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    1. What a coincidence, EvKa. Icelanders had the same thing to say about the Pacific Northwest! :)

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