There’s a Venice that never makes it onto postcards – a city of sudden fogs, silent alleyways, and hidden courtyards where every shadow seems to conceal a secret. It’s in this suspended, mysterious Venice that Venice Noir comes to life, turning the city into an international stage for noir and crime literature.
From November 14 to 16, acclaimed writers from Italy and abroad will lead readers and enthusiasts through a journey of dark tales, unforgettable characters, and unusual atmospheres. This year’s guest of honor is Ian Rankin, the Scottish master of British crime fiction and creator of the iconic detective Rebus, who will take center stage in a series of special events. Alongside him, notable names such as Carlo Lucarelli, Massimo Carlotto, Barbara Baraldi, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Erin Kelly, and many others bring the finest of the genre to the lagoon.
Behind the festival is an ambitious project conceived by David Hewson, Philip Gwynne Jones, and Gregory Dowling – British writers who have all made Venice their adopted home – together with Silvia Bandolin, head of Libreria Studium, and Marco Vidal, CEO of The Merchant of Venice. Thanks to them, and to the support of prestigious partners including Ateneo Veneto, Hotel Monaco, Ca’ di Dio, Ca’ Pisani, Palazzo Experimental, JW Marriott Venice, Barovier&Toso Arte, Select, and the Venetian Gondoliers Association, Venice Noir offers not only literary encounters but fully immersive experiences combining storytelling, history, and local craftsmanship.
“We want to turn Venice into a laboratory of suspense,” says David Hewson, the festival’s international artistic director. “Every event, every walk, every meeting with an author is a piece of a larger mosaic, with the city itself as the main character.”
On the Italian side, the artistic direction is curated by Giacomo Brunoro, president of SUGARPULP, supported by a distinguished scientific committee including Andrea Molesini, Alberto Toso Fei, and Antonella Magaraggia, ensuring cultural coherence and quality.
Venice Noir is more than a literary festival: it’s an invitation to explore the city from a different perspective — through evening walks, dinners and aperitifs with the authors, discovering hidden courtyards, secret bridges, and corners steeped in stories of crime and mystery.
The festival concludes with the Venice Noir Award, a Murano glass sculpture crafted by Barovier&Toso ARTE, honoring an author who has made a significant contribution to the genre – a perfect meeting of literary excellence and Venetian artistry.
Three days, one city, hundreds of stories: Venice reaffirms itself as the world’s noir capital, ready to fascinate and surprise readers from around the globe, with the legendary Ian Rankin at the heart of this new edition.
