The city’s darkest week is approaching. Between 5 and 11 February, the dark genre will be the focus of attention in what will be the 19th edition of the BCNegra festival. On this occasion, the slogan is “Espies com nosaltres” (Spies like us). According to the event’s curator, the writer Carlos Zanón, “they spy on state secrets, but also on our own privacy, and on us, on that of others. Geopolitics, terrorism and politics  have made the spy, the one who becomes one of us in order to bring out our secrets, a topical issue”.

It will therefore be a festival that will have as its main – but not only – themes espionage and the violation of privacy in today’s virtual world. The list of authors who will take part in some of the panels and conversations – all of which will bear the title of one of Graham Greene‘s novels or narratives – is extensive, with over a hundred names: Eduardo Mendoza, Elaine Vilar, Kike Ferrari, Chris Offutt, Juan Tallón, Carles Porta, Susana Martín Gijón, Sandrone Dazieri, Rosa Ribas, Alicia Giménez Bartlett, Marc Pastor, Andreu Martín, Joe Thomas, José Ovejero, Victoria González, Carmen Mola. .. The legendary Sala La Paloma, the Jaume Fuster Library, the Mooby Bosque cinemas and the Filmoteca de Catalunya will be the venues that will host the bulk of the activities in the official programme.

From Maria Antònia Oliver to Seicho Matsumoto

Each edition of BCNegra remembers an author, a person and a book. On this occasion they will be the Japanese writer Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992), the character of Lònia Guiu, a detective created by Maria Antònia Oliver; and the book L’espia que tornava del fred (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold), by John le Carré, a classic of espionage literature first published in 1963. Around Lònia Guiu there will be a round table but also a theatrical route around the city, while several authors will also talk about Le Carré’s book and the film of the same name, which was directed by Martin Ritt just two years after the book was published, will be screened.

BCNegra 2024 will be dominated by round tables and conversations, but there will also be film screenings, itineraries, reading clubs, an exhibition on crime series games, and finally, to round off the first day, a literary cabaret in homage to Boris Vian with drama and performance by Lluís-Anton Baulenas. In addition, different civic centres, libraries and other spaces and facilities are organising a long list of parallel activities that will bring the spirit of the festival to all the districts of the city and beyond.

Jo Nesbø, 19th Pepe Carvalho Award

One of the high points of each edition of the festival is the awarding of the Pepe Carvalho Prize. The event will take place on the afternoon of 8 February in the Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Hall, and, in what will be the 19th edition, the prize will be awarded to the Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø. The jury of the Prize considers that “since the beginning of his literary career, Nesbø has demonstrated a solvency, ambition and narrative generosity that has made his readers addicted to everything he publishes”. In the jury’s minutes it can also be read that the Nesbø Prize is also a tribute to Nordic literature. The Nordic writer will talk the following day, also as part of BCNegra, with the journalist Xavier Bundó, followed by the screening of the film The Snowman (2017), directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on a book by Nesbø.

The almighty eye

Javier Olivares is the author of the festival poster. It stars three characters with a timeless look and easily identifiable with the genre, although perhaps the real protagonists are the eyes, the eyes of these characters, but also, and above all, the eye of the mobile phone, in the foreground. The conclusion seems clear: everywhere there are eyes that watch and spy. As the author explains, the mobile phone is the great eye of the 21st century, and he has sought to combine classic elements, such as the pierced newspaper, with modern devices. The whole leads to an atmosphere of espionage, crowned by a typography that plays as another element.

You can find all the information about the festival on the official website.