BCNegra embraces the 'bad life' with Mick Herron, Claudia Piñeiro and Vinicio Capossela

Barcelona"We are the most important free crime fiction festival in Europe and the one with the greatest presence of international authors," stated Carlos Zanón, curator of BCNegra, at the Boqueria Market, where the 21st edition of the festival, which will take place from February 2nd to 8th, was presented. This year, one of the star guests of the program is the Italian musician and writer Vinicio Capossela, who will offer a multidisciplinary concert in the Paral·lel 62 Hall. His work is precisely the source of the leitmotiv of the new edition: the bad life, which the festival has combined into a single word, malavida"We have extracted it from his book Tefteria to celebrate an intense, curious, transgressive life, lived on all levels. "Those of us who love literature do so precisely because life alone is not enough for us," Zanón emphasizes.

Among the allies to celebrate the malavida There are around one hundred authors participating in some fifty activities in venues such as La Paloma, La Boqueria, and Barcelona's libraries. One of the most prominent names is British writer Mick Herron, who will receive the Pepe Carvalho Award in the Saló de Cent of the City Hall. Herron is the author of the books that Apple TV+ has adapted into... the series Slow horses, starring actor Gary Oldman"Herron has revolutionized spy novels. Ten or fifteen years ago, this subgenre was a relic. Now, current geopolitical events have helped it, because we live in a perpetual movie of traitors and conspiracies," says Zanón, who adds that one of the writer's strengths is "the fact that he simultaneously presents the writer as a critique of the mix of high technology, bureaucracy, and incompetence."

A genre innovator

This year's BCNegra will feature "a unique encounter" between Americans SA Cosby – author of books such as Damn asphalt (Motus, 2022) – and Jordan Harper, author of The Education of Polly McClusky (Reservoir Books, 2023). "Cosby is one of the great innovators of the genre today," Zanón points out. One of the "most beloved authors at BCNegra," according to the curator, is the Argentinian Claudia Piñeiro. who already received the Pepe Carvalho award in 2018Piñeiro will once again be present at the festival, this time with a book club open to everyone. Among the international authors visiting BCNegra are Richard Price with his new novel, Lazarus resurrected (Random House, 2026), and the Swedish author Viveca Sten, who is about to publish The crimes of Åre (Main Bookstore).

The festival also aims to be a space for writers in Catalan and Spanish. Therefore, it has programmed events such as a tribute to the publishing house Crims.cat to commemorate the hundred books in its catalog and a conversation dedicated to Jordi Sierra i Fabra. "It's a UFO of Catalan and Spanish literature in all genres," says Zanón. Although crime fiction is the main focus of BCNegra, the festival is open "to other artistic options so that the city becomes a celebration and everyone can participate." Along these lines, the program includes a concert by Capossela and other offerings such as a film series set in Barcelona during the 1950s and 60s, which will be screened at the Filmoteca de Catalunya.