Arts & Culture

Noir at the Bar, South Shields

Name: Noir at the Bar, South Shields
Start: 2026-09-25T18:00:00
End: 2026-09-25T20:00:00
Location: The Word, National Centre for the Written Word, Market Place, South Shields, NE33 1JF

An evening of crime and thriller writers reading their work in a relaxed bar setting, part of The Word's WRITE Festival and the run-up to the Bay Tales crime fiction festival.

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Friday, 25 September 20266:00 PM - 8:00 PMThe Word, National Centre for the Written Word, Market Place, South Shields, NE33 1JFFree (booking required)by The Word, National Centre for the Written Word

About This Event

Noir at the Bar is crime fiction at its most relaxed and immediate: a gathering of crime and thriller writers who take turns reading short excerpts of their work, published or in progress, in the informal setting of a bar. The format began in the United States over a decade ago before spreading to the UK, and it has become a much-loved fixture on the crime-writing scene, prized for its convivial atmosphere and the chance to hear authors perform their own dark tales aloud. Across the evening you can expect a lively line-up of voices and a broad flavour of the genre, from the tense and grisly to the wickedly funny. It is an ideal way to discover new authors, catch familiar names off-duty and enjoy the sort of dark fiction that reads best with a drink in hand. Held as part of the wider festival programme, it makes a spirited, unbuttoned counterpoint to the daytime panels and talks.