Enjoyable night of dark events

Noir at the Wigan Bar showcased some of the north’s finest writers of police procedural novels in an event organised by Orrell author Malcolm Hollingdrake.

Wigan Central was crammed with around 100 literature enthusiasts to hear the authors all read an extract from their work and get to meet the people behind their favourite page-turning reads.

Authors from the borough Malcolm Hollingdrake, Paul Finch and Robin Roughley were joined by crime novelists including Liz Mistry from Bradford and Danielle Ramsay from the North East.

Malcolm said the response to the event has been so positive that Noir at the Wigan Bar is likely to return for another similar night at the Queen Street micropub next spring.

He said: “It was a very respectful audience. They listened intently to all the readings and I’ve had some excellent feedback.

“We’re looking at doing another one next year, probably around March or April, and I’ve already had a number of authors say they are interested in coming to take part.”

The event was supported by the pub and Wigan’s branch of Waterstones, while Create Print stepped in to produce the publicity material for free.

Malcolm also thanked keen photographer Gary Barton who took the pictures of the night.