Dark Week (book festival in Asturias)

With the participation of more than 140 international authors such as Émile Bravo, Rosa Montero, Santiago Tarín, Marta Sanz, Rodolfo Santullo, Marta Pérez-Carbonell, Ignacio Martínez de Pisón, Elia Barceló, Rafael Luján, Susanna Isern, and Pedro Mañas. Of note were three guests: Irish-born novelist John Banville, better known as Benjamin Black, the pseudonym under which he signs all his crime novels, visited Semana Negra for the first time to present his novel, Los ahogados (The Drowned). His wit and dark humor kicked off the thirty-eighth edition of this book festival. Joining him was Argentine writer, screenwriter, and playwright Claudia Piñeiro, a regular friend of the festival and winner of the Dashiell Hammett Award for Catedrales (Cathedrals), who opened this edition with her book, La muerte ajena (Other Death).

From Greece, Petros Markaris, father of detective Kostas Jaritos, was also present and spent over an hour signing books for his readers.

This year's poster was the work of Spanish illustrator and graphic designer Miguel Sánchez Lindo, who presented an easily recognizable image, featuring references to the city and the genre, in a very personal style that reflects his years as a cover artist and art director for various publishing houses.

This festival also featured historical novels, children's novels, science fiction and fantasy, non-fiction books, poetry, and essays, among other forms of expression, always wrapped in the finest garb of celebration, leisure, music, and the different languages used by storytelling to explain itself.

Decentralizing this festival, which faces the Cantabrian Sea, set up its "fifth tent" a few kilometers from Naval Gijón with the celebration of Llanegra, outside the Lugo de Llanera municipal hall, and in Mieres, where a very special series was held in conjunction with the Conservatory and the Friends of Mieres Association.

Transgressors

Once again this year, this festival opened a special space in its program to "Transgressors" with the collaboration of the Feminist Policy Forum. It is an informative and interesting series in which prominent authors spoke about women who, by transgressing in their time, with their attitudes or work, advanced the paths of gender equality.

In this regard, Noemí Sabugal spoke about the Hungarian writer Agota Kristof, Miriam Lewin spoke about the Argentine writer and poet Salvadora Medina Onrubia, and writer Inma López Silva delved into the story of actress María Casares, one of the greats of the French stage, marked by the Civil War, exile, and her romantic relationship with Albert Camus. Rebeca Martín presented the life and story of Charlotte Corday, who at just 24 years old became a major figure in the French Revolution, and Esther Martínez spoke about the history of Asturian women imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps.

Exhibitions

The exhibition of original comics was dedicated to Asturian comics of recent years, emphasizing how comics have reflected the concept of Asturias. Artists such as Isaac Miguel del Rivero, Ruma Barbero, Raquel Lagartos, Alfonso Zapico, Alberto Vázquez García, Israel Álvarez, and Guillermo Menéndez Quirós lent their works, which were presented on the panels in the Semana Negra Exhibition Tent.

Argentine artist Alejandro Meter also exhibited various black and white photographs of international writers in the Meeting Tent.

Semana Negra Awards

The Dashiell Hammett Award for the best crime novel written in Spanish in 2024 was awarded to Clara Usón's Las Fieras (The Beasts) for a stylistically innovative novel that subverts the genre's stereotypes and, with precise architecture and great formal ambition, draws us into the intimacy of terrorism, transforming real characters into a literary and transcendent dimension. It also portrays a pivotal historical moment in Spanish life with a highly accomplished blend of fiction and reality.

The Rodolfo Walsh Award for Best Non-Fiction Noir went to Juan Trejo's book, Nela 1979.

The Silverio Cañada Memorial Award for Best First Noir Novel went to Manuel Marlasca's Tú bailas y yo disparo.

The Espartaco Award for Best Historical Novel went to David Uclés's La peninsula de las casa vacías.

The Celsius Award for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy went to Esther García Llovet's Los guapos, for its creation of a strange and disturbingly fantastical atmosphere based on the most everyday reality.

Todo al negro 2030

Todo al negro 2030 is the official podcast of Gijón's Semana Negra. It returned for the third consecutive year and debuted a new image; this time, as a video podcast. With a daily live broadcast and a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, sponsored by the Directorate General for the 2030 Agenda of the Government of the Principality of Asturias, which already supported the previous edition, this cultural and educational project consolidates an alliance between literature, society, and sustainability.

This is Balck Week (Semana Negra), and it continues…the next edition will be from July 3 to 12, 2026.