Semana Negra de Gijon

[Judith Vernant]

As every year, I'll be in Gijon (Asturias, Spain) for la Semana Negra, the huge festival organized by the Boss, Paco Ignacio Taibo II. I'll be staying the whole week (10-19 july), looking for authors.
Anyone coming this year?

[Judith Vernant]

It's a huge festival of literature (mostly dedicated to comics, science and crime fiction, but also poetry and history) organized by the great Mexican writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II in the city of Gijon, Asturias (North of Spain, a very beautiful area). There are both a "carnival", with attractions for kids, bars, restaurants, etc.; and books presentations, bookstores, literary awards... It's really amazing and unique (in Europe, at least), I guess. Everything is very relaxed, unformal and friendly, the best way to work!
I've already published four books of authors—Spanish, Argentinian, Mexican and Brazilian—I met there—the fifth will be out in France in September—and created a collection named after the festival.
And yes, Spain, which I don't know very well except for Gijon and Madrid, is definatly a beautiful country.

[Dennis Webster]

What exactly is la Semana Negra? I would love to go to Spain someday. I hear it's a beautiful country.