If anyone wants to discover why Agatha Christie is considered the queen of crime novels, you can take a look at the chapter 14 of Murder in Mesopotamia (1936), case number 14 of its most emblematic detective: Hercule Poirot. In it, the insightful Belgian-born investigator carries out one of his famous interrogations, in which the different suspects of a crime expose their alibis while he tries to find out which of them would be capable of committing a murder. All of this, of course, wrapped in the direct and addictive language of the most translated and best-selling writer of all time.
In 2026, It is half a century since the disappearance of Agatha Christie and VLCNEGRA wanted to prepare an edition worthy of her legend. Thus, of the 18 al 24 of May, The Valencia International Black Novel Festival will dedicate its new edition - which, since we are, will be the number 14- to the unfathomable legacy of the writer who elevated homicide to literary excellence. “When these dates arrive, we have been working for a long time: selecting authors, designing activities, agreeing on spaces and attending to hundreds of details that, finally, and formal festival", one of the directors of VLCNEGRA has pointed out, Jordi Llobregat. “After all these months of worry and effort, everything is finally ready. VLCNEGRA is very similar to faults, We worked for a whole year to be able to offer the city a wonderful cultural festival for a week. Our advantage is that we do not cut streets.”
For your part, the other person in charge of the contest, Santiago Álvarez, has highlighted that “VLCNEGRA always comes back in difficult times. This year, Despite having fewer resources, we have made a more compact and better festival, with new activities, charismatic authors and many possibilities for the public to get closer to them. We are proud of the result and we look forward to the 18 of May with impatience”.
How could it be otherwise?, VLCNEGRA will present the Francisco González Ledesma Prize to one of the outstanding disciples of the classic mystery and Christie's “whodunit”: Antonio Manzini. Born in Rome in 1964, Manzini is considered one of the great European references of the genre - especially for his series of books starring Inspector Rocco Schiavone.- and is also known for his work as a screenwriter and director. He 21 of May, The Bancaja Foundation will host the awarding of the festival's highest recognition, which in previous editions fell to writers of the caliber of Juan Madrid, James Ellroy, Yes Nesbø, Dennis Lehane or the Valencian Ferran Torrent.
In addition to Manzini, until the 24 In May, names such as Juan Gómez-Jurado will parade on the VLCNEGRA stage, Lorenzo Silva, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, Henrik Fexeus, Carlos Zanón, Paco Roca, Victor del Tree, Benjamin Prado, Martha Robles, Pablo Rivero, Manuel Marlasca, Vicente Garrido, Thorn Portabales, Manuel Ríos San Martín, Joan Carles Ventura, Javier Alandes or Salva Alemany, among many others. The meetings will be divided between the Bancaja Foundation and the College of Architects of Valencia.
In the program 2026 There will also be no shortage of essential festival events such as the Reading Clubs in the Municipal Libraries - which, despite the reduction in the number of days, They have broken their record again-, film projections - such as “The trace of evil”, in the Film Library, with the presence of its director Manuel Ríos San Martín- or children's activities, and to which this year such attractive novelties are incorporated as The Suspects Club - a very special “Reading Party” around the universe of Agatha Christie for users of the library reading clubs-, a session dedicated to Comic Noir with Paco Roca and Laura Pérez or the live performance of the podcast “Crónicas de la morgue” at Fnac. Besides, Tuesday 19 of May, the Loco Club will host a free literary-musical colloquium, in which Benjamín Prado and Javier Menéndez Flores will reflect on the value of the written word in the compositions of two myths such as Robe Iniesta and Joaquín Sabina, and which will be accompanied by a musical performance.
As the festival tradition dictates, VLCNEGRA will close its edition on Sunday 24 with their Pata Negra Signatures at the Book House, where more than twenty authors will dedicate copies and chat with readers between beers and portions of ham.
