Exploring Modern Noir Writing

In this episode of The Writing Life podcast, NCW Programme Officer Ellie speaks with American author Margot Douaihy about the development of the noir genre in crime writing.

Margot Douaihy is the author of several noir titles including the mystery novel Scorched Grace, the inaugural title of Gillian Flynn Books. Douaihy is originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the US where she teaches popular fiction and literature with Emerson College. Margot stayed with us on a writing residency in September in the Dragon Hall Cottage.

Together, Ellie and Margot explore growth and changes in the noir genre, and how crime novels are well-equipped for generating social commentary. They also touch on alienation and the representation of queer identities in crime writing.