A not to be missed engagement for fans of detective stories is taking place in the region of Romagna.

How many times have you slipped into detective mode under a beach umbrella? Imagine this “crime scene”: sunscreen covered nose, light sea scented breeze, huge sunglasses and, of course, the latest the murder mystery best seller, known as “Giallo” (Yellow) in Italy. Much like the 1973 setting that inspired famous TV host Enzo Tortora and led to the creation of the event named Gran Giallo Città di Cattolica.

Ever since then, between the months of June and July, the best “giallo-noir" stories have been granted awards at this festival. The event was renamed Myfest – Festival Internazionale del Giallo e del Mistero ( Myfest – International Festival of Detective and Mystery novels) in 1981, and this year is divided into three sections: the Gran Giallo (Great Yellow) for novels, Corto Giallo (Short Yellow) with “short films” under 15 min. long, and Obiettivo Giallo (Yellow Focus) which pays homage to the photographic aspect of the gender.

The City of Cattolica festival will close on Saturday 11 July 2009 in 9 in piazza Mercato, where the winners in the short films and photographs categories will receive cash prizes and the best novel will be awarded a publication contract with the prestigious house of Mondatori. Among the winners of past editions were masters of the gender like Oreste del Buono, Loriano Machiavelli and Bruno Gambarotta.

Additional info is available at www.mystfest.com