We are today delighted to announce our most successful year yet, having issued 5606 tickets over three days.

The festival, which is sponsored by Mazars, took place in a number of beautiful and historic venues in Stirling from Friday 19 – Sunday 21 September.

Unusual events like Bloody Cinema, a secret film screening of O Brother Where Art Thou? in the depths of Stirling’s Old Town Jail, three sold-out performances of The Beast of Birkenshaw, a play adapted from the trial transcripts of serial killer Peter Manuel performed in Stirling Sheriff Court, a mediaeval murder mystery tour at Stirling Castle and the  Scottish versus English crime writers football match (which saw the Scottish side win 14-1, thanks to novelist and man of the match Doug Johnstone) created opportunities for audiences to get involved with the festival in new ways.

More traditional author events were also successful: talks from Ian Rankin, Peter May and Kathy Reichs, the US queen of forensic fiction, all packed out the 700-capacity Albert Halls in Stirling as did a debate on Scotland’s Future run in conjunction with the Sunday Herald, featuring Sir Tom Devine, William McIlvanney, Karine Polwart and  Mona Siddique. Over 60 authors attended the festival, including Denise Mina, Christopher Brookmyre, Mark Billingham, Alex Gray, MC Beaton, Craig Robertson, Lin Anderson, Louise Welsh, Sara Sheridan, James Runcie, John Gordon Sinclair, Megan Abbott, Arild Stavrum, Sophie Hannah, Caro Ramsay and Tony Parsons.

Our Festival Manager Dom Hastings said ‘ It’s been a great festival this year. Thousands of engaged readers, a bustle at all of our venues, and we’re really pleased that our audiences have responded so well to the less traditional events too. Stirling has had a real buzz about it this weekend, with a mix of well-known faces and exciting new names on the crime writing scene drawing crowds. Bloody Scotland is all about showcasing the very best of Scottish and international crime writing, and I’m very confident that we’ve done that, and done that well, this year.’