Sponsored by The Open University in Scotland
Bloody Scotland continues to support up and coming writers and are delighted to reveal the authors chosen for ‘Crime in the Spotlight’ at this year’s 10th Anniversary Festival.
Our ‘In the Spotlight’ pairings are:
Thursday 15th
Liz Webb from London with Alex Gray and Denzil Meyrick
Heather Fitt a Scot from Hampshire with Ian Rankin and Abir Mukherjee
Amen Alonge from London via Lagos and Edinburgh with Irvine Welsh
Friday 16th
Graham Bartlett from Sussex with AK Turner, Mary Paulson Ellis and Doug Johnstone
Maureen Myant from Glasgow with Dr Marie Cassidy and Dr Sohom Das
Emma Styles from London with Denise Mina, Elly Griffiths & Imran Mahmood
Sarah Bonner from West Sussex with Jo Spain, Ellery Lloyd and Julie Mayhew
Tom Mead from Derbyshire with Ruth Ware, Jane Casey & Lisa Unger
Jonathan Peace also from Derbyshire with Lin Anderson, Chris Brookmyre & Claire Mackintosh
John Brownlow from Toronto with David Baldacci
Angela Edgar a local author from Dunblane with John Connolly & Alex North
Saturday 17th
Ross Macfarlane, an advocate from Edinburgh with S J Parris & Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Catherine Yaffe, from Yorkshire with Charles Cumming, Ben Creed & Kim Sherwood
Carole Johnstone, from Glasgow with Ann Cleeves
Nick Edmunds, a local author from Stirling with Jeffrey Archer and Abir Mukherjee
Karen Taylor from Cornwall with Brian McGilloway, Simon Toyne and C L Taylor
Joe Chacko from Glasgow with Anthony Horowitz (was previously at Pitch Perfect)
Scott Cumming from Aberdeen with Mark Billingham & Mick Herron
John Harkin from Glasgow with Frankie Boyle
Sunday 18th
F J Watson, local author from Braco near Dunblane with Joanne Harris & Janice Hallett
John Coughlan from Johnstone with Sarah Vaughan and Alan Johnson
Caron McKinlay from East Scotland with Louise Welsh, Lilja Sigurdarddottir & David Fennell
In the interest of inclusivity authors were given the option of appearing live on stage or via video link.
Inspired by the concept of support acts at music festivals, Crime in the Spotlight pairs the rising stars of the crime fiction scene with established crime writers and to date over 100 authors have taken to the spotlight stage.
Most famously author, Graeme Macrae Burnet was paired with Ian Rankin in 2015 and went on to be shortlisted for The Booker. Claire Askew who was a spotlighter in 2018 went on to win the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize in 2019 and this year is longlisted for the McIlvanney.
We wish all our spotlighters lots of luck and look forward to following their crime writing careers with interest.
About Bloody Scotland
Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world, unique in that it was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers in 2012. Full information at bloodyscotland.com
The festival takes place in various venues (including The Albert Halls, The Tollbooth and the social hub of the festival, The Golden Lion Hotel) in the historic town of Stirling from 15-18 September 2022.
The Bloody Scotland Prize for Scottish Crime Writing first awarded in 2012 was renamed The McIlvanney Prize in 2016. The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize was introduced in 2019 and won by Claire Askew who this year made the McIlvanney longlist along with Deborah Masson who won the Debut Prize in 2020.
In 2018 Bloody Scotland began a partnership with Harvill Secker to encourage new crime writers of colour. The winner of the inaugural prize was Ajay Chowdhury and in December 2021 it was won by Dettie Gould with The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin.
Bloody Scotland in partnership with The Glencairn Glass, the world’s favourite whisky glass, recently resurrected the short story competition which took place in the first year. The latest incarnation, with media support from the Scottish Field Magazine, received entries from all over the world. Many previously unpublished. The winner was from Australia and was published in Scottish Field Magazine.
The Pitch Perfect and Crime in the Spotlight sessions are sponsored by the Open University in Scotland.
To make the festival more affordable for everyone and mark our 10th Anniversary we’re offering a limited number of tickets at £5 each for 10 of our events (see bloodyscotland.com/10-at-5).
A 10% discount is available for all events in Stirling to people residing in the Stirling Council area. (see bloodyscotland.com/localdiscount)
In addition free standby tickets will be offered to the unemployed or those on low income on the day of the event if there is good availability (see bloodyscotland.com/standby)
We are committed to making Bloody Scotland an accessible festival. All of the venues are accessible by wheelchair and BSL interpretation is available at events on request. Email info@bloodyscotland.com A free shuttle bus between venues is available for those who need it. Seating is unreserved so please advise at time of booking if you require a wheelchair space or have any specific needs and we will do our best to accommodate them.
The Bloody Scotland board is made up of crime writers Lin Anderson, Craig Robertson, Gordon Brown and Abir Mukherjee, James Crawford (chair), Muriel Robertson (finance) and Catriona Reynolds (governance). PR, Marketing & Sponsorship is handled by Fiona Brownlee and Tim Donald of Brownlee Donald Associates. Social Media and the website is handled by Dawn Geddes.
Bloody Scotland receives vital funding from Creative Scotland, Stirling Council and Culture and Business Fund Scotland. We are also greatefu to our many sponsors and supported including The Glencairn Glass, H W Fisher, Stirling Castle, Literary Tours in Egypt, Waterstones, The Open University in Scotland and Go Forth Stirling along with a wide range of publishers.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot