Bloody Scotland prizes sponsored by The Glencairn glass


The McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Debut prize are awarded each year to the best Scottish Crime book and best Scottish Debut of the year.

McIlvanney Prize WINNER 2024Debut Prize WINNER 2024Previous Winners

Pitch Perfect winner 2024 - Alys Cummings

Alys Cummings was judged to be the winner of this year’s Pitch Perfect session at the festival in Stirling for her pitched novel The Answer is Murder.

Supported by Scottish communications agency Spey, Alys received £1000 development money this year in memory of broadcast journalist and crime writer Rae Stewart.

We wish her the best of luck in securing an agent and publisher and hope that she will join the long line of Pitch Perfect alumni to do so!


Applications open in June 2025

Crime In The Spotlight


Bloody Scotland offers a platform to shine a spotlight on new crime writing talent during the festival. We invite new and emerging published crime writers to apply for a slot to read out a short sample of their work before one of our Albert Halls sessions in Stirling in September.

You are eligible to apply for Crime in the Spotlight if you, have never appeared on the programme at Bloody Scotland before and are early in your crime writing career (such as on your first or second published book, but no more).

You will be asked to prepare a short reading or presentation and you will be given a slot in front of one of our big audiences. You will also be invited to sign books alongside the author(s) appearing in that slot.

Applications open in June 2025

Bloody Scotland Book Club


Bloody Scotland hosts a quarterly discussion with a variety of journalists, bloggers, podcasters and booksellers. Our guests will hand-pick a selection of crime novels, from exciting new works to old favourites.

We invite you to tune in to Facebook Live, where we will broadcast the panel’s discussion.

Join The Club

Apply to Volunteer


Bloody Scotland wouldn’t run without the dedication of eager volunteers, keeping the crowds safe, the tech running and the authors guided. Every year we look for Front of House Assistants, Author Hospitality Assistants, Author Signing Assistants and Festival Marketing Assistants to help out our busy team.

Apply here

Support Us


Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s international crime writing festival is an independent, not for profit charity, established in 2011 to present the very best of Scottish and international crime writing. We rely on a combination of sponsorship, grants, box office and donations to support our activity.

Details

Free Standby Tickets


We don’t want the price to be prohibitive to you coming to Bloody Scotland and while we can’t help with travel or accommodation costs, we can offer you a free standby ticket on the day of the event if there is good availability*. These tickets are available to the unemployed or those on a low income, on the day of the event and limited to one per person.

*Good availability is defined as over 10 tickets available for sale. 

STIRLING DISCOUNT 


A 10% discount is available to people residing in the Stirling Council area on tickets for events in Stirling. You must give your address at the time of booking. 

Call the box office on 01786 274000