the McIlvanney Prize and Debut Prize, sponsored by The Glencairn Glass, are now open for submissions – deadline is 5pm on Friday 31st March 2023.
The winner of The McIlvanney Prize – Scottish Crime Book of the Year will receive £1,000 and the winner of The Bloody Scotland Crime Debut of the Year will receive £500. Books entered for The Debut Prize will automatically be considered for The McIlvanney Prize.
ENTRY RULES
· Publishers may submit full length novels first published in the United Kingdom between 1st August 2022 and 31st July 2023 for the McIlvanney Prize and The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.
· For the purposes of both prizes, a crime novel is eligible if the author was born, raised, is a permanent resident in, or has a strong and enduring connection to Scotland.
· Please indicate in your submission the criteria that the author meets, using the appropriate box to explain why you believe the book qualifies. Please also note on the form if the book is a debut.
· Books published as hardback, paperback originals or exclusively as e-books are eligible, either published by publishers, or self-published.
· The submission of an author’s work by the publisher will be taken as agreement by the author that he/she/they are willing for the submitted work to be considered and shared (in all formats) with those involved in the selection process.
· It is a condition of entry that publishers will put the award logo and “Winner of The McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2023/Winner of The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2023” or “Shortlisted for The McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2023/Shortlisted for The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2023” including the name(s) of sponsor(s), on the cover of subsequent editions of winning/shortlisted books. We have designed roundels with this information on them if you’d like to use those.
· Publishers will, on request, provide a cover image and author photograph with the necessary clearances for use by Bloody Scotland.
· Publishers will make every effort to ensure that any shortlisted authors for either prize will attend the ceremony in Stirling on Friday 15th September 2023, and will be available for media interviews before, immediately afterwards and throughout the Bloody Scotland weekend.
· There is no charge for entering, but there will be a charge of £500 + VAT per longlisted title for the McIlvanney Prize, and £400 + VAT per shortlisted title for the Debut Prize, to cover promotion and marketing of the prize. By entering, publishers agree to pay this contribution. If a book is longlisted/shortlisted for both prizes, only the £500 fee will apply.
· The longlist for the McIlvanney Prize will comprise up to twelve books. The shortlist for the debut prize is usually 4 or 5 titles. Publishers will be notified immediately after the organisers meeting in June 2023 only if their book has been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize or shortlisted for the Debut Prize.
· Paper copies of all longlisted or shortlisted books should be made available upon request.
· The judges’ decision is final. Neither discussion nor correspondence concerning any decision can be entered into.
· A DRM-free digital copy of each entry (PDF or eBook) must be submitted to the Prize Administrators.
· Please fill in a submission form HERE and submit your book to: bob@bloodyscotland.com with ‘McIlvanney Prize/Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2023 Submission_Book Title’ clearly stated in the subject line.