Posts Tagged ‘Bloody Scotland’
Life With Linwood Barclay: ‘Sir Ian Rankin took me for a drink at The Oxford Bar, it was special’
Author Linwood Barclay on being take to The Oxford Bar with Ian Rankin, the books he always recommends and his time in Scotland. I was born in Darien, Connecticut, but my parents moved north to the suburbs of Toronto, in Canada, just before I turned four years old. And when it was time to…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Gordon J. Brown: ‘Stephen King nearly got me fired from my job as a bar man because I couldn’t put his books down’
Founder of crime writing festival Bloody Scotland, Gordon J. Brown, talks about his love of Stephen King, why he could never finish Lord of the Rings, and the latest book from Denzil Meyrick after his death. The first book I remember reading: Although I read The Famous Five and The Secret Seven when I…
Read MoreShortlist announced for Bloody Scotland 2024 McIlvanney Prize
The shortlist for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize at Stirling’s crime writing festival has been revealed. The prestigious award, named in honour of the iconic late writer William McIlvanney, will be presented on 13 September – the opening night of Bloody Scotland. The shortlist includes Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre and Abir Mukherjee. D V Bishop and…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Daniel Aubrey: ‘I started writing crime fiction because of Harlan Coben. Damn, that man can write a plot twist’
Daniel Aubrey has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with his crime fiction novel, Dark Island. The first book I remember reading: It was a book called Time Rope. I must have been about eight or nine at the time, and I was absolutely hooked. It was a trilogy, I think, but…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Allan Gaw: ‘I was forced to read Shane by Jack Schaeferto at school, to this day I still can’t abide westerns’
Allan Gaw has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with his crime fiction novel, The Silent House of Sleep. The first book I remember reading: I remember it was hard backed and easy to hold, and it had come from the magical folding bookcase in our infant school classroom. There were words…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Martin Stewart: ‘Being a pre-screen child meant devouring words and language’
The former English teacher and lecturer on the comfort of reading non-fiction and his childhood love of Roald Dahl. The first book I remember reading: Spot the Dog, that feeling of Spot being famous, a recognised thing to which I was being given access. After that, reading independently came very naturally. Being a pre-screen child…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Suzy Aspley: ‘I curl up in the dark with a great book and read until I can’t keep my eyes open
Suzy Aspley has been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with her crime fiction novel, Crow Moon. The first book I remember reading: Three Ponies and Shannan, by Diana Pullein-Thompson. As a pony mad kid who pined for a horse of my own (which was totally out of reach growing up in a…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Doug Sinclair: ‘The Life Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F***’ changed my life
Doug Sinclair on his favourite books of the year, his favourite place to read and the books of his childhood. The first book I remember reading: It was a children’s book about a boy who befriends a Romany girl when her family stops at his town. She lived in a charming old wooden caravan…
Read MoreBloody Scotland: Richard Armitage, Ann Cleeves, Peter May and Ruth Ware to headline crime writing festival
Bloody Scotland, the Stirling crime writers festival has revealed it’s full line for the event this September – including headliners Richard Armitage, Ann Cleeves, Peter May, Louise Minchin and Ruth Ware. Armitage will headline the opening night on 13 September at The Albert Halls in Stirling to talk about his debut thriller, Geneva. The actor’s…
Read MoreGlencairn Glass: Winner and runner-up announced for crime short story competition
A sinister story about a Scottish recipe for stovies and a grisly tale about the strange sheep of Greshornish have been chosen as the winning and runner-up stories in The Glencairn Glass crime short story competition this year. Philip Wilson won Scottish themed crime fiction competition, now in its third year, with Elisabeth Ingram Wallace…
Read More