Bloody Scotland is a Scottish international crime writing festival, held annually in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, Scotland. It was founded in 2012 by

Tartan Noir Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. William McIlvanney, who wrote three crime novels, the first being ''Laidlaw'' in 1977, is considered the father of the genre. Criticism William McIlvanney (whose o ...

writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray and describes itself as "the literary festival where you can let down your hair and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer". Its sponsors include the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

and

Stirling Council Stirling (; ; ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the ...

. In 2022 most events were held at the Albert Halls or the

Tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...

. The festival awards The McIlvanney Prize for "the best Scottish Crime book of the year" (so named in 2016 for writer

William McIlvanney William Angus McIlvanney (25 November 1936 – 5 December 2015) was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works ''Laidla ...

(1936-2015), who has been called "the Godfather of

"), and, since 2019, the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year. Since 2012, the festival has also run an annual Pitch Perfect event, giving emerging crime writers the opportunity to pitch work in progress novels to a panel of publishing industry experts. Several winners have gone on to publication and acclaim, such as 2021 Pitch Perfect winner Kate Foster whose novel ''The Maiden'' went on to win Scottish Crime Debut of the Year in 2023 and longlisted for the 2024

Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

McIlvanney Prize winners

* 2012:

Charles Cumming Charles Cumming (born 1971) is a British writer of spy fiction and a screenwriter. Early life and education Cumming was born in 1971, in Ayr, Scotland, the son of Ian Cumming (b. 1938) and Caroline Pilkington (b. 1943). He was educated at Lu ...

, ''A Foreign Country'' * 2013: Malcolm Mackay, ''How a Gunman Says Goodbye'' * 2014: Peter May, ''Entry Island'' * 2015: Craig Russell, ''The Ghosts of Altona'' * 2016:

Chris Brookmyre Christopher Brookmyre (born 6 September 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan No ...

, ''Black Widow'' * 2017:

Denise Mina Denise Mina is a Scottish writer active since 1996. Her debut novel ''Garnethill'' (1998 Transworld) was a bestseller and won the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for best debut. It was followed by ''Exile'' and ''Resolution'', c ...

, ''The Long Drop'' * 2018: Liam McIlvanney (son of William McIlvanney),''The Quaker'' * 2019:

Manda Scott Manda Scott (born 1962) is a former Scottish veterinary surgeon who is now a novelist, blogger, podcaster, columnist and occasional broadcaster. Born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained at the University of Glasgow School of Veteri ...

, ''A Treachery of Spies'' (the winner chose to share the prize with the other shortlisted authors:

Doug Johnstone Doug Johnstone (born 22 July 1970) is a Scottish crime writer based in Edinburgh. His ninth novel ''Fault Lines'' was published by Orenda Books in May 2018. His 2015 book ''The Jump'' (published by Faber & Faber) was shortlisted for the McIlvann ...

and

Ambrose Parry Christopher Brookmyre (born 6 September 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noi ...

) * 2020:

Francine Toon Francine Toon (born 1986), also writing as Francine Elena, is a British writer. Early life Toon was born in Canterbury, England, in 1986, and moved to the Scottish Highlands, near Dornoch, at the age of nine after living in England and Portugal. ...

, ''Pine'' * 2021: Craig Russell, ''Hyde'' * 2022:

Alan Parks Sir Alan Guyatt Parks (19 December 1920 – 3 November 1982) was a British colorectal surgeon, who served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons. Early life and education Parks attended Sutton High School and later Epsom College (1935 ...

, ''May God Forgive'' * 2023:

Callum McSorley Callum is a Scottish Gaelic name that commemorates the Latin name Columba, meaning 'dove'. Callum was popular among early Christians because the dove was a symbol of purity, peace and the Holy Spirit. St. Columba was one of the most influential of ...

, ''Squeaky Clean'' * 2024:

, ''The Cracked Mirror''.

Scottish Crime Debut of the Year winners

* 2019:

Claire Askew Claire Askew (born 10 March 1986) is a Scottish novelist and poet. Biography Claire Askew was born on 10 March 1986. She attended the University of Edinburgh, completing her undergraduate degree, postgraduate degree, and her PhD, before taking ...

, ''All the Hidden Truths'' * 2020:

Deborah Masson According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (, ''Dəḇōrā'') was a prophetess of Judaism, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, and the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Many scholars contend that the phrase, "a woman of Lap ...

, ''Hold Your Tongue'' * 2021:

Robbie Morrison Robbie Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer known for his work in the weekly anthology '' 2000 AD'', where he co-created the long-running serial '' Nikolai Dante'' with artist Simon Fraser. Career Morrison began his career in '' 2000 ADs ...

, ''Edge of the Grave'' * 2022:

Tariq Ashkanani Tariq () is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ibn Ziyad, a ...

, ''Welcome to Cooper'' * 2023: Kate Foster, ''The Maiden'' * 2024:

Allan Gaw Allan may refer to: People * Allan (given name), a list of people and characters with this given name * Allan (surname), a list of people and characters with this surname * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian fo ...

, ''The Silent House of Sleep''.

Pitch Perfect winners

* 2012: Joseph Knox * 2013: Alex Cox * 2014: Margaret Stewart * 2015: Matt Wesolowski * 2016: Alison Belsham * 2017: Mark Wightman * 2018: C O Vollmer ( David Bishop) * 2019: Suzy Aspley * 2020: Kate Foster * 2021: Kris Haddow * 2022: Joel Rakos * 2023: Shane McGinley * 2024: Alys Cummings

References

External links

* {{authority control Literary festivals in Scotland Crime fiction 2012 establishments in Scotland