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

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) 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 me ...

, Scotland. It was founded in 2012 by Tartan Noir writers

Lin Anderson Lin (Linda) Anderson (born in Greenock, Scotland) is a Tartan Noir crime novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod. the Rhona MacLeod books are being developed for ITV. Life and career An ...

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 (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

and

Stirling Council Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) 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, ...

. 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 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 three essen ...

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

William McIlvanney William 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 ''Laidlaw'', ' ...

(1936-2015), who has been called "the Godfather of Tartan Noir"), and, since 2019, the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year.

McIlvanney Prize winners

* 2012:

Charles Cumming Charles Cumming (born 1971) is a British writer of spy fiction. 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 Ludgrove School (1979 ...

, ''A Foreign Country'' * 2013: Malcolm Mackay, ''How A Gunman Says Goodbye'' * 2014:

Peter May Peter May may refer to: *Peter W. May, American businessman *Peter May (cricketer) (1929–1994), English Test cricketer *Peter May (writer) Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. H ...

, ''Entry Island'' * 2015: Craig Russell, ''The Ghosts of Altona'' * 2016: Chris Brookmyre, ''Black Widow'' * 2017:

Denise Mina Denise Mina (born 21 August 1966) is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the ''Garnethill'' trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of T ...

, ''The Long Drop'' * 2018:

Liam McIlvanney Liam McIlvanney is a Scottish-born crime fiction writer and academic at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and the inaugural holder of the Stuart Chair in Scottish studies at Otago. He is the son of William McIlvanney. Works Fiction *''All t ...

(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, columnist and occasional broadcaster. Born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine ...

, ''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) * 2020: Francine Toon, ''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''

Scottish Crime Debut of the Year winners

* 2019: Claire Askew, ''All the Hidden Truths'' * 2020: Deborah Masson, ''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, ''Welcome to Cooper''

References

External links

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