Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival which launched in 2012, takes place in the historic city of Stirling and has been described as one of ‘Stirling’s cultural crown jewels’.
The 13th festival which begins appropriately on Friday 13th has a stellar line-up of international crime writers and fun events including Friday 13th Fright Night, The Wickedest Link, Karaoke at the Coo and The True Crime Walking Tour. The opening reception at The Golden Lion Hotel will include the presentation of two major literary prizes – The McIlvanney Prize and The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize - with Bloody Scotland cocktails courtesy of Stirling Distillery and afterwards the Stirling & District Schools Pipe Band will lead a procession from the Golden Lion to the Albert Halls.
Last week Bloody Scotland revealed five headliners appearing at the festival in their inaugural ‘sneaky peek’ and today the rest of the programme has been revealed.
Elly Griffiths, Imran Mahmood, Frank Gardner, Chris Brookmyre, Janice Hallett, Peter James, Vanda Symon, Irvine Welsh, Tove Alsterdal, Ben Aaronovitch, AA Chaudhuri, Andrew Child, Louise Welsh, JD Kirk, Marisa Haetzman (aka Ambrose Parry), Abir Mukherjee, Mark Billingham, Hugo Rifkind and Erin Kelly are amongst those joining Richard Armitage, Ann Cleeves, Peter May, Louise Minchin and Ruth Ware in Stirling this September.
For a full list of all the authors appearing at the festival visit www.bloodyscotland.com/whats-on.
The festival will include the usual opportunities for aspiring crime writers. Pitch Perfect – which is free but ticketed at Central Library, this year offers a £1000 prize provided by Scottish communications agency Spey in memory of broadcast journalist and crime writer Rae Stewart. His widow, Vicki Young, BBC Deputy Political Editor will be on the panel alongside Natasha Harding, Publishing Director at Bookouture and Camilla Bolton, literary agent.
‘Crime in the Spotlight’ – sponsored by the Open University in Scotland - is where newly published authors can bid to read their work to the audience in the Albert Halls ahead of the more established names and will open for applications on 1 July 2024. Graeme Macrae Burnet was famously ‘in the spotlight’ for Sir Ian Rankin and went on to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Bloody Scotland is also introducing a new free but ticketed event at Central Library - How To Get Published. An experienced panel of industry experts including a commissioning editor, a literary agent and an author will offer advice and answer questions.
The 2024 festival will begin at 3pm on Friday 13 September with JD Kirk and Rachel Abbott in the Albert Halls and it will conclude at 1.30pm on Sunday 15 September with Chris Brookmyre and Stuart Turton on the main stage.
Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland said: ‘Alongside bringing a strong programme of internationally recognised crime writers to Stirling, Bloody Scotland continue their aims to both discover and nurture new voices and ensure a strong future for the genre. They not only platform unpublished authors and connect them to literary agents but allow emerging writers to share audiences with the bigger names. Bloody Scotland celebrates the strength and success of our crime writing and projects it to many loyal readers from Scotland and beyond.’
Bob McDevitt, Festival Director of Bloody Scotland said: ‘In what has been a turbulent year for festivals up and down the country, I'm very much looking forward to what I hope will be an absolutely classic Bloody Scotland weekend, filled with brilliant writers, topical panels, a hilarious quiz and some terrible singing - as long as Jason from Friday the 13th doesn’t make an appearance!’
Tickets for the whole programme go on sale at 1pm on Thursday 20 June. See www.bloodyscotland.com for more information.
The festival remains committed to bringing Bloody Scotland to the wider world and those who can’t make it to Stirling can choose to watch a curated selection of events online. A £50 digital pass will allow you to watch 15 events online over the weekend including the Opening Reception and Prize Ceremony or £5 each to watch individual events.
Background
The Bloody Scotland board is made up of crime writers Lin Anderson, Craig Robertson, Gordon Brown, Abir Mukherjee plus Muriel Robertson and Catriona Reynolds.
The festival takes place in various venues (including The Albert Halls, Trinity Church and the social hub of the festival, The Golden Lion Hotel) in Stirling. The Golden Lion has a wheelchair lift at the front and both the Albert Halls and Trinity Church are fully accessible. BSL interpretation is available on request.
A 10% discount is available to people residing in the Stirling Council area. This is available across all sales channels and you must give your address at the time of booking.
Free standby tickets are available on the day to the unemployed or those on low income.
Bloody Scotland receives vital funding from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, Stirling Council and Culture and Business Fund Scotland. We are also grateful to our many sponsors and supporters including The Glencairn Glass, H W Fisher, Waterstones, The Open University in Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates, Stirling Distillery and Go Forth Stirling along with a wide range of publishers.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot.
Media contacts
Press passes are available for any events which are not sold out. To arrange media accreditation please contact [email protected].
For further information and for interview requests please contact [email protected].