Throughout the weekend some of the biggest names in crime writing including Ann Cleeves and Peter May will be appearing alongside other big names such as Richard Armitage, Irvine Welsh and the BBC’s Frank Gardner and Louise Minchin.
On the opening night the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year will be awarded in the ballroom of the Golden Lion Hotel and the winner will be photographed with the Stirling and District Schools Pipe Band before they lead a procession through the cobbled streets.
Bloody Scotland has always been praised for the non-traditional book events and this year we have The Wickedest Link, as eight crime writers battle not to be the first voted off our Friday night quiz which may bear a passing resemblance to a popular BBC quiz show.
On Saturday there will be Criminal Karaoke at the Coo. McIlvanney finalist, Abir Mukherjee cites his favourite memory of Bloody Scotland being when he sang And I Love You So by Perry Como at famous whisky bar, The Curly Coo.
Bloody Scotland prides itself on helping debut authors. From the opening night when the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize will be presented to the Scottish debut crime writer of the year to the final day when Pitch Perfect, in memory of journalist Rae Stewart, will give aspiring writers the chance to pitch their book idea to publishers and agents followed by a practical session on How to Get Published.
Come and join us!
* Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world, unique in that it was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers in 2012. Full information at bloodyscotland.com
The 2024 festival will begin at 3pm on Friday 13 September and the final event will conclude at 2.30pm on Sunday 15 September.
The festival takes place in various venues (including The Albert Halls, Trinity Church and The Golden Lion Hotel) in Stirling. The Golden Lion has a lift from the carpark at the rear of the building 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.
They are also grateful to their 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.