Shortlist announced for Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year

Crime writing festival Bloody Scotland has revealed the shortlist for its Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year, whose winner will be announced as part of this year’s festival in September. The nominees are an even split between three genre veterans – Chris Brookmyre’s Flesh Wounds (Little, Brown), Louise Welsh’s A Lovely Way to Burn (Hodder & Stoughton), Peter May’s Entry Island (Quercus) – and books by three debuting authors: Nicola White’s In the Rosary Garden (Cargo), Neil Broadfoot’s Falling Fast (Saraband) and Natalie Haynes’ The Amber Fury (Corvus). The winner will take home £1,000 and be promoted in Waterstones branches across the country.

Bloody Scotland’s festival manager, Dom Hastings, tells The Bookseller: ‘We are delighted to be working with Deanston again on what is increasingly one of the most prestigious prizes on the Scottish literary scene – and especially given that the lineup this year is so strong,’ adding ‘They are all fantastic books, which take a variety of approaches to the whodunnit structure. The strength and diversity of this year’s shortlist proves that Scottish crime writing is still burgeoning and pushing boundaries, whilst enthralling readers.’

The six finalists were culled from an initial longlist of 49 by a panel of readers, with the ultimate winner to be decided by three judges: journalist Magnus Linklater, Waterstones’ Scottish buyer Angie Crawford and Creative Scotland’s portfolio manager for literature Jennie Niven, whose decision will be revealed at Bloody Scotland on 20 September. It is the award’s third year, with Malcolm Mackay’s How a Gunman Says Goodbye winning in 2013 and Charles Cumming’s A Foreign Country taking the inaugural prize in 2012.

The Bloody Scotland festival this year runs in Stirling from 19-21 September, with confirmed speakers including Brookmyre, Ian Rankin, Kathy Reichs, John Gordon Sinclair, alongside panels on digital publishing and the role of women in crime fiction and ‘event experiences’: a Scotland vs. England crime writers football match, a medieval murder mystery at Stirling Castle and a play staged in a real courthouse.

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