The SWH! Bloody Scotland Podcasts: The Scottish Crime Debut Prize Shortlist 2026...
- Alistair Braidwood
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
For the first of our Bloody Scotland podcasts - Scotland's International Crime Writing Festival - Ali spoke to the five shortlisted authors for this year's Scottish Crime Debut of the Year. They include May Rinaldi - Liar Thief, Zoë Rankin - The Vanishing Place, Linda Duncan McLaughlin - Original Sins, Frances Crawford - A Bad, Bad Place, and Kirsty Lockwood - We Know What You Did.
They each give a brief summary of their shortlisted novels before the chat turns to the inspirations behind each book, different ways to approach writing a debut, the welcoming world of the crime fiction community, what it means to be shortlisted, the importance of festivals such as Bloody Scotland, and why being part of the first all-female shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize is so significant and exciting.
There is also a fascinating chat about the ups and downs on their roads to getting published, learning from rejections, and many more tips on, and tales about, becoming a published writer.
It's a podcast which will be of interest to readers, writers, and book lovers of all kinds, but especially if crime is your thing.
BREAKING NEWS*** The longlist for this year's McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year has been announced, and Frances, Kirsty, Zoe, and May are all included. You'll find the full list here - McIlvanney Prize Longlist 2026
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In the meantime you can always check out our back catalogue of over 430 interviews with some of the most interesting names in Scottish culture.
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