Identity of mystery writing duo who sparked nine-way auction to be revealed at Scottish crime writing festival
The identity of Evelyn Clarke has so far been kept a secret
The identity of a mystery writing duo whose first novel sparked a nine-way auction between major publishers is to be revealed at a Scottish crime writing festival.
Evelyn Clarke, a pseudonym for a pair of authors behind much-anticipated novel The Ending Writes Itself, set on a Scottish island, is to be unmasked on the opening night of Bloody Scotland later this month.
One of the authors is understood to be a New York Times bestselling author “many times over”, while both are said to have been writing books for over a decade.
Publisher HarperCollins, which won a nine-way auction to acquire the book, has described The Ending Writes Itself as “the biggest book of 2026”.
The story follows six authors on a private island located in Scotland with 72 hours to write the ending of a book by the late Arthur Fletch, a bestselling author.
The identity of the authors - which has caused speculation on social media, with Richard Osman, Harry Styles, Marian Keyes, J K Rowling and singer Cher, being touted as possible writers - will be revealed at the Crime in the Spotlight event at Bloody Scotland on Friday, 12 September.
The event gives crime writers the chance to read out a short sample of their work before the “headline act” of the night, which is this year Sir Ian Rankin.
A spokeswoman for Bloody Scotland said: “This year there is a huge buzz around Evelyn Clarke, a mysterious well-known duo writing their first crime novel - The Ending Writes Itself - under a pseudonym. Their identity will be revealed when they take to the stage for Crime in the Spotlight before Sir Ian Rankin’s event on the opening night.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.