Sir Ian Rankin on shortlist for major crime writing prize
The shortlist for the McIlvanney Prize has been revealed
He is one of the biggest names in Scottish crime fiction and the guest programmer of this year’s event.
Now author Sir Ian Rankin has been shortlisted for the top award at crime writing festival Bloody Scotland for his latest book featuring Inspector John Rebus, Midnight and Blue.
Former winner Denise Mina is nominated, for The Good Liar, as is Liam McIlvanney - the son of William McIlvanney after whom the award is named and who won the prize in 2018 - for his book The Good Father.
Callum McSorley, won the McIlvanney Prize with his debut in 2023, is now on the shortlist again with his second novel, Paperboy.
Meanwhile, the final member of the shortlist is a relative newcomer to the scene, the winner of the 2022 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, Tariq Ashkanani, with his book The Midnight King.
Last year’s prize was was won by Christopher Brookmyre with The Cracked Mirror.
Speaking on podcast Off The Shelf last week, Rankin acknowledged he had never won the prize before.
He said: “I have been longlisted before. But I’ve been very seldom shortlisted and never won.”
He added that he believed crime writing had become a more popular genre over the course of his career.
He said: ”When I got into this game, crime fiction was not seen as being a sexy genre. It was very much a child of a lesser god to literary fiction.
“Nowadays, I think writers of a generation or two ago who would have been attracted to literary fiction, now see no shame or embarrassment in writing commercial fiction; in writing crime novels, if those tell the kinds of stories they want to tell and explore the kinds of themes they want to explore.”
Tariq Ashkanani, Callum McSorley and Liam McIlvanney are published by independent publishers Pushkin Press, Viper (Profile) and Bonnier, whereas the other two shortlisted authors are published by Penguin Random House and Hachette.
This year the McIlvanney Prize is being judged by BBC Radio Scotland presenter, Nicola Meighan; arts journalist Arusa Qureshi and crime reviewer and regular contributor to the Bloody Scotland podcast, Gordon Mcghie.
Kirsty Nicholson, design and marketing manager at the awards sponsor, Glencairn Crystal, said: “Now in our sixth year of sponsoring these prestigious awards with the Glencairn Glass, the world’s official whisky glass, we continue to be incredibly impressed by the outstanding calibre of authors who take part.
“The remarkable creativity and talent showcased in the McIlvanney Award never fails to inspire us - congratulations and good luck to all the finalists.”
The shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize for 2025 includes Foday Mannah, Claire Wilson, David Goodman, Richard Strachan and Natalie Jayne Clark. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of the festival.
The presentation of both prizes will take place in the ballroom of The Golden Lion at 6pm on Friday, 12 September before the new Day of the Deid procession to Rankin’s event at The Albert Halls.
Bloody Scotland is Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, providing a showcase for the best crime writing from Scotland and the world. It was set up by a group of Scottish crime writers – Lin Anderson, Alex Gray, Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown - in 2012.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.