Five writers including Frankie Boyle named on the first crime book shortlist for the Debut Prize from Bloody Scotland
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The shortlist for the 2022 Bloody Scotland crime writing Debut Prize features two women and three men.
In a David and Goliath moment the giant that is Amazon is battling Into Books, an indie publisher so small they haven’t yet published enough books to qualify for membership of Publishing Scotland.
The shortlist is:
Tariq Ashkanani, Welcome To Cooper (Thomas & Mercer, Amazon). A dark thriller set in small town America by an Edinburgh-based solicitor and podcaster.
Frankie Boyle, Meantime (John Murray). A picaresque detective story set against the backdrop of post referendum Scotland by one of Britain’s best-known comedians and writers.
Amanda Mitchison, The Wolf Hunters (Fledgling Press). Set in a brutal, chaotic Scotland of the near future. The author is an award-winning journalist and author of several children’s books.
George Paterson, The Girl, The Crow, The Writer and The Fighter (Into Books). An epistolary tale (written in letters) of murder and chicanery which spans continents and lifetime by a writer, DJ and musician.
Sarah Smith, Hear No Evil (Two Roads). Based on a true case from Scottish legal history about a young Deaf woman accused of murder. Smith is a family history researcher and a creative writing tutor.
Arusa Qureshi, a former editor of The List, replaces Janice Forsyth as a judge for the Bloody Scotland Debut this year and she joins Kenny Tweeddale from sponsors, The Glencairn Glass, and Simon Lloyd from Waterstones.
The McIlvanney prize longlist (for crime book of the year) and the Bloody Scotland shortlist will be promoted in bookshops throughout Scotland between now and the presentation on Thursday, September 15.
For the first time the presentation will take place after the torchlight procession through Stirling in order that all shortlisted authors can take their place at the front.
The procession will conclude with a formal event at The Albert Halls where the two winners will be revealed and Janice Forsyth will interview them live on stage.
