Wednesday 30 June 2010

Fancy A Scottish Crime Festival?

Several reviews of Scottish authors/books today. First of all, Shirley McKay's FATE AND FORTUNE, one of Christopher Brookmyre's A SNOWBALL IN HELL which concludes that it might be style over substance but it's hard to dislike, and a very positive review of Alice Thompson's THE EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE.

Time Out's Edinburgh Festival Guide has an interview with Ian Rankin. The Guide can be downloaded here. And, talking of festivals, here's more on the new Unbound strand at the Edinburgh Book Festival. In addition, Christopher Brookmyre will be appearing at the SeptembAyr festival. And I've mentioned this before but just a reminder that my lovely wee son, and the apple of his granny's eye, Chris Ewan will be appearing at the Lowdham Book Festival tomorrow.

And I have it on good authority that the Wigtown Book Festival will have a big crime fiction element, which is great news - a Scottish crime fiction convention sounds great. It's due to be held at the end of September/beginning of October 2011. So, dear reader, who would you like to see there?

Crimewatch has an interview with Stuart MacBride.

Paul Johnston's latest Matt Wells book - MAPS OF HELL - is due out in the UK in August. I do wish he'd bring back near-future Edinburgh PI Quintilian Dalrymple - I loved that series.

The 'psychic painting' owned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that I mentioned in an earlier post fetches AU$72,000.

Alexander McCall Smith and Tilda Swinton have been asked to inspire pupils.

And, finally, joyriding art installation is a target for thieves and vandals.

5 comments:

  1. Great links. And the PI Quintilian Dalrymple series sounds intriguing!

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  2. As someone who goes to the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate most years I love the idea of a Scottish crime fiction convention! If a little place like Hexham, which I visited for the first time this year, can have an entire day of its book festival devoted to crime (chaired by Val McDermid) there’s no reason why Wigtown wouldn’t be able to pull in enough of the big names to make it successful.
    My first visit to your blog – I liked what I read and will be back.

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  3. Belle - thank you! And Paul Johnston's Quint is an excellent character - maverick, quirky, funny - and Edinburgh in the near future is a fascinating setting - it's an alternate universe where the Edinburgh Festival, and the tourist, is king. Edinburgh is an independent state where jobs and housing is guaranteed, and you have a weekly sex session provided by the government :o) Computers, cars, smoking, phones, popular music, TVs are all banned for normal citizens. It's a really good series.

    Janet - I agree - I think it will be a success and I'm really looking forward to it. Thank you for visiting and your kind words - I hope you come back often!

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  4. Paul Johnston here - many thanks for kind words about Quitn series. The books are being republished in coming years - who knows? Maybe that might prompt enough interest for a sixth...

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