BLOODY SCOTLAND AWARDS 2026

Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival announced the winner of two crime fiction prizes Friday night. Yes, I said winner, not winners. What an upset. 

A Bad, Bad Place (Bantam) by debut author Frances Crawford won both the 2026 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the McIlvanney Prize for 'best Scottish Crime book of the year. Wowza!!

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2026 McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Novel of the Year
A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford  (Bantam) 

Other Shortlisted novels:

The Hollow Boys, by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)

138 Main Street, by Gavin Bell (Simon & Schuster UK)

The Diary of Lies, by Philip Miller (Polygon)

The Vanishing Place, by Zoë Rankin (Viper)

2026 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize Winner

A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Bantam)

Other Shortlisted novels:

Original Sins, by Linda Duncan McLaughlin (Into Books)

We Know What You Did, by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)

The Vanishing Place, by Zoë Rankin (Viper)

Liar Thief, by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)