Novel 'full of Glasgow wit and deep humanity' is first-ever double winner of Bloody Scotland awards

Frances Crawford, 63, who started writing later in life, has scooped both prizes for A Bad, Bad Place at the crime writing event in Stirling.

This year was the first Bloody Scotland had an all-woman shortlist for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the first year four of those women made it onto the longlist for the McIlvanney Prize, which has previously been won by the likes of Christopher Brookmyre and Denise Mina.

The presentation of both prizes took place in the Church of the Holy Rude on Friday evening before a grand procession led by guest programmer Mina to her event with Lee Child at The Albert Halls.

Mina said: “Frances Crawford’s A Bad Bad Place is a novel of profound depth and scope. Insightful, harrowing and very funny, it deals with the reality of violent crime and its impact on many victims. This is a spectacular debut from a wonderful new voice. She is the very first double winner and it could not be more deserved.”

A Bad, Bad Place was acquired by Transworld in a ten publisher auction, while Crawford also won the Theakston’s McDermid Debut Prize at Harrogate.

Other shortlisted authors for the debut prize included screenwriter Linda Duncan McLaughlin with her book Original Sins, as well as former Pitch Perfect participant May Rinaldi, with her psychological thriller Liar Thief.

Journalist Kirsty Lockwood, from Glasgow, was also shortlisted with We Know What You Did, while Zoe Rankin, who grew up in Scotland, was inspired by her love of hiking in New Zealand, where she now lives, to write The Vanishing Place.

The other McIlvanney Prize finalists for this year were last year’s winner Tariq Ashkanani, Philip Miller, Zoe Rankin and Gavin Bell.

Alex Gray, Bloody Scotland co-founder, author and chair of the Debut Prize judges, said: “A Bad, Bad Place captured my heart from the first mention of Janey’s dog, Sid Vicious. From then on, the Glasgow patter and the different characters wound around me like a familiar…though not so comfy… blanket. Beautifully written, thoughtfully perceived from a child’s perspective, this is one novel that will remain with me for a long time to come.”

McIlvanney Prize judge, author and broadcaster, Sally Magnusson, said: “This is a novel full of Glasgow wit and deep humanity. Unpacking a harrowing crime through the impressions of a grandmother and a child is gloriously original.

“The world we encounter through their eyes is scary, unfair, misogynistic, tragic - and wonderfully funny. The cost of murder is movingly evoked in a way that stays with you long after the book is closed.”

Previously known as the Scottish Crime Book of the Year, the award was renamed The McIlvanney Prize in memory of William McIlvanney, known as the “godfather of Tartan Noir”, in 2016. Previous winners have included his son, Liam McIlvanney for his book, The Quaker, in 2018.