SHORTLIST REVEALED FOR THE BLOODY SCOTLAND DEBUT PRIZE 2024

sponsored by The Glencairn Glass Winner to be presented on Friday 13 September 2024 Launched in 2019, The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize celebrates its 5th Anniversary this year. Previous winners include Claire Askew (2019), Deborah Masson (2020), Robbie Morrison (2021), Tariq Ashkanani (2022) and Kate Foster (2023) who has gone on to be longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2024 and shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger 2024. The full shortlist for the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize is: Suzy Aspley with Crow Moon (Orenda). Suzy was born in South Shields and grew up in Tyne and Wear but she has lived near Aberfoyle in Stirlingshire for the past two decades. A regular attendee of the festival she won Pitch Perfect in 2019 with the idea that became Crow Moon. Daniel Aubrey with Dark Island (Harper North). Daniel grew up in Cheshire but now lives in Moffat in Dumfriesshire. He first attended Bloody Scotland in 2022 when his friend, Sarah Smith, was shortlisted for the debut award and his own debut was just going out on submission. He was back in 2023 when his partner, Danielle Devlin, was selected for ‘Crime in the Spotlight’. Allan Gaw with The Silent House of Sleep (SA Press). A medical pathologist by training Allan was a runner up in the 2023 Glencairn Glass / Bloody Scotland short crime story competition and his story – The Last Tram to Gorbals Cross - went on to be published in Scottish Field magazine in April 2023. Doug Sinclair with Blood Runs Deep (Storm Publishing). Born in Edinburgh and now living in Armadale, Doug first visited Bloody Scotland in 2014 to attend the Masterclass.  He has attended every year since and credits the encouragement of the friends and authors he’s met at the festival with the reason he finished the book, signed with an agent and secured a three-book deal.  Martin Stewart with Double Proof (Polygon). A former English teacher and middle grade author, Martin supported the festival in 2017 by delivering schools events in Balfron and Stirling. He also made his debut in goals for the Scotland v England football match. He has represented Scotland twice since and is proud that all were Scottish victories. He lives in South Ayrshire. The 2023 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize will be judged by BBC Scotland’s Arts correspondent, Pauline McLean, New Product Development Manager from sponsors Glencairn Crystal, Kenny Tweeddale and Journalist and author and 2022 Debut Prize winner, Tariq Ashkanani. On the opening day of the festival, Friday 13 September, the shortlisted debut authors will appear on a Debut Prize panel at Central Library in Stirling chaired by BBC Scotland’s Arts correspondent Pauline McLean.  The presentation of both prizes will take place in the ballroom of The Golden Lion Hotel at 5.45pm washed down with Bloody Scotland cocktails courtesy of Stirling Distillery. The winners will be interviewed on stage by TV and radio presenter Bryan Burnett after which they will join a procession led by the Stirling Schools Pipe Band to the first event of the evening at The Albert Halls.

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