Up with Scottish Crime

In advance of this year’s Bloody Scotland conference (to be held in Stirling, Scotland, from September 8 to 10), its organizers have announced their longlist of nominees for the 2017 McIlvanney Prize. Formerly known as the Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award, this coveted annual accolade was renamed last year in honor of the late author William McIlvanney. The contenders are:

• None But the Dead, by Lin Anderson (Macmillan)
• Want You Gone, by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
• Cold Earth, by Ann Cleeves (Macmillan)
• Perfect Remains, by Helen Fields (HarperCollins)
• Out of Bounds, by Val McDermid (Little, Brown)
• Cross Purpose, by Claire MacLeary (Contraband)
• The Long Drop, by Denise Mina (Random House)
• Games People Play, by Owen Mullen (Bloodhound)
• Rather Be the Devil, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Murderabilia, by Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
• The Quiet Death of Thomas Quaid, by Craig Russell (Quercus)
• How to Kill Friends and Implicate People, by Jay Stringer
(Thomas & Mercer)

Opening night festivities at Bloody Scotland, on September 8, will include the presentation of the 2017 McIlvanney Prize. That commendation comes with a £1,000 cash reward, plus nationwide promotion at Waterstones book retailers.

Previous recipients of this award for “excellence in Scottish crime writing” are Chris Brookmyre (Black Widow), Craig Russell (The Ghosts of Altona), Peter May (Entry Island), Malcolm Mackay (How a Gunman Says Goodbye), and Charles Cumming (A Foreign Country).