Four Contenders for New Scottish Prize

Two months after announcing their longlist of contenders for the 2016 McIlvanney Prize—named in honor of the late novelist William McIlvanney, and previously known as the Scottish Crime Book of the Year award—organizers of this year’s Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival have revealed the four finalists for that commendation. They are:

• Black Widow, by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
• The Jump, by Doug Johnstone (Faber)
• Splinter the Silence, by Val McDermid (Little, Brown)
• Beloved Poison, by E.S. Thomson (Little, Brown)

Crime Watch blogger Craig Sisterson reports that the McIlvanney Prize ceremony will take place during opening events for Bloody Scotland (September 9-11) in the central Scottish town of Stirling. “His brother, Hugh McIlvanney OBE, will travel to Stirling to present the award …,” adds Sisterson. “The winner will receive £1,000 and all four finalists will be presented with a full set of William McIlvanney novels.”

READ MORE: “Five of the Best William McIlvanney Novels,”
by Chris McCall (The Scotsman).