Bloody Scotland

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is far from the only book festival in Scotland. There’s several around, including one in Glasgow appropriately titled Aye Write. This weekend is Bloody Scotland, which as the title might suggest celebrates crime fiction. Originally the brainchild of Alex Gray and Lin Anderson it’s now in its fourth year and takes place in various venues across Stirling. On top of the standard book festival event format there are a couple of social events as well. The first is the Bloody Scotland Crime Book of the Year dinner and the second is, naturally, a football match, Scottish crime writers against the English ones (apparently last year the final score was 13-1 to Scotland).

This year the program ranges from Lin Anderson with Val McDermid through to The Poisons of Agatha Christie to a session on writing for the screen. I will be going to a few events and I am also volunteering at one of the venues, which is the perfect way to make the ruined grass of Charlotte Square (where the Edinburgh book festival takes place) feel a little less sad.