Over
the weekend of 19-21 September, Stirling played host for the third time to a
gathering of writers and readers of crime fiction. For three days of (almost)
uninterrupted sunshine, the streets, hotels and other venues in and near the
city buzzed with people intent on being part of activities centred on crime –
but they all stayed within the law.
This
was Bloody Scotland 2014.
Alex Gray and Sophie Hannah
On
offer was a range of possibilities: a day-long masterclass on crime writing;
talks/interviews by over 50 crime authors from near and far; a cinema
presentation in the Old Town Hall; A court room drama in Stirling Sheriff
Court; Medieval Murder in Stirling Castle and the Deanston Scottish Crime Book
of the Year Dinner.
It
was difficult to choose from such a list, but I opted for:
MC
Beaton chaired by Cat McPherson
The
Female in Crime Fiction
Peter
May chaired by our own Alanna Knight
Sophie
Hannah chaired by our own Alex Gray
Deanston
Scottish Crime Book of the Year Dinner, where Peter May’s book Entry Island claimed the prize.
In
order to grasp the sheer ambition of the programme, you might want to have a
look at the Bloody Scotland website.
Bill
(Daly) was there, Myra (Duffy) came for the day on Saturday, and I discovered
that Morag (Moffat) had also attended for the weekend, although we missed each
other in the crowds.
I
enjoyed every minute of my weekend. The talks were splendid and on Saturday
evening, I had the good fortune to be sitting beside MC Beaton, who proved to
be a lively and entertaining dinner companion.
My
plan will be to return next year to Bloody Scotland 2015!
Joan
Fleming
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