Bloody Scotland Reveals the Longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize
Sponsored by The Glencairn Glass
Winner to be presented on Friday 18 September 2026 on the opening night of the festival.
Bloody Scotland today reveals the longlist for the 2026 McIlvanney Prize which will be judged by author and broadcaster, Sally Magnusson, radio and podcast presenter, Nicola Meighan and crime blogger, Gordon McGhie.
The 2026 longlist includes last year’s winner, Tariq Ashkanani and last year’s debut winner David Goodman. It also includes two other former McIlvanney Prize winners, Chris Brookmyre and Callum McSorley and FOUR of the five women crime writers who have been shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2026:
The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)
138 Main Street by Gavin Bell (S&S)
Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Bantam) UNKNOWN by Heather Critchlow (Canelo Crime)
Solitary Agents by David Goodman (Headline)
We Know What You Did by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)
Rat Race by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo)
The Diary of Lies by Philip Miller (Polygon)
The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill)
The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin (Viper)
Liar Thief by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)
“I’ve been hugely enjoying reading my way through the books that were submitted for the prizes this year and I’m excited to see that some of my favourites have made the longlist. It’s also great to see smaller independent publishers holding their own against the big guns of London.”
The McIlvanney longlist and the Bloody Scotland shortlist will be promoted in bookshops throughout Scotland in the period between the announcement and the presentation on Friday 18 September. The winner will be announced in the Church of the Holy Rude on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival and interviewed on stage by BBC presenter, Bryan Burnett. They will then lead a procession to the Albert Halls alongside guest programmer, Denise Mina and the winner of the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.
Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn - sponsors of The McIlvanney Prize with the Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, said:
Quite Ugly One Evening by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Bantam) UNKNOWN by Heather Critchlow (Canelo Crime)
Solitary Agents by David Goodman (Headline)
We Know What You Did by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)
Rat Race by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo)
The Diary of Lies by Philip Miller (Polygon)
The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill)
The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin (Viper)
Liar Thief by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)
The list features eight authors who have been or are currently shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, indicative of the important role the Debut Prize plays in developing the careers of new Scottish writers. The longlist is rounded out by Abir Mukherjee, winner of last year’s British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year, the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the 2026 CWA Dagger in the Library; Heather Critchlow on the list for the second year in a row; Gavin Bell writing under his own name having previously been longlisted as Mason Cross and Philip Miller who previously won a major crime writing award in the US but has never appeared on the McIlvanney longlist.
Festival Director Bob McDevitt said:“I’ve been hugely enjoying reading my way through the books that were submitted for the prizes this year and I’m excited to see that some of my favourites have made the longlist. It’s also great to see smaller independent publishers holding their own against the big guns of London.”
The McIlvanney longlist and the Bloody Scotland shortlist will be promoted in bookshops throughout Scotland in the period between the announcement and the presentation on Friday 18 September. The winner will be announced in the Church of the Holy Rude on the opening night of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival and interviewed on stage by BBC presenter, Bryan Burnett. They will then lead a procession to the Albert Halls alongside guest programmer, Denise Mina and the winner of the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.
Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn - sponsors of The McIlvanney Prize with the Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, said:
“It’s fantastic to see four of the five women shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize also recognised on this year’s McIlvanney Prize longlist alongside some of the biggest names in crime fiction. Congratulations to all the authors who have made the longlist - it’s a tremendous achievement and we look forward to celebrating this year’s winner."
I will endeavour to review all of the books on the longlist over the next couple of months in the run up to the festival. In fact, the review (and a Q&A with the author) for 138 Main Street by Gavin Bell went up on the blog on Monday, before I knew the book was longlisted, so do check that out.
I will endeavour to review all of the books on the longlist over the next couple of months in the run up to the festival. In fact, the review (and a Q&A with the author) for 138 Main Street by Gavin Bell went up on the blog on Monday, before I knew the book was longlisted, so do check that out.
