Following hot on the heels of Ann Cleeves and Clio Gray…fellow writer, international marketeer, lover of all things crime fiction and Co-Founder of the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival (does he ever sleep?) Gordon Brown has taken the brave step of writing a brand new and exclusive 12-part short crime story sure to get [...]

SHORT STORY GUIDE LINES Essentially, when your write a short story, you are creating a tiny universe and inviting other people to spend ten minutes of their life inside it, so make it count. Make your reader (our Competition Judges in this case) want to return to that universe again and again. As someone who [...]

As part of our sponsorship of the Bloody Scotland Short Story Writing Competition, we’re absolutely delighted to introduce the first in a series of guest posts from leading Scottish Authors. Clio Gray, winner of the Scotsman/Orange 2006 Award, has kindly allowed us to use her story ‘Always Keep Your Shovel Sharp’, which was featured in [...]

… As you map out your route to and from the most interesting places, you might wonder whether those who have travelled the terrain before you asked themselves the same question. Speaking on behalf of your fellow travellers, Mr Rankin confesses: “We have real fear of that blank first page, that elusive killer opening sentence [...]

To mark the launch of the Bloody Scotland Glengoyne Whisky Short Story Writing Competition as part of the inaugural Bloody Scotland crime writing festival, we’re delighted to unveil the first of a three-part guide to short story writing by Len Wanner, crime fiction uber-expert and editor of the literary journal The Crime of it All. [...]