Reception will take place  in the splendour of the 600-year-old Church of the Holy Rude with festival guests welcomed in style with a glitzy drinks reception before Bloody Scotland’s  now iconic torchlit procession through Stirling’s historic old town to the Albert Halls. Rub shoulders with your favourite authors, enjoy a glass of something interesting, and get in the mood for the weekend ahead. Then join the massed ranks assembled on the esplanade of Stirling Castle in preparation for a joyous march through the winding streets, flaming torch in hand, following the pipes and drums of the Stirling and District Schools Pipe Band. Who will follow 2022 winner Alan Parks as the recipient of the most coveted prize in Scottish crime writing? This year’s longlisted authors for the award are S.G. Maclean, Craig Russell, Robbie Morrison, Denise Mina, D.V. Bishop, Callum McSorley, Kate Foster, Sir Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Douglas Skelton, Mark Leggatt, and Heather Darwent. The ceremony will also see the presentation of the Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel of the Year sponsored by The Glencairn Glass. The five shortlisted authors are Fulton Ross, Heather Darwent, Kate Foster, Callum McSorley and Heather Critchlow.  Book tickets

Join us in the splendour of the 600-year-old Church of the Holy Rude as we welcome festival guests in style with a glitzy drinks reception before our now iconic torchlit procession through Stirling’s historic old town to the Albert Halls.  Critchlow.