Guests announced for book event hosted by Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid

An event hosted by Nicola Sturgeon and Val McDermid celebrating their love of books will also include a bestselling thriller author and a comedian.

Val McDermid and Nicola Sturgeon’s In The Company of Books will take place on December 15 at 4pm at the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh.

Award-winning actor Alan Cumming and bestselling author Paula Hawkins will join as special guests.

Cumming is a Bafta, Emmy, Tony and Olivier award-winning actor who appeared in GoldenEye (1995) and CBS series The Good Wife (2010–16) and cited both women as “inspirations”.

Her subsequent thrillers, Into The Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were also bestsellers and her new novel, The Blue Hour, was published to acclaim earlier in the year.

Cumming said: “Val and Nicola are both huge inspirations to me, and I can’t wait to share a stage to talk about our shared passion for books.”

Hawkins said: “There are few things I like more than a trawl through someone’s bookshelves, so I’m looking forward to having a good chat with Val and Nicola about the books we’ve loved and been inspired by over the years.”