Crime writer shortlisted for prize named after his father

Novelist Liam McIlvanney is among those in the running for a crime writing prize named in memory of his father.

Alan Parks, Ambrose Parry and Louise Welsh are also on the shortlist for The McIlvanney Prize 2022.

The accolade is named in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the godfather of tartan noir.

The winner will be announced in Stirling on September 15 at the Bloody Scotland festival, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary year.

This year’s judges are Ayo Onatade, winner of the CWA Red Herring Award and freelance crime fiction critic, Ewan Wilson, crime fiction buyer from Waterstones Glasgow, and Jacky Collins, otherwise known as the podcaster Dr Noir and programmer of Newcastle Noir.

The judges praised the “masterful rendering of a richly layered plot” in McIlvanney’s book The Heretic, while they described Ambrose Parry’s work A Corruption of Blood as “a real slow burner of a novel which is a marvellous tale of murder and deception in Victorian Edinburgh.”

They admired the “raw, tight prose” of The Second Cut by Louise Welsh which they said “delivers an edgy glimpse into the underbelly of 21st century Glasgow”.

Alan Parks is shortlisted for his book May God Forgive which judges said “paints a dark and mesmerising portrait of 1970s Glasgow”.

The McIlvanney Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing.

Liam McIlvanney won the award in 2018 while other previous winners include Craig Russell, Denise Mina, Chris Brookmyre and Peter May.