22/09/2026
CASE CLOSED... FOR NOW! 🔎📚
Well, the final clues have been gathered, the suspects have checked out, the last chapter has been turned, and Bloody Scotland 2026 has officially left the building.
As the Festival Hub, The Golden Lion Hotel has spent the past few days buzzing with bestselling authors, aspiring writers, publishers, journalists, festival supporters, volunteers, and crime fiction fans from across the world. From breakfast debates about murder mysteries to late-night discussions over a dram, every corner of the hotel has been alive with stories, laughter, friendship, and imagination.
This year's festival felt truly special. Stirling transformed into Scotland's crime-writing capital once again, welcoming literary stars including Lee Child, Richard Osman, Denise Mina, Tana French, Steve Cavanagh, Lucy Foley, Jane Harper, Abir Mukherjee, Alex Gray, and many more. We were privileged to see readers meet their heroes, writers inspire future authors, and complete strangers become friends over a shared love of a great story.
A huge congratulations to Frances Crawford, whose A Bad, Bad Place claimed both the McIlvanney Prize and the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.
To the Bloody Scotland Board, organisers, volunteers, sponsors, publishers, authors, media teams, and every single visitor who came to Stirling: thank you. What you've created over the last 15 years is far more than a literary festival. It's a community.
The impact reaches far beyond the festival halls too, supporting hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, taxis, and businesses across the city while showcasing Stirling on an international stage.
At The Golden Lion Hotel, we feel incredibly proud to play a small part in this remarkable story. We've loved every conversation, every event, every reunion and every new friendship formed along the way.
The case may be closed for 2026, but the evidence is overwhelming... Bloody Scotland remains one of the most special weekends in Scotland's cultural calendar.
Until next year... Here's to Bloody Scotland 2027. The dates are the 17-19th September.🍷📖🔍
What's On Stirling In Stirling - Powered by Go Forth BID Stirling Council Nicola Meighan
