Highland forensic expert stars in online crime festival
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INTERNATIONALLY recognised forensic scientist Professor Sue Black is to join some of the crime-writing world's biggest names as the nation's festival of murderous literature, Bloody Scotland, goes online next month.
The former Inverness Royal Academy pupil, who was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2016 for services to forensic anthropology, will join bestselling novelists including Jack Reacher creator Lee Child, Val McDermid, Jeffrey Deaver, Jo Nesbo and Ian Rankin on the bill of the annual event.
Professor Black, who is a bestselling author in her own right following the success of her non-fiction book All That Remains, will be talking about her second book,Written in Bone, revealing the secrets each part of the body can reveal to her and her fellow anthropologists.
Other authors with north connections taking part in Bloody Scotland include festival co-founder Lin Anderson from Carrbridge, Tain-based Helen Sedgwick, author and publisher Moira Forsyth and former north residents Christopher Brookmyre and Denise Mina.
Island crime will also get a mention when Ann Cleeves, the author behind television's Shetland and Vera, is in conversation with Peter May, author of the acclaimed Lewis trilogy.
Other guests include Mark Billingham, who was to have joined resident writer Ian Rankin at this year's Cromarty Crime & Thrillers Weekend, Canada's Linwood Barclay, Ireland's John Connolly and DJ turned author Simon Mayo.
Bloody Scotland usually takes place in Stirling every September, but with the physical event one of the many casualties of this year's Covid-19 crisis, festival director Bob McDevitt said the move online provided an opportunity to try something a bit different.
"I'm particularly pleased with the diverse range of voices appearing on the panels from all over the world," he said.
"The festival has a truly epic scale from our biggest ever panel featuring no less than 27 authors to a session that will bring five continents online together. We all know the festival won't feel quite the same this year, but we have all the makings of a classic Bloody Scotland year nonetheless!'
Tickets will be completely free and the digital format will extend the festival to crime fiction fans who would not normally be able to travel to Stirling.
For full information on this year's programme and details of how to register for events, visit www.bloodyscotland.com
