Val McDermid's Blog, page 4
January 2, 2018
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Lights Up the Skies In 2018…
After the explosive opening to 2018 of the fireworks display above Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay continues with a specially commissioned story writ large in light on Edinburgh buildings.
Edinburgh kicked off the New Year with a nine-minute fireworks display above Edinburgh Castle. The “Midnight Moment” was choreographed to a specially commissioned soundscape created by Skye band Niteworks and sound designer and film composer Dan Jones in collaboration with fireworks experts Titanium.
A full capacity crowd of 75,000 were regaled by a huge range of fireworks including brand new ones called planets which have fizzy sherbet middles, while a drum solo in the middle was choreographed to showers of pink and gold arrows ricocheting into the night sky.
Concert in the Gardens headliner Rag’n’Bone Man led a rousing rendition of the traditional Auld Lang Syne.
Storm Dylan
In previous years high winds have forced the organisers to cancel the Hogmanay street party at the last minute. There were similar fears this year when Princes Street was temporarily closed to pedestrians earlier in the day after a part of a stage was blown over.
January 1, 2018
Val McDermid’s innovative new work to honour writing duo…
The author Val McDermid hopes to turn on “thousands” of new readers to the works of Dame Muriel Spark courtesy of an innovative multimedia project which shines a light on Scotland’s literary past.
A new short story by the veteran crime writer being staged as part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations features Spark, who was born in 1918, as a central character. The work, New Year’s Resurrection, focuses on the life and work of Susan Ferrier, a 19th century novelist from Edinburgh who was widely read in her day but has long been relegated to a footnote in Scottish literary history. McDermid’s specially commissioned story, the plot of which is a closely guarded secret, sees Ferrier approach Spark in an attempt to rebuff those critics who ignored women writers.
December 30, 2017
Val McDermid leads tributes to ‘pioneering’ author Sue Grafton…
29 December, 2017
Crime writer Val McDermid has paid tribute to “pioneering” author Sue Grafton, who has died aged 77.
According to a statement posted on Facebook by her daughter, Jamie Clark, Grafton died on Thursday following a two-year battle with cancer.
The US writer was best known for penning the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series of mystery novels and had reached Y Is For Yesterday.
McDermid, whose own thrillers famously include the tales of Dr Tony Hill, said she was “deeply saddened” to hear the news of her friend.
She posted on Twitter: “Deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sue Grafton.
“She was amazingly generous to me when I was starting out and remained a good and supportive pal. And Kinsey Millhone was one of the pioneering female PIs who showed the rest of us the way.”
Deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sue Grafton. She was amazingly generous to me when I was starting out and remained a good and supportive pal. And Kinsey Millhone was one of the pioneering female PIs who showed the rest of us the way
— Val McDermid (@valmcdermid) December 29, 2017
December 17, 2017
Leading Scots scientist pledges to leave her skeleton to students…
Karin Goodwin
SHE is one of the UK’s leading forensic scientists whose study of the human bones has led to the conviction of international war criminals, paedophiles and murderers.
But now Sue Black, director of the University of Dundee Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, has revealed that she plans to leave her own skeleton to help future scientists after her death, helping them learn how to unlock the secrets held within the human frame – and so she can “go on teaching forever”.
Speaking on the Radio 4 series We Need to Talk About Death – presented by veteran broadcaster Joan Bakewell – last week. she confirmed that she planned to ensure that her body was useful in every way possible after she died. She said she has made plans for her organs, if she dies young enough for them to be useful, or to donate her whole body – as well as her skeleton – if she lives to a ripe old age.
December 6, 2017
New Video!
Kendall & Cooper talk mysteries with Val McDermid…
(Published on 21 Nov 2017)
December 5, 2017
Rankin and McDermid urge halt to Scottish arts cuts…
Published December 4, 2017 by Natasha Onwuemezi
Leading Scottish writers including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Denise Mina have called on the Scottish government to halt potentially “devastating” cuts to arts and literature for “the good of everyone in Scotland”.
Funding for arts and culture is to be decided in a settlement between Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government later this month, and it is expected that significantly less funding and fewer opportunities will be available to develop arts and culture in Scotland.
Ahead of the budget, which will be announced on 14th December, writers have appealed to the government to increase funding to arts and literature to help produce and support writers who will encourage diversity, inclusion and literacy, as well as boost Scotland’s economy.
While the letter concedes there are “of course difficult budget decisions to make in times of austerity”, the authors urge the government to consider that the cost of supporting literature “only amounts to a tiny fraction of the overall money the government will spend”.
“When it comes to the arts and literature, for a modest investment from the government our work generates enormous financial and cultural dividends”, the letter said.
It continued: “Without support from the government, Scotland will surely damage one of its prize assets: its world-renowned literary heritage. What an irony we could be facing: a country which trumpets its First Minister’s Reading Challenge on the one hand, but which cuts funding to new writers on the other.”
December 2, 2017
Honey and hacorns and thistles: Author Stuart MacBride on his ‘favourite book of all time’…
Author: Stuart MacBride, 01 December 2017
Book Week Scotland runs until the 3rd December 2017.
This year the theme is Nourish.
To celebrate, Scots crime writer Stuart MacBride has written a piece on his favourite book… and it might surprise you!
IT should come as no surprise to anyone that books are by far the healthiest thing you can consume.
They don’t make you fat, have no history of causing heart disease, cancer, or type two diabetes, and they genuinely make you attractive to the opposite sex. That’s because they don’t just nourish our bodies, they nourish our souls.
New books, old books, thin books, fat books, novellas and doorstops, they’re all good for us. They build understanding and empathy and character. Books! Books! Books!
But then I would say that, wouldn’t I? I make my living writing the things, so I’m hardly going to tell people they’re evil sinful things. Even if they were (which they’re not).
November 28, 2017
Scots face ‘flood of books’ during Book Week Scotland…
HEADING outdoors? Don’t forget your wellies and umbrella – a “book flood” is on the way.
Publishing bosses aim to convince Scots to create a deluge of literature that will flow through the festive season.
Organisers of Book Week Scotland want to encourage the public to practice the Icelandic tradition of Jolbokaflod – which roughly translates as “Christmas book flood” – and during which paperbacks are swapped on Christmas Eve and the night spent reading.
The tradition is so popular that most book sales in the country occur between September and December. Now people in Scotland are urged to take part in their own ScotBookFlood to celebrate links with Nordic countries and encourage the sharing of literature as part of Book Week Scotland.
November 27, 2017
To celebrate the start of Book Week, we ask Scotland’s big names for their best reads…
FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week revealed her favourite book of the year – The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by Irish author John Boyne.
She said the novel, about an adopted boy growing up in 1940s Ireland, was more than just the story of one man.
“The novel begins in 1945, and ends just as Ireland votes to legalise gay marriage – a country making peace with its past,” she said.
“It is a beautifully written epic and will make you laugh and cry in equal measure.”
Over the past decade we’ve seen Kindle devices compete with the old-fashioned physical book.
But it’s not the only way our reading habits have changed, according to Waterstones.
Angie Crawford is the Scottish buying manager for the giant book retailer.
“Over the last decade, we’ve seen different trends – ten years ago misery memoirs were all the rage, we loved a good celeb biography and football memoir,” she explained.
“Now these may take more of a back seat as we curl up with crime fiction.
“In the Scottish market we have seen the growth of detective fiction with big names such as Ian Rankin, Peter May and Val McDermid.”
And although electronic devices were widely predicted to be the death knell for paper books, Angie reckons physical copies will continue to sell.
“Electronic reading has its place and can be a convenience for readers packing for their summer holidays but our infatuation with e-reading has plateaued,” said Angie. “Nothing can beat getting your physical book signed by the author. Our experience is that readers use a combination of both but the physical book wins!”
Tomorrow is the start of Book Week Scotland and to mark it we asked writers and celebrities to tell us their favourite novels.
November 23, 2017
Val shortlisted for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2018
“There’s nothing more dramatic than the end of the world as we know it”
Vals radio play ‘Resistance’ has been selected as contender for BBC Audio Drama Awards 2018
With The finalists being announced on Thursday 4 January 2018, the play centered around the dramatic consequences of anti-microbial resistance to antibiotics. The 3 part play was included in Radio Four’s ‘Dangerous Visions’ series. Sadly the play is not currently available on BBC iPlayer, but you can hear Val talking about the play here.
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