Best-selling authors including Martina Cole, Ian Rankin and Linwood Barclay will be among those taking part in a crime-writing festival this autumn, organisers have announced.
The Bloody Scotland festival will feature novelists from around the world as well as some of the biggest names on the British crime-writing scene.
Val McDermid, Lindsey Davis, Denise Mina and Ann Cleeves, creator of the Shetland series featuring detective Jimmy Perez, which was adapted for the BBC, are among the UK writers appearing.
Swedish crime writer Arne Dahl and South African-based novelist Belinda Bauer will also take part while Linwood Barclay will travel from Canada to close the event.
The festival, which runs from September 11 to 13 in Stirling, will also celebrate Agatha Christie’s 125th anniversary.
Festival manager Dom Hastings said: “I think we’ve put together a really strong programme this year.
“We’re delighted to have so many major, internationally successful names visiting Bloody Scotland.
“The breadth of writers in this programme shows what a diverse genre crime writing is – there really is something for everybody.
“This festival is created for people who are passionate about crime writing, and I think that’s something to be celebrated – it’s an open, accessible weekend and, above everything else, it’s a lot of serious fun.”
An event to celebrate Agatha Christie’s anniversary will look at her obsession with poisons.
Dr Kathryn Harkup, author of the book A is for Arsenic, and Christie expert Ragnar Jonasson, who has been the writer’s Icelandic translator since he was seventeen, will discuss the art of chemistry she used to kill her “victims”.
In another science-themed event, Val McDermid and Lin Anderson will discuss the science of forensic evidence.
The festival will also feature several events that do not quite conform to the standard book festival template such as a Scotland v England all-crime-writers football match, which returns following its success last year.
Team captain Ian Rankin and strikers Chris Brookmyre and Doug Johnstone have already confirmed for the Scotland squad.
Whose Crime Is It Anyway? will see comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli and a live audience force authors Caro Ramsay, Kevin Wignall and Brookmyre to improvise the plot of a novel live onstage.
In another event, Scottish crime writers including William McIlvanney, Doug Johnstone, Craig Robertson and Neil Broadfoot will look at what make Glasgow and Edinburgh such distinctive settings for noir fiction while a special true crime event will see Tom Wood, one of the leading officers in Edinburgh’s World’s End Murders case, in conversation with journalist Bob Smyth, who covered the case extensively.
Jenny Niven, Creative Scotland portfolio manager for literature, publishing and languages, said: “Bloody Scotland is going from strength to strength and this year’s programme definitely looks set to continue that trend.
“With a host of crime fiction greats, as well as a splendidly eclectic programme, the festival presents a wonderful opportunity for readers and audiences who are keen to indulge their (fictional) criminal side … Creative Scotland is delighted to support the festival and wish the team all the best for a successful launch.”
Paul Bush OBE, director of events at VisitScotland, said: “Scotland is the perfect stage for cultural events and we are proud to be supporting Bloody Scotland again this year.
“The programme for 2015 is as strong as ever, showcasing the country’s top literary talent alongside some of the best international authors on the crime-writing scene.”
Tickets for the festival are on sale now.