Im Januar haben wir von der Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition berichtet, jetzt stehen die Gewinner fest, und wir wollen sie Ihnen natürlich nicht vorenthalten, ebensowenig wie die Links zu ihren Siegergeschichten.
Kurz rekapituriert, was die Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition eigentlich ist: Glencairn Glass schreibt jährlich einen Preis für die beste Krimi-Kurzgeschichte (nicht mehr als 2000 Wörter) aus. Als ersten Preis gibt es 1000 Pfund als Preis und die Veröffentlichung auf der Bloody Scotland Webseite. Außerdem wird man als Gast-Star beim Festival im September eingeladen. Für Platz 2 gibt es 500 Pfund.
Wer diese Preise womit gewonnen hat, und wo man die Kurzgeschichten lesen kann, erfahren Sie hier:
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Winner and runner-up announced in this year’s Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition
The Glencairn Glass, the official glass for whisky, has announced the winner and runner-up of its annual Crime Short Story Competition, held in partnership with the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.
Following another year of outstanding entries from aspiring and established crime writers around the world, Kathy Schilbach – also writing under the name Kate Finnemore – has been named the overall winner for her dark and disturbing story, Making Friends. Ross Alexander was selected as runner-up for his compelling story, Life Wasted.
Kathy receives the £1,000 first prize and a guest appearance at the Bloody Scotland Festival in September. Ross receives £500, and both winning stories will be published on the Bloody Scotland and Glencairn Glass (whiskyglass.com) websites.
Produced by the award-winning Scottish family glassware company Glencairn Crystal, the Glencairn Glass has celebrated and supported the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival since 2020 with its Glencairn Glass sponsorship of both the McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year and the Bloody Scotland Debut Crime Novel of the Year awards.
Winner: Making Friends by Kathy Schilbach
A disturbing tale about a mysterious and anxious woman who has a dark secret to keep.
Kathy Schilbach lived in France for over 30 years, where she taught English in a lycée in the small historic town of Chinon. She loves to read crime and historical novels and had always wanted to write. Retirement from teaching gave her the time and opportunity she needed – she now lives in West Sussex and under her pen name, Kate Finnemore, has had short stories and pocket novels published as well as achieving success in several writing competitions.
Kathy said:
“I’m absolutely thrilled that my story has been chosen as the winner of the Glencairn Glass Crime Story Competition. Winning this prize in what is nowadays a difficult, crowded market has given me an amazing feeling of achievement. Thank you to everyone at Glencairn for running such a great competition. I had a certain real-life murderer in mind when I started to write. She was just a name from history though, a starting point in the process of writing.”
Runner-up: Life Wasted by Ross Alexander
A gripping confession from an unlikely vigilante who took justice into his own hands to free a woman from her abusive, alcoholic husband.
Ross Alexander is a Scottish author based in East Lothian who writes crime thriller novels and short stories. He has had several short stories published by Darkstroke Books and his short story ‘Deadly Night Shades’ featured in the first edition of the Tangled Web/Aspiring Fiction magazine, a publication specialising in Tartan Noir. He has also written a number of novels, including five in his DI Joanne Christie series, set in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
Ross said:
“I was thrilled to hear that I had been selected as the runner up in this year’s Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition. To be recognised by a panel of judges made up of crime fiction enthusiasts is very humbling. The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival is close to my heart, which makes this award so very special.”
Since its launch in 2021, the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition has attracted hundreds of entries from around the globe and has helped launch the careers of several emerging writers.
Among its success stories are Frances Crawford, winner in 2022/23, who has since signed a two-book deal with Penguin – her first novel was published earlier this year. Allan Gaw, runner-up in 2022/23, went on to win the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Novel Prize and secure a four-book publishing deal with Polygon.
For the first time, this year’s entries were judged by a panel comprising six of the UK’s leading crime book influencers alongside Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn Crystal. The criteria was that the protagonist must be from Scotland.
Kirsty Nicholson said: „Each year we are amazed by the quality and originality of the entries we receive, and 2026 was no exception. Kathy’s story stood out for its atmospheric storytelling and psychological tension, while Ross’s entry impressed the judges with its strong narrative voice and engaging execution. We are delighted to celebrate both writers and continue supporting emerging talent within the crime-writing community.“
Bloody Scotland Festival Director Bob McDevitt said: The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high, making the judging process both challenging and rewarding. Congratulations to Kathy and Ross on their well-deserved success, and thank you to everyone who entered and helped make this another fantastic year for the competition.“
The winning stories can be read online at whiskyglass.com and the Bloody Scotland website.
