Tuesday October 20 2026 2.30pm
Twenty Years as a Published Author – two decades of murder and mayhem!
Doug Johnstone Broughton House, Kirkcudbright
Various organisations in Kirkcudbright feature crime writing in their programmes and the Stewartry Literary Society is an excellent example with its latest line-up bringing celebrated author Doug Johnstone to the town in October 2026.
Doug is celebrating a landmark twentieth year as a published writer with his twentieth novel, Ghost Notes , which is the seventh in his acclaimed and award-winning Skelfs crime fiction series.
His first two novels – Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008) – have also been reissued this year, with new introductions by top crime novelists Chris Brookmyre and Val McDermid.
Doug will be discussing all of this and much more as he looks back over two decades of murder and mayhem on the afternoon of October 20. He’ll also be playing some live music.
He is the author of twenty novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two’s Between the Covers , while six of his books have been shortlisted or longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year or the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year.
Doug has also taught creative writing or been Writer in Residence at universities, schools, writing retreats, festivals, prisons and funeral directors. He has been an arts journalist for more than twenty years, is a songwriter / musician with ten albums released, and is the drummer for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He is co-founder and player/manager of the Scotland Writers Football Club and lives in Edinburgh.
Doug was Writer in Residence at the University of Strathclyde in 2010–12 and before that a lecturer in creative writing at the same university. He’s had short stories published in various anthologies, newspapers and literary publications, including the Edinburgh Review and Gutter. In 2013 Doug was a judge for the Scottish Book Trust’s new writers’ awards.
Before becoming a writer, he studied physics at the University of Edinburgh and completed a PhD in nuclear physics. He also spent four years as a systems engineer, mathematically modelling airborne radars and missile-guidance systems.
His hugely successful Skelfs series follows three generations of women from the Skelfs family as they take over the family funeral home and private investigation businesses. A Dark Matter (2019) introduced a cast of unforgettable Edinburgh characters, marking the start of an addictive new series – compelling, tense and shocking with a darkly funny and warm portrait of a family in turmoil. Ghost Notes (2026) promises to be another masterful instalment in Doug’s award-winning, addictive Skelfs series.
In addition to the Skelf series and a number of stand-alone novels, Doug has written the bestselling Enceladons Trilogy. When three people suffer strokes after seeing dazzling lights over Edinburgh, then awake completely recovered, they’re convinced their ordeal is connected to the alien creature discovered on a nearby beach. The Space Between Us (2023) is an adrenaline-soaked, deeply humane, life-affirming first-contact novel; The Collapsing Wave (2024) the awe-inspiring, exquisitely moving sequel; and The Transcendent Tide (2025) is the epic finale to this spectacular trilogy.
Stewartry Literary Society runs monthly afternoon events in Broughton House, Kirkcudbright, when there is an opportunity to hear published authors and other speakers give talks on a wide variety of literary topics. These range from novels to historical writing, drama, crime and contemporary issues.
There are six talks in the latest programme, held on the second Tuesday of the month (September, October, November, December, February, and March). They begin at 2.30pm and last one hour.
You can find more information, including how to book places (free for members, £10 for visitors), at www.stewartryliterarysociety.org.uk
Kirkcudbright Crime Writing 
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