Meet the author event
Local crime writer May Rinaldi is appearing at an event at Castle Douglas Library on 24th June from 2-4pm, in discussion with author Mark Carr. Come along and get to know your local authors. The event is happening during National Crime Reading Month, a nationwide celebration of the genre.
June is National Crime Reading Month, organised by the Crime Writers’ Association, supported by the Reading Agency. Crime writers throughout the UK will be celebrating the genre with all sorts of events. You can find out more at https://crimereading.com/
Taking part in the celebration in Dumfries and Galloway are local crime writers, including Sue McCormick. The first book in her Holly and Ivy series was Red as any Blood and the second, Sharp As Any Thorn, is out in September 2026. The event in which she is taking part is on Friday June 26 at 7pm at The Old School, Thornhill. Tickets are available at Chapters Bookshop.
November 27-29 2026
Hotel to stage crime fiction weekend
Hotel to stage crime fiction weekend
Two popular crime writers and one of the genre’s most respected editors will help authors develop their craft when a hotel in Dumfries and Galloway hosts a specially-organised weekend of events later this year.
Entitled Crime Fiction at the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, the event will take place at the four-star hotel in High Street between November 27-29, 2026.
The residential event will begin on the Friday evening when those taking part will have an opportunity to talk to Dea Parkin, Ian Robinson and John Dean, who will join them for dinner in an event called Supper and Sleuthing.
Dea is the former General Coordinator and an associate member of the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) through her editorial consultancy Fiction Feedback, of which she is owner and Editor-in-chief. It specialises in critiquing and editing crime and historical fiction, and Dea and her team have worked alongside some of crime fiction’s biggest authors, agents and publishers. This year, Dea is a judge on the Historical Dagger and Fiction Feedback sponsors the Emerging Author Dagger, a competition for unpublished crime writers.
Authors Ian Robinson and John Dean live in Dumfries and Galloway and are published by Joffe Books, which recently took over their publisher The Book Folks and is one of the UK’s most successful publishers of crime fiction.
Ian, a former Metropolitan Police detective, writes the popular DS Sam Batford and Nick Moretti and Pippa Nash London Crimes series. Former newspaper Crime Reporter John created the best-selling DCI John Blizzard and DCI Jack Harris series, of which 25 titles have been published.
The Friday night dinner will be followed by a short talk delivered by Dea, ending with a question and answer session with Dea, Ian and John.
The event will be followed by a weekend crime writing workshop led by Dea, with sessions on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, covering topics as diverse as the craft of crime writing to how to impress agents and publishers.
The price for the weekend, which includes accommodation, meals and the workshops, is £315pp. Places are limited to 16 and can be booked at The Selkirk Arms Hotel High Street, Kirkcudbright DG6 4JG Tel: 01557 330402 Website: http://www.selkirkarmshotel.co.uk
Kirkcudbright Crime Writing 