Frances Crawford: A Bad, Bad Place

Here’s a quick-fire episode, recorded in a rowdy Green Room at the Golden Lion, to celebrate the brilliant winner of two of Scotland’s most prestigious book awards at this year’s Bloody Scotland crime writing festival in Stirling. 

In what was a historic first, Glasgow author Frances Crawford won both the Debut Prize, and the McIlvanney Prize, for her exceptional novel, A Bad, Bad Place, which takes us back to Possilpark in 1979, via family, community, secrets, punk rock, murder - and a dog called Sid Vicious.

I was a judge for the McIlvanney Prize this year, with Sally Magnusson and Gordon McGhie - which is both a blessing and a curse, on account of the thrilling quality of the books on offer and the difficulty of choosing between them - but Frances’ tale of twelve-year-old Janey, and her Nana, Maggie - bowled us over; and it clearly did the same for the debut prize judges. Guest programmer Denise Mina also seemed thrilled.

It also won the McDermid Debut Prize at this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards, and her short story, The Dummy Railway - which gave rise to A Bad, Bad Place - won the Glencairn Glass Short Story competition at Bloody Scotland in 2022.

Frances is a warm, bold, wry, moving and vital new voice in Scottish literature, this is a deeply human, and affecting, book - and it was a pleasure to sit down with her after the awards announcement for a blether…

We’ll reflect more on the book’s content, and characters, in time, but - for now, here’s Frances, surrounded by very lively chatter, reflecting on how A Bad, Bad Place came to life…

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or right here!