Former policewoman Clare Mackintosh has beaten JK Rowling to the Theakstons Old Peculier crime novel of the year award.
Harry Potter author Rowling was shortlisted for Career Of Evil, written under her pen name Robert Galbraith, but lost out to Mackintosh with her debut thriller, I Let You Go.
What's not to love about a lit fest with a backdrop like this? #sngijon16 @snegra pic.twitter.com/HYbVmNCKPv
— Clare Mackintosh (@claremackint0sh) July 13, 2016
Mackintosh spent 12 years in the police force but left in 2011 and became a full-time writer.
The crime-writing prize is now in its twelfth year, with previous winners including Val McDermid, Lee Child, Mark Billingham, Sarah Hilary and Denise Mina.
Mackintosh, who will receive £3,000, beat off competition from a shortlist of six British and Irish authors whose novels were published in paperback between May 1 2015 and April 30 2016.
On the train from York to Harrogate. Assuming everyone with a book is heading for @TheakstonsCrime
— Clare Mackintosh (@claremackint0sh) July 21, 2016
I Let You Go was a Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard and Judy book club winner in 2015.
At the awards ceremony in Harrogate, previous winner McDermid was also presented with a special prize, the Theakstons Old Peculier outstanding contribution to crime fiction award.
Fellow crime writer Rowling said she was grateful to McDermid for a positive review of Galbraith’s writing, before his true identity was revealed.
Val McDermid and JK Rowling (Fenris Oswin)
She said: “I’d like to add my note of congratulations to my friend and colleague Val McDermid, for her justly deserved outstanding contribution to crime fiction award. She has been showing us all the way for a long time now.
“One of Robert’s proudest moments was receiving a favourable review from the great McDermid, who received a thank you note in fake handwriting, only to receive one two weeks later in my real handwriting when I was unwillingly unmasked.”
Look at the pretty thing! First peek at the cover of OUT OF BOUNDS, published on August 25th in UK. pic.twitter.com/fKKKuKuGJH
— Val McDermid (@valmcdermid) June 27, 2016
McDermid, whose 30th novel Out Of Bounds will be published in August, said: “It’s an honour and a thrill to receive this award.
“The community of writers and readers at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is unlike any other in its warmth and generosity and so this means a huge amount to me.
“This year sees the publication of my 30th novel and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate that.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article