READERS with a passion for genre fiction will have the chance to hear from top authors when Scotland's International Crime Writers Festival returns.

Bloody Scotland will be held in Stirling from September 19-21, and was yesterday launched at the city's old town jail.

The event's co-founder Alex Gray, pictured right, best known for her Detective Chief Inspector Lorimer novels, was joined by English author Danielle Ramsay and Gregory's Girl star John Gordon Sinclair, who has turned his talents to crime writing.

Picture: Julie Howden