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Lee Child to headline 'nearly mainstream' Scottish crime-writing festival

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Lee Child joked he would 'hitchhike' to Stirling to take part in the festival

Lee Child will be this year's headline guest at Scotland's leading crime-writing festival, it has been announced.

The creator of the world-famous Jack Reacher character will be in Stirling for Bloody Scotland in September.

Announcing his booking on BBC Radio Scotland, this year's guest programmer Denise Mina said getting Child was "huge" because he was the "master of cool" and "epitomises everything we love about crime writing".

The festival was established in 2012 by Lin Anderson and Alex Gray and has hosted hundreds of crime writers since then.

Mina said Bloody Scotland had "rumbled along" as a local event for years but was about to "tip over into the mainstream" as a huge international festival.

Child, who is from Birmingham but now lives in the US, said: "I was asked 'do I want to come back to Stirling and appear with Denise Mina?'

"You bet I do. Stirling is a beautiful city, and Denise is an all-time great.

"I would walk there. OK, hitchhike."

Mina, who was born in East Kilbride in 1966, spent much of her childhood in places such as Paris, London, Bergen and Perth, moving around with a father who worked in the oil industry.

She returned to Glasgow in 1986 and came to prominence with her Garnethill trilogy two years later, which established her as a key figure in the Tartan Noir, a genre of crime fiction known for its dark, gritty, and realistic portrayal of Scottish life.

News imageA photo of author Denise Mina from the shoulders up with the background blurred. She has short grey hair, with a hint of blonde on the ends. Denise looks straight at the camera with a small smile on her face. She wears a black puffer jacket and has hazel coloured eyes.
Denise Mina has been part of the festival since it began

She said it was a "coup" to get Child to appear on this year's programme.

"It's irreverent, it's funny, it will spin you a tale," she said of his writing. "He's just such a cool guy."

When she was asked to guest programme the 2026 festival, she said she had a wishlist of writers she wanted to take part.

"They have all said yes," she told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme.

"We're staggering the announcements, but wait 'til you see who's coming."

She said they were coming from "India, China, Australia - from all over the world".

The festival, which began in 2012, takes place in various venues including the Albert Halls, Trinity Church, Central Library and the Golden Lion Hotel.

Tickets go on sale today.