Alan Parks has triumphed at Bloody Scotland’s 2022 International Crime Writing Festival, winning the much sought after McIlvanney Scottish Crime Book of the Year Prize for his latest novel, MAY GOD FORGIVE.
The McIlvanney Prize recognises excellence in Scottish crime writing and includes a prize of £1,000 and nationwide promotion in Waterstones. The other finalists for this year’s prize were: THE HERETIC by Liam McIlvanney, A CORRUPTION OF BLOOD by Ambrose Parry and THE SECOND CUT by Louise Welsh.
Alan was announced as winner on the 15th of September at the Albert Halls in Stirling after all finalists led a torchlit procession there from Stirling Castle.
Ayo Onatade, chair of the McIlvanney Prize judges, described MAY GOD FORGIVE as: ‘A terrific continuation of Alan Parks’ police procedural ‘month’ series. MAY GOD FORGIVE is every bit as entertaining, gritty, darkly humorous and steeped in the grimy underbelly of Glasgow as the previous books.
‘A fantastic book with an intriguing cast of characters that not only keeps to a tight timeframe, but is fast, hard, edgy and thought-provoking; 1970s Glasgow has never been so thoroughly invoked. A truly gripping read.’
MAY GOD FORGIVE is the fifth in Alan Parks’ highly acclaimed Harry McCoy series and sees a desperate search for two kidnapped boys in an unruly Glasgow. It was published in the UK by Canongate earlier this year, and by Europa in the United States. The series is sold in more than ten countries around the world, and Alan is currently working on the sixth instalment.
About Alan Parks
Alan Parks was Creative Director at London Records in the mid 1990’s, then at Warner Music, where he created ground-breaking campaigns for artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barclay and Cee Lo Green. He was also Managing Director of 679 Recordings, a joint venture with Warner Music. His debut novel BLOODY JANUARY propelled him onto the international literary crime fiction scene immediately and his work has been hailed by contemporary writers and critics alike.
BLOODY JANUARY was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award, BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER was picked as a Times Best Book of the Year, won an Edgar Award and has been shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery novel, and THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.
Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city that is so vividly depicted in the 1970s setting of his Harry McCoy thrillers.
Praise for MAY GOD FORGIVE
‘MAY GOD FORGIVE is the fifth instalment in a remarkable series that began with BLOODY JANUARY. The novels, as someone once said, can be read in any order; the important thing is to read them all.’ – Mark Sanderson, The Times, ‘The Best New Crime Fiction for May 2022’
‘MAY GOD FORGIVE is a bleak and violent book, full of grisly details not for the squeamish, but also tenderness, poignance and hard-earned wisdom.’ – Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal
‘Noir has long been the dominant colour in the palette of such Scottish writers as Ian Rankin and Denise Mina, but Parks manages to find a deeper shade of black, only slightly attenuated by Harry's willingness to go far off the grid to extract a wee bit of justice. A must for those who take their noir straight, no chaser; others should keep the Pepto handy.’ – Bill Ott, Booklist
‘Enjoyably readable… Parks is a gifted story-teller’ – Allan Massie, The Scotsman
‘Harry McCoy is the brightest dark star on the Tartan Noir scene for some time and in future critics of Scottish crime fiction will surely be referring to the triumvirate of Laidlaw, Rebus and McCoy … MAY GOD FORGIVE is crime fiction which pulls no punches, powerfully told and, at times, heartbreakingly poignant. One of the crime novels of 2022.’ – Mike Ripley, Getting Away With Murder
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