What an honour to say that RAT RACE has been nominated for the McIlvanney Prize 2026!
With Squeaky Clean winning it in 2023 and Paperboy reaching the shortlist in 2025, that means the whole McCoist trilogy has been nominated for Scottish Crime Book of the Year now. Incredible, I’m so happy about this. Huge thanks to everyone at Pushkin Press and my agent Emily MacDonald for making it happen.
The longlist is absolutely crammed with belters this year – the judges are going to be in a tough spot all right. We’ve got other previous prize-winners including Chris Brookmyre and Tariq Ashkanani, a previous winner of the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, David Goodman, and, incredibly, four out of five of the authors listed for this year’s debut prize. Love to see it!
As always, it’s a pleasure and a privilege. Bring on Bloody Scotland in September!
The McIlvanney Prize 2026 longlist
THE HOLLOW BOYS by Tariq Ashkanani (Viper)
138 MAIN STREET by Gavin Bell (S&S)
QUITE UGLY ONE EVENING by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
A BAD, BAD PLACE by Frances Crawford (Bantam)
UNKNOWN by Heather Critchlow (Canelo Crime)
SOLITARY AGENTS by David Goodman (Headline)
WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID by Kirsty Lockwood (Orion)
RAT RACE by Callum McSorley (Pushkin Vertigo)
THE DIARY OF LIES by Philip Miller (Polygon)
THE PINNACLE by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill)
THE VANISHING PLACE by Zoe Rankin (Viper)
LIAR THIEF by May Rinaldi (Black Spring Crime)
PS I’ll be doing a panel at Bloody Scotland this year alongside Martin Stewart, Eva Macrae and Frances Crawford, chaired by the excellent Ali Braidwood. You can snag a ticket here.
callummcsorley.com 