The Glencairn Glass launches crime fiction anthology to raise money for charity

Scottish company Glencairn Crystal, which produces the whisky glass the Glencairn Glass, has launched a collection of crime-fiction short stories by up-and-coming crime authors to raise money for cancer charity Maggie’s.

The Last Dram anthology features stories from 16 different authors, all of whom have previously entered the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story competition over the past three years. All of the profits from the book sales in the run-up to Christmas will go to the charity.

The Glencairn Glass has sponsored the McIlvanney and Bloody Scotland Debut crime-writing literary awards since 2020. The Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition was launched in 2021, an annual competition open to both experienced and novice crime writers from around the world.

Working in partnership with Stirling University, a collection of the most enthralling stories from the competition’s entrants has been collated for the creation of the anthology. Students from Stirling University helped to create various aspects of the final collection, from assisting with the curation of the stories to the design and layout of the book.

The Last Dram has been edited by Heather J Fitt, a Scottish crime-fiction author based in Hampshire, who appeared at this year’s annual Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling. 

The authors whose stories have been featured in The Last Dram are Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition winners and runners-up as well as other entrants whose stories impressed the competition judges.

The contributors are: Allan Gaw (2022/23 runner-up, who has since gone on to win this year’s Bloody Scotland Debut Prize); Phillip Wilson (2023/24 winner); Elisabeth Ingram Wallace (2023/24 runner-up); Brid Cummings (2021/22 winner); Jennifer Harvey (2021/22 runner-up); Judith O’Reilly (2021/22 runner-up).

Other writers featured in the book include the published crime author Morgan Cry, as well as Gayle Thompson, Louise Sharland, Ewan A Dougall, Ben Colley, Julian Benson, Shona MacBryer, Anna Wallace, Bryce Main and B V Lawson.

Kirsty Nicholson, design and marketing manager at Glencairn Crystal, said: “We’ve been blown away by the outstanding quality of the stories that have been entered into our Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition over the past few years. We wanted to showcase these gripping reads for people in a collection to support and celebrate the talented authors and the world of Scottish crime fiction, while raising money for Maggie’s—a very special charity."

The anthology can be bought here.