Entries are now open for The Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition and with a closing date of 31 March 2026, there’s no time to lose!

The official glass for Scotch whisky, Glencairn is once again raising a toast to crime fiction with the return of its popular annual competition, in partnership with the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. Experienced and novice writers from around the world are invited to submit an original crime story of under 2,000 words. You don’t have to be Scottish to enter, but your protagonist must be a Scot.

The overall winner will receive £1,000, publication of their story on the Bloody Scotland website, and the chance of a guest appearance at the Bloody Scotland Festival in September 2026. The runner-up will win £500, with both winning stories also published on the Glencairn Glass website.

Previous award winners have gone on to greater things – Allan Gaw, runner-up in 2022-23, won the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Novel Prize, while the 2022-23 winner was Frances Crawford, whose debut novel A Bad, Bad Place, has recently been published.

Kirsty Nicholson, Design and Marketing Manager at Glencairn Crystal, will head up this year’s judging panel. “We’re thrilled to launch the fourth year of our short story competition and discover the new voices and gripping stories that this year’s competition will bring,” said Kirsty.

All entries must be submitted at www.whiskyglass.com/crime-short-story-competition. The competition closes at midnight on Tuesday 31 March. The winner and runner up will be announced in the summer.

Bloody Scotland’s Festival Director, Bob McDevitt, said: “We are excited to read a new crop of stories, and hope that the competition provides a stepping stone in developing the careers of some talented new voices.”