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Winner and
Runner-Up Revealed in 2026 Glencairn
Glass Crime Short Story Competition
The Glencairn Glass, recognised
worldwide as the official whisky glass,
has announced the winner and runner-up
of its annual Crime Short Story
Competition, run in partnership with the
Bloody Scotland International Crime
Writing Festival.
After receiving another strong field of
entries from both emerging and
established crime writers across the
globe, Kathy Schilbach, who also writes
under the pen name Kate Finnemore, was
awarded first place for her chilling
short story Making Friends. Ross
Alexander was named runner-up for his
gripping entry, Life Wasted.
As overall winner, Kathy receives a
£1,000 cash prize and an invitation to
appear as a guest at the Bloody Scotland
Festival in September. Ross receives
£500, and both stories will be published
on the Bloody Scotland and Glencairn
Glass websites.
Produced by the award-winning Scottish
family business Glencairn Crystal, the
Glencairn Glass has supported the Bloody
Scotland Crime Writing Festival since
2020. Its sponsorship includes both the
McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book
of the Year and the Bloody Scotland
Debut Crime Novel of the Year award.
Winner: Making Friends by Kathy
Schilbach
Making Friends is a dark and unsettling
story centred on a mysterious woman
carrying a secret she is determined to
protect.
Kathy Schilbach spent more than three
decades living in France, where she
taught English at a lycée in the
historic town of Chinon. A lifelong
reader of crime and historical fiction,
she turned to writing following her
retirement from teaching. Now based in
West Sussex, she writes under the name
Kate Finnemore and has published a
number of short stories and pocket
novels, while also enjoying success in
writing competitions.
Kathy said: “I’m absolutely thrilled
that my story has been chosen as the
winner of the Glencairn Glass Crime
Story Competition. Winning this prize in
what is nowadays a difficult, crowded
market has given me an amazing feeling
of achievement. Thank you to everyone at
Glencairn for running such a great
competition. I had a certain real-life
murderer in mind when I started to
write. She was just a name from history
though, a starting point in the process
of writing.”
Runner-Up: Life Wasted by Ross Alexander
Life Wasted tells the story of an
unexpected vigilante who takes matters
into his own hands in an attempt to
rescue a woman from an abusive and
alcohol-dependent husband.
Ross Alexander is a crime writer from
East Lothian whose work includes both
novels and short fiction. Several of his
short stories have been published by
Darkstroke Books, while his story Deadly
Night Shades appeared in the inaugural
edition of Tangled Web/Aspiring Fiction,
a magazine dedicated to Tartan Noir. He
is also the author of multiple novels,
including five books in the DI Joanne
Christie series, set across Edinburgh
and the Lothians.
Ross said: “I was thrilled to hear that
I had been selected as the runner up in
this year’s Glencairn Glass Crime Short
Story Competition. To be recognised by a
panel of judges made up of crime fiction
enthusiasts is very humbling. The Bloody
Scotland International Crime Writing
Festival is close to my heart, which
makes this award so very special.”
Since launching in 2021, the Glencairn
Glass Crime Short Story Competition has
attracted hundreds of submissions from
around the world and has played an
important role in supporting emerging
crime-writing talent.
Previous winners and finalists have gone
on to secure major publishing
opportunities. Frances Crawford, winner
of the 2022/23 competition, subsequently
signed a two-book deal with Penguin,
with her debut novel published earlier
this year. Allan Gaw, runner-up in
2022/23, later won the 2024 Bloody
Scotland Debut Novel Prize and secured a
four-book deal with Polygon.
For the first time, entries in 2026 were
assessed by a judging panel made up of
six of the UK’s leading crime-book
influencers, alongside Kirsty Nicholson,
Marketing Director at Glencairn Crystal.
This year’s brief required all
protagonists to be Scottish.
Kirsty Nicholson said: "Each year we are
amazed by the quality and originality of
the entries we receive, and 2026 was no
exception. Kathy's story stood out for
its atmospheric storytelling and
psychological tension, while Ross's
entry impressed the judges with its
strong narrative voice and engaging
execution. We are delighted to celebrate
both writers and continue supporting
emerging talent within the crime-writing
community."
Bloody Scotland Festival Director Bob
McDevitt said: The standard of entries
this year was exceptionally high, making
the judging process both challenging and
rewarding. Congratulations to Kathy and
Ross on their well-deserved success, and
thank you to everyone who entered and
helped make this another fantastic year
for the competition."
Both winning stories are available to
read online via the Glencairn Glass and
Bloody Scotland websites.
You will find Glencairn's range of
sturdy wee whisky glasses as well as
their other offerings
available from specialist online whisky
shops such
as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop,
Hard To Find Whisky
and
Master of
Malt
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