Why Crime is Good for You: A Masterclass by Ian Rankin – National Book Council 🇬🇧

Ian Rankin became a crime writer by accident. He’d tried drawing cartoons, writing poems and song lyrics, then short stories. His first novel was a comedy and his second an attempt at literary fiction. By luck he stumbled into crime fiction and the character of detective John Rebus. In this session Ian explains how both character and genre got under his skin and how he turned his books into bestsellers.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Participation will be capped on a first-come, first-served basis.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first novel Summer Rites remains in his bottom drawer, but his second novel, The Flood, was published in 1986, while his first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987. The Rebus series is now translated into twenty-two languages and the books are bestsellers on several continents. In addition to his Rebus and Malcolm Fox novels, he has also written standalone novels, short stories, a graphic novel, two plays and a non-fiction book, Rebus’s Scotland (2005). Ian has received an OBE for services to literature, opting to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Hall: Is-Sala tal-Kittieba