Lin (Linda) Anderson | |
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| Born | Greenock, Scotland |
| Genre | Tartan Noir, crime fiction |
Lin (Linda) Anderson (born in Greenock, Scotland) is a Tartan Noir [1] crime novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod. As of 2010 [update] the Rhona MacLeod books are being developed for ITV. [2]
Anderson was born in Greenock, of Scottish and Irish parents. Her father was a detective in the CID. [3] She worked in the Nigerian bush for five years during the 1980s, and later wrote an African short story which was broadcast on BBC Radio Four. Another of her African stories was published in the 10th Anniversary Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Collection. [4] Before turning full-time to writing, she used to teach maths and computing at George Watson's College, Edinburgh.
A film of her screenplay Small Love was shown at London Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2001, and broadcast on Scottish Television in 2001 and 2002. Since then she has graduated from the newly founded Screen Academy Scotland, [5] and has further screenplays in production. [6]
Lin is a massive fan of the film Braveheart, claiming to have seen it over fifty times, and in 2004 wrote a book about the making of it (see Non-fiction below). [7]
Lin is a member of the Femmes Fatales crime writing trio, together with Alanna Knight and Alex Gray.
She and Alex Gray [8] are amongst the co-founders of Bloody Scotland, [9] a Tartan Noir and Scottish crime writer's festival, which is held in Stirling since 2012.
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Braveheart is a 1995 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The film also stars Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack and Angus Macfadyen. The story is inspired by Blind Harry's 15th century epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace and was adapted for the screen by Randall Wallace.
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid and the Clan MacLeod of Lewis Assynt and Raasay, known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill. Both branches claim descent from Leòd, a Norse-Gael who lived in the 13th century.
William Angus McIlvanney was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s. He is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir" and as Scotland's Camus.
Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity.
Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.
Denise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of Tartan Noir, she has also written for comic books, including 13 issues of Hellblazer.
Highlander III: The Sorcerer is a 1994 British-Canadian-French action-adventure fantasy film and the third installment in the Highlander film series. Set as an alternate sequel to the original film, it is the final Highlander film to focus on Connor MacLeod as the protagonist. In the film, Connor MacLeod is forced to face a new, dangerous enemy, a powerful sorcerer known as Kane who threatens to win the fabled "Prize" in order to gain world domination by eliminating MacLeod. It grossed $36.7 million worldwide.
James Ronald Gordon Copeland, known professionally as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor. Known for his character work, he has played supporting roles in films such as Highlander (1986), Braveheart (1995), Trainspotting (1996), Troy (2004), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Ben-Hur (2016), and Wonder Woman (2017). On television, he appeared as Father Kellan Ashby on the third season of Sons of Anarchy (2010), Jeor Mormont on HBO's Game of Thrones (2011–2013), Farder Coram in the BBC series His Dark Materials (2019), and Luka Gocharov on the third season of Amazon Prime's Jack Ryan (2022). Cosmo appeared as a contestant on the nineteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing in fourth place.
Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. William McIlvanney, who wrote three crime novels, the first being Laidlaw in 1977, is considered the father of the genre.
Blythe Duff is a Scottish actress best known for her role as Jackie Reid in the ITV television series drama, Taggart.
Brave is a 2012 American animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, co-directed by Steve Purcell, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, with John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter serving as executive producers. The story was written by Chapman, who also co-wrote the film's screenplay with Andrews, Purcell, and Irene Mecchi. The film stars the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of Princess Merida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, falls victim to a beastly curse and turns into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Merida is the first character in the Disney Princess line to be created by Pixar. The film is also dedicated to Pixar chairman and Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release.
Alex Gray is a Scottish crime writer. She has published 19 novels, all set around Glasgow and featuring the character of Detective Chief Inspector Lorimer and his psychological profiler Solomon Brightman, the earlier novels being published by Canongate and Allison & Busby and later books by Little Brown. She has also published magazine articles, poetry and short stories as well as stories for BBC radio schools programmes.
Aileen McLeod is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She is a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Scotland constituency, having been elected in the 2019 European Parliament election. She served as MEP until the 31 January 2020 when the Brexit process was completed.
Sara Sheridan is a Scottish activist and writer who works in a variety of genres, though predominantly in historical fiction. She is the creator of the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries.
Chris Dolan is a Scottish novelist, poet, and playwright. He is married to Moira Dolan and they currently live in Glasgow with their children. He is a lecturer in English Literature at Glasgow Caledonian University and is Programme Leader of the master's degree programme in Television Screenwriting there.
Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector Logan "Lazarus" McRae is the protagonist of a series of detective novels by Scottish crime writer Stuart MacBride, first introduced in 2005's Cold Granite. He is an officer of the Aberdeen police force.
Cold Granite is the debut novel written by Stuart MacBride. It features Detective Sergeant Logan McRae as its central character, who works for Grampian Police in Aberdeen, Scotland. Logan McRae went on to feature in a series of books which became a bestseller series for MacBride.
Robert the Bruce is a 2019 British epic historical fiction war film directed by Richard Gray concerning the renowned king of the same name. It stars Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce, who previously played the role in Braveheart. A character-driven ensemble piece, it portrays Robert's relationship with a peasant family as a galvanising influence on his struggle for independence and his ensuing reign.
Bloody Scotland is a Scottish international crime writing festival, held annually in Stirling, Scotland. It was founded in 2012 by Tartan Noir writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray and describes itself as "the literary festival where you can let down your hair and enjoy a drink at the bar with your favourite crime writer". Its sponsors include the University of Stirling and Stirling Council. In 2022 most events were held at the Albert Halls or the Tolbooth.
Alan Parks is a Scottish crime writer in the Tartan Noir genre. His fifth novel May God Forgive won the 2022 McIlvanney Prize as the best Scottish crime book of the year.
