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.
Highlander is an American–British film and television franchise created by American screenwriter Gregory Widen. The series began with Highlander, a 1986 fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert, who played Connor MacLeod, the titular Highlander. There have been four theatrical Highlander films, one made-for-TV film, two live-action television series, an animated television series, an anime film, a flash animation series, original novels, comic books, and various licensed merchandise.
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.
Sir Ian James Rankin is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
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.
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.
Stuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, whose crime thrillers are set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen, with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae as protagonist.
Brave is a 2012 American animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by 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.
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.
Jim Sweeney is a Scottish actor. Over the years, Sweeney has starred in a variety of productions for both film and television. Starting with a small role in River City, he later went on to play Mick Turner in The Crews opposite actors such as David Hayman. In film he has appeared in The Angels Share and The Wee Man as well as a variety of short films. In 2013, he took part in a tribute video to Quentin Tarintino's Reservoir Dogs to mark the 21st birthday of the film. The film recreated the opening scene of the original picture with Sweeney playing the role of Joe Cabot. The film was shot in Glasgow and was directed by Colin Ross Smith. Recently, Sweeney has starred in the starred in the Outlander television series and the short film The Groundsman, which was nominated for the 'Best Fiction' accolade at the 2014 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards.
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.
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.
