Whisky Focus - Glencairn Glass Celebrates 2026 Bloody Scotland's Double Winner

The world's official whisky glass, the Glencairn Glass, is celebrating an unprecedented double victory at this year's Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, after Frances Crawford became the first author to win both the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the prestigious McIlvanney Prize in the same year.

The historic achievement came during the 2026 Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, held in Stirling from 18–20 September. The festival has been sponsored by Glencairn Glass for the past seven years, with the Scottish company supporting its literary prizes.

This year has already been a landmark one for Bloody Scotland, with the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize featuring an all-woman shortlist for the first time. Four of those authors also went on to appear on the longlist for the McIlvanney Prize, before Crawford made further history by taking home both awards.

Crawford won the prizes for her acclaimed debut novel A Bad, Bad Place, published by Transworld. The achievement comes just two months after she won the McDermid Debut Prize at the Harrogate International Festivals' Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

Crawford was presented with a giant Glencairn Glass trophy at Bloody Scotland in Stirling, marking an extraordinary year for the author and another significant moment in the long-running relationship between Glencairn and the crime-writing festival.

Kirsty Nicholson, Marketing Director at Glencairn, sponsors of the Bloody Scotland literary prizes with the Glencairn Glass, said: "This has been a truly remarkable year of firsts for Bloody Scotland and we are delighted to celebrate Frances Crawford’s extraordinary achievement. Winning both the Debut and McIlvanney Prizes is an incredible accomplishment and a testament to her exceptional storytelling talent. It is particularly wonderful to see Frances’ journey come full circle, having won our Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition in 2023. A huge congratulations on this well-deserved success - we cannot wait to see what comes next!"

Crawford’s journey to becoming an award-winning crime novelist is itself an inspiring one. She began writing later in life before securing a scholarship to study Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. She credits her tutor, Louise Welsh, with encouraging her to develop her prize-winning short story into a full-length novel.

She graduated aged 60 with an MLitt with Distinction, while her original short story went on to win the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition in 2023. That story ultimately became A Bad, Bad Place, which was published to widespread acclaim in February 2026. A paperback edition is due to be released on 31 December 2026.

Glencairn Glass and Bloody Scotland

The annual Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival has been bringing established and emerging crime writers to Stirling every September since 2012. The festival has developed into a major fixture in the international crime-writing calendar, with events spanning psychological thrillers, fictional forensics, tartan noir, cosy crime and a wide range of other crime-fiction genres.

For Glencairn, the relationship with Bloody Scotland brings together two distinctive aspects of Scottish culture: whisky and storytelling.

The award-winning Glencairn Crystal Studio has been at the forefront of high-quality decanter and glassware design, innovation and creativity for more than four decades. The family-run Scottish company is internationally recognised as one of the leading crystal decanter and glassware specialists, with its craftsmen producing prestigious decanters for some of the rarest and most luxurious spirits ever released.

Glencairn Crystal is also the creator of the Glencairn Glass, recognised as the world's official whisky glass. The iconic glass recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, with more than five million Glencairn Glasses now sold around the world each year.

The company was also recognised for its innovation when Glencairn Crystal received The King's Award for Enterprise, marking the fourth time in its history that the Scottish business has received the prestigious accolade.

The 2026 Bloody Scotland festival therefore provided a particularly fitting setting for Glencairn Glass to celebrate Frances Crawford's remarkable achievement. From winning the Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition in 2023 to becoming the first author to win both the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and McIlvanney Prize, Crawford's success has come full circle.

You will find Glencairn's range of whisky glasses as well as their other offerings available from specialist online whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt
 

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