Denise Mina and Karin Smirnoff at Bloody Scotland 2023

The Open University in Scotland is delighted to support Denise Mina and Karin Smirnoff, chaired by OU Honorary Graduate Jenny Brown at Bloody Scotland 2023.

Philip Marlowe and Lisbeth Salander remain two of crime fiction’s most memorable characters so breathing new life into such iconic figures is a daunting task, but it’s been delivered in style.

Denise, the first woman authorised to write Raymond Chandler’s detective, gives us a clever new take in her atmospheric rebirth The Second Murderer, complete with a missing heiress, a platinum blonde, an LA heatwave, and a propulsive mystery. Karen has picked up the baton of Stieg Larsson’s Blomquist and Salander books and driven the series forward with the remarkable The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons, a tale of conspiracy, betrayal and corporate greed.

Tickets are £12 (£11 concession), available from the Bloody Scotland website. This event is also available to watch online for £5.

You can try Creative Writing course content for free, on the OU site OpenLearn, such as Start writing fiction. 

The OU offers the modules Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing, a BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Writing.