A NOVEL by the chief feature writer at The Scottish Sun is said to be third favourite in a competition celebrating the best of Scottish crime fiction.
DM For Murder by Matt Bendoris is one of the six on the shortlist for the title, Scottish Crime Book of the Year.
It is Matt’s second novel and he is understood to be placed in the betting odds behind work by well-known Scots authors, Chris Brookmyre and Ann Cleeves.
The Bloody Scotland Scottish crime fiction festival begins today, in Stirling.
The Scottish Crime Book of the Year shortlist is:
Dead Girl Walking – Chris Brookmyre
Thin Air – Ann Cleeves
DM For Murder – Matt Bendoris
Paths of the Dead – Lin Anderson
Death is A Welcome Guest – Louise Welsh
The Ghosts of Altona – Craig Russell
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LAUGHS all round, including from the First Minister herself, as Nicola Sturgeon yesterday inadvertently began an answer, “We’ve got no current plans…”, when responding to a question about what steps the Scottish Government was taking, to promote Scotland as a competitive location for film and television production.
She quickly realised her error, at First Minister’s Questions – it being the correct, pre-prepared answer to a different question – to then provide her intended response.
View the exchange, here, involving the Edinburgh Southern MSP, Jim Eadie, around the 23′ 24″ mark.
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THE well-known PR agency, Platform PR, has been acquired by rival, Muckle Media.
Announcing the details – here, on allmediascotland.com, as it is a media release posting client of the site – Muckle Media said Platform PR managing director, Jane Cumming, and director, Jenny Macpherson, will join its board.
It added that the Platform PR acquisition will grow the Muckle Media Group to a team of 12, with year one turnover in excess of £750k.
And that it expects to open an office south of the border next year.
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THE former Liverpool, Sampdoria, Rangers, etc player, Graeme Souness, was a guest on BBC Radio Scotland last night – talking about the late Jock Stein, the legendary Celtic and Scotland football manager, who died 30 years ago yesterday.
And there is a very good chance he was invited by the producers of Sportsound because of at least one of the several impressive features that had appeared in that day’s press, to mark the anniversary.
Including a very poignant piece in the Daily Record, about Stein and Souness, by Alex Mooney.
A must-read, here.
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AND there is poignancy too today in an article by a recent former sports editor of The Scotsman.
Taking part, at the weekend, in the Great North Run, on behalf of Breast Cancer Now, Colin Leslie writes of losing his fiancée, Sharon, to breast cancer.
And the subsequent journey of bereavement.
Read him, here.
And donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/clesliegreatnorth/
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BEGINS the website, SportsProMedia.com: “Sky Sports in the UK has renewed its broadcast rights agreement with the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) for a further three seasons.
“The new deal, which runs until the end of the 2019/20 season, will see the pay-TV broadcaster provide coverage of up to 30 live matches from Scotland’s top flight Premiership each season.
“Coverage will be shown online and on mobile devices via the Sky Go service as well as on TV.”
Read more, here.
Among those elsewhere reporting the story is The Guardian, here.
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WIDELY reported – including here (STV) and here (Daily Record): former First Minister, Alex Salmond MP, has declared (in a register of MPs’ interests) that he earns £2,000 a week from newspaper columns and interviews, with the P&J and The Courier.
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THE story behind one of the best-known hits by the 70s pop group, the Bay City Rollers, is explained by The Scotsman’s Brian Ferguson, in a fascinating preview – here – of a programme about the band being broadcast on Monday evening, on BBC Scotland.
Shang-a-lang was penned by songwriter, Bill Martin, who is among those interviewed for Rollermania.
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