Stonehaven will host its first-ever crimewriting festival next week, bringing bestselling authors, local talent and real-world experts to the town for a weekend of crime, conversation and immersive events.
The Heart of Stone Crimewriting Festival takes place on May 29–30 at the Number 44 Hotel & Bar on Allardice Street, with around 20 authors and forensic specialists taking part.
Festival founder Jacqueline Young said the idea grew from a conversation at Stonehaven Library and from the genre’s growing popularity.
“Crime fiction is huge,” she said. “It was actually an off-the-cuff remark about a festival that got me thinking – and now here we are.
“They used to say comedy was the new rock and roll, but now I think crime fiction is – and the biggest authors are like rock stars.”
Interactive events and expert insight
The programme combines author talks with interactive experiences designed to bring crime stories to life.
Highlights include Trial by Jury, where the audience hears the evidence and delivers a verdict, and Cocktails, Mocktails & Mystery, an immersive crime-solving event.
Masterclass: How to Solve a Crime (And What TV Gets Wrong) will also see real-world criminologists reveal how investigations work beyond TV drama.
The festival opens on Friday evening with The First Clue, a double bill exploring forensic handwriting analysis and the history of crime fiction, before building into the headline events.
Saturday features a full day of themed panels, from true crime and books set in Stonehaven to discussions on much-loved fictional detectives and the trade secrets of storytelling.
Local links and national names
The line-up includes local writers alongside award-winning authors, including the 2025 winner of the McIllvanney Prize for crimewriting.
True crime will feature strongly, with A.M. Nicol (pictured) revisiting the 1968 Sheila Garvie case — a Kincardineshire murder that gripped Scotland at the time.
The hugely popular campaign group and podcasters Witches of Scotland will also appear, bringing their work on Scotland’s historical witch trials to the stage following their recent US book tour.
Boost for the town
Organisers say the festival is designed to support the local economy, taking place just outside peak tourist season while still attracting visitors.
Local readers have also been involved in shaping the programme through a dedicated Readers Panel.
“Stonehaven is the perfect setting for a festival like this,” Jacqueline said.
“I’ve seen how events like Bloody Scotland and Granite Noir bring people into towns, even at quieter times of year, and that’s exactly what we hope to do here.”
The festival will work with local businesses, including But n Ben Books as the official bookseller, and organisers hope it will become a regular fixture alongside events such as the Folk Festival, Wee Gaithern’ poetry festival and Midsummer Beer Happening.
Tickets are available via Eventbrite. More information can be found at www.heartofstonefestival.com and on the festival’s Facebook page.
Nina Allan visited Stonehaven during the writing of A Granite Silence and included the town in the book. She appears at Heart of Stone in the Noir By Night Session.
Murder in the Forest by Elizabeth Highfield was inspired by the woods around Stonehaven, the author appears on the Saturday morning at Heart of Stone.