Edgar Award and McIlvanney Prize-winning author Alan Parks has received his second consecutive nomination – and third overall – for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, this time with his World War Two thriller GUNNER. The award is given by a votes from both the votes from the Theakston Crime Academy and the general public – you can cast your ballot for Alan and GUNNER via the official Theakston Old Peculier Crime Award website from now until Thursday 28 May at 23:59 BST.
Presented as part of Harrogate’s annual Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, to be held from 23-26 July 2026, the award celebrates excellence, originality and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors. The winner – following in the footsteps of recent victors Mick Herron, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Chris Whitaker and Abir Mukherjee – will be revealed on Thursday 23 July, the opening night of the Festival, and will receive £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel.
GUNNER marks its third prize nomination, following nods for the CWA Historical Dagger and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.
Alan Parks’s GUNNER was published by John Murray’s Baskerville imprint in the UK last year and made its debut last month in North America, where it’s published by Pegasus Books and garnered starred reviews from Publishers’ Weekly and Booklist. GUNNER will soon be followed by Book Two in the trilogy, DECEPTION, which whisks Joseph Gunner from Blitz-torn Glasgow to the streets of 1941 New York, following Gunner as he is drawn into a Secret Service conspiracy to lead the Americans into the war – no matter what the cost. Baskerville publish DECEPTION in the UK on 2 July, followed by Pegasus Books in North America on 1 September.
Rights to GUNNER have also sold in Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Congratulations Alan!
About GUNNER
‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James
‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin
‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly
March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.
Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.
But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.
As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.
Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.
Credit: Euan Robertson
About Alan Parks
Alan was born in Scotland and attended The University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. He still lives and works in the city that is so vividly depicted in the 1970s setting of his Harry McCoy thrillers – and now in his WWII GUNNER series too!
He was Creative Director at London Records in the mid 1990’s, then at Warner Music, where he created ground-breaking campaigns for artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barclay and Cee Lo Green. His debut novel BLOODY JANUARY propelled him onto the international literary crime fiction scene immediately and his work has been sold in many languages and recognised by critics and prize judges alike.
BLOODY JANUARY was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière; FEBRUARY’S SON was nominated for an Edgar Award; BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER won the 2022 Edgar Award for Paperback Original, the 2023 Prix Mystère de la Critique and was shortlisted for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel as well as being a The Times ‘Best Book of the Year’ pick; THE APRIL DEAD was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year in 2021, which MAY GOD FORGIVE won in 2022. MAY GOD FORGIVE was shortlisted for the 2023 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and longlisted for the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. His work is translated into ten languages and film/TV rights have been optioned.
Praise for Alan Parks
‘One of the great Scottish crime writers’ – The Times
‘Tipped to become an enduring classic of tartan noir.’ – Sunday Post
‘Dark and gritty… Gripping.’ – Crime Monthly
‘A brilliant series’ – Sunday Times Crime Club
‘Bloody and brilliant’ – Louise Welsh (on BLOODY JANUARY)
‘Pitch-black Tartan noir: bleak, but with an emotional heart that's hard to ignore.’ – Daily Mail (on FEBRUARY’S SON)
‘Manoeuvering through the mean streets of Glasgow, the morally ambiguous, deeply flawed McCoy makes an ideal antihero.’ – Publishers Weekly (on BOBBY MARCH WILL LIVE FOREVER, Edgar Prize Winner 2022)
‘Altogether one of the best police thrillers of the last few years.’ – Morning Star (on THE APRIL DEAD)
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