A MOFFAT author has been nominated for two awards following the release of his debut novel.
Daniel Aubrey released his first book, ‘Dark Island’, back in April and is now reaping the rewards of his hard work after being shortlisted for two awards: the Debut Prize at the Bloody Scotland festival — Scotland’s international crime writing festival; and the McDermid Debut Award at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.
Dark Island is a crime thriller set in Orkney about neurodivergent reporter Freya Sinclair, who uncovers a disturbing conspiracy following the discovery of human remains on the island’s wild Atlantic coast.
Daniel is delighted to have been shortlisted for both awards by both fan of the genre and the festivals themselves. He first attended Bloody Scotland in 2022 when his friend, Sarah Smith, was shortlisted for the debut award, returning in 2023 when his partner, Danielle Devlin, was selected for ‘Crime in the Spotlight’ award. Commenting on his own nominations, he said: “It’s amazing to have been shortlisted for two awards, I was hoping to go back to Bloody Scotland after going the past two years but I wasn’t really expecting to be going this year as a nominee — my partner and I bought tickets when they came out.
“There are a lot of good crime writers nominated for each award so it’s exciting to be part of it all.”
Now Daniel is playing the waiting game to find out if he’ll take home either award, with the Harrogate festival taking place between July 18-21 and Bloody Scotland being held in early autumn from September 13-15 in Stirling.
He added: “I don’t mind the waiting for the festivals because it means I get to enjoy just being nominated, which sounds a bit cheesy but it is a honour to be included alongside other fantastic authors.”
