Ian Rankin

Rankin wis born in Cardenen, Fife. His faither awnt a grocery shop an his maither wirked in a schuil canteen.^[2] He wis scuiled at Beath Hie Schuil, Coudenbeith. His fowks wis scunnert whan he waled tae study literatur, as thay'd expectit him tae study fur a trade.^[2] Heezed up bi his Inglis teacher, he huild at it an graduatit in 1982 fae the Varsity o Edinburgh, whaur he wirked on a doctorate on Murial Spark forby, but didnae fienish it.^[3] He haes taucht at the varsity an retains a active pairt wi the James Tate Memorial Prize.^[4]

He bade in Tottenham, Lunnon, fur fower year than rural Fraunce fur sax year while he fordert his career as a novelist.^[5] Afore becomin a fou-time novelist, he wirked as a grape picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol resaircher, jurnalist, college secretar an punk muisicker in a baund cried the Dancing Pigs.^[6][7][2]

Rankin set oot tae be a mainstream scriever an thocht his furst novelles, Knots and Crosses an Hide and Seek wis mainstream beuks, in keepin wi the traditions o Robert Louis Stevenson an e'en Murial Spark. He wis discomfitit bi thaim bein cried genre fiction. Alan Massie, the Scots writer that tutort Rankin while Massie wis writer-in-residence, telt him "Div ye think John Buchan iver wirrit aboot whether he wis writin literatur or no?"^[8]

Rankin's Inspector Rebus novelles is set mainly in Edinburgh. Thay ur thocht tae be major contributions tae the tairtan noir genre.^[9] Ten o the novelles wis adaptit as a telly series on ITV featurin John Hannah as Rebus in series 1 an 2 wi Ken Stott as Rebus in series 3-5.

In 2009, Rankin donatit the short story "Fieldwork" tae Oxfam's Ox-Tales project, fower quairs o UK stories scrieved bi 38 authors. His story wis furthset in the "Earth" quair.^[10]

In 2009, Rankin said on Radio Five Live that he wid stairt wirk on a five- or sax-issue rin o the comic beuk Hellblazer, tho he micht turn the story intae a staund-alane graphic novelle insteid. The Vertigo Comics panel at Wondercon 2009 confirmt the story wid be a graphic novelle, Dark Entries, the seicont release frae the company's Vertigo Crime imprint.^[11][12][13]

In 2011, ten sculptures makit o beuks wis anonymously left in places in Edinburgh. Three o the sculptures uised Rankin's beuks as bases, bein Exit Music,^[14] Knots and Crosses,^[15] an Hide and Seek.^[14][16] Ainither ane o the sculptures depictit a cinema audience, wi ane o the audience memmers bearin Rankin's face.^[14] A final eleveint sculpture, makit frae a copy o Rankin's novelle The Impossible Dead, wis gien tae him on the 25 November 2011.^[14]

In 2013, Rankin co-wrate the play Dark Road wi Mark Thomson, the artistic director o the Royal Lyceum Theatre.^[17][18] The play, that wis Rankin's furst time scrievin a play,^[19] furst shawed at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, in September 2013.^[20]

In 2005, Ian Rankin wis pit forrit as the tent best sellin writer in Britain, accoontin fur 10% o aw crime fiction selt.^[21] He writes unner the name Jack Harvey as weel.^[3]

Rankin aften contributes tae the BBC Two arts programme Newsnight Review.^[22] His three-pairt documentary series on the subjeck o ill wis braidcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. In 2005 he kytht in a 30-mintie documentary on BBC Four cried Rankin on the Staircase, whaur he speirt oot the relationship atween real-life cases an crime fiction. It wis lowsely based on the Michael Peterson murther case, as kivert bi Jean-Xavier Lestrade's documentary series Death on the Staircase. The same year he jynt wi fowk muisicker Jackie Leven on the album Jackie Leven Said.^[23]

In 2007, Rankin kytht in twa programmes fur BBC Four titled "Ian Rankin's Hidden Edinburgh" and "Ian Rankin Investigates Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", explorin the oreegin o his chairacter John Rebus an the events o his creation.

He kytht in the telly shaw Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, takin a trip throu Edinburgh wi writer/ceuk Anthony Bourdain.

Rankin is the singer o the sax-piece baund Best Picture, foondit bi jurnalists Kenny Farquharson (The Times) an Euan McColl (The Scotsman) in 2017, and featurin Bobby Bluebell on guitar.^[24] Thay released a single "Isabelle" on Oriel Records in October 2017.^[25] Thay makit their live furst shaw at the Kendal Calling muisic fest on 28 July 2018.^[26]

He bides in Edinburgh wi his wife Miranda, that he met at varsity and waddit in 1986, an thair twa loons John Morgan "Jack" Harvey-Rankin (born 1992) an Christopher Connor "Kit" Harvey-Rankin (born 1994). Thay bade in the Merchiston/Morningside area fur a curn years,^[27] near aboots the authors JK Rowling, Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Atkinson,^[28] afore flittin tae a penthouse flat in the umwhile Edinburgh Royal Infirmary biggin in Quartermile in Lauriston.^[29] The couple awns a hoose in Cromarty in the Scots Hielands forby.^[30] Rankin appears as a chairacter in McCall Smith's 2004 novel, 44 Scotland Street.

In 2019, Rankin gied his personal archive tae the National Librar o Scotland efter flittin tae his flat in the Quartermile. The Library is plannin a shawin fur 2021 o hielichts frae the archives, that includes resairch jottins, newspaper clippins, an manuscripts.^[31]

• 1988 Elected Hawthornden Fellow^[32]
• 1991 Chandler-Fulbright Award^[33]
• 1994 CWA Short Story Dagger for A Deep Hole^[33]
• 1996 CWA Short Story Dagger for Herbert in Motion in Perfectly Criminal^[34]
• 1997 CWA Gold Dagger for Fiction for Black and Blue^[35]
• 1997 Edgar Award for best novel, shortlist, Black and Blue
• 1999 University of Abertay Dundee honorary doctorate ^[36]
• 2000 University of St Andrews honorary doctorate^[37]
• 2000 Palle Rosencrantz Prize (Denmark)^[33]
• 2002 Officer of the Order of the British Empire fur services tae literatur
• 2003 University of Edinburgh honorary doctorate^[38]
• 2003 Whodunnit Prize (Finland)^[33]
• 2003 Grand Prix du Roman Noir (France)^[33]
• 2004 Edgar Award for Resurrection Men
• 2005 CWA Lifetime Achievement Award (Cartier Diamond Dagger)^[39]
• 2005 Open University honorary doctorate ^[40]
• 2005 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (France) fur Set in Darkness^[33][41]
• 2005 Deutsche Krimi Prize (Germany), fur Resurrection Men^[33]
• 2006 University of Hull honorary doctorate^[42]
• 2007 The Edinburgh Award^[43]
• 2008 ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Author of the Year, fur Exit Music.^[44]
• 2009 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, shortleetit Exit Music^[45]
• 2012 Specsavers National Book Award, Outstanding Achievement^[46]
• 2015 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh^[47]
• 2016 UNESCO City of Literature Visiting Professor at University of East Anglia^[48]
• 2016 RBA Prize for Crime Writing fur Even Dogs in the Wild, the warld's maist lucrative crime fiction prize at €125,000.
• 2016 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature^[49][50]

Tae date, he haes setten furth 25 novelles, twa short story quairs, ae original graphic novelle an ae novella, an a non-fiction beuk. He haes scrieved a Quick Reads title an aw.

Edited anthology

• Criminal Minded (2000) (edited an wi an introduction bi Rankin)

Recordins

• Jackie Leven Said (Cooking vinyl, 2005), wi Jackie Leven
• The Sixth Stone (CD, 2007), wi Aidan Moffat, on Ballads of the Book
• This Has Been the Death of Us (7th Realm Of Teenage Heaven, 2009), wi Saint Jude's Infirmary
• The Third Gentleman (BBC Broadcast, 25 October 1997. 87mins). Black comedy set in 1790s Edinburgh
• The Deathwatch Journal (Audiobook / BBC Broadcast, 2017. 75mins). Read bi Jimmy Chisholm.^[53]

Graphic novelles

• Dark Entries (September 2009) wi art bi Werther Dell'Edera. Furthset bi Vertigo Crime an featurin John Constantine o Hellblazer.^[54][55]

Graphic novella

• The Lie Factory, illustrated bi Tim Truman. Furthset as pairt o a CD package, Kickback City, featurin Rory Gallagher sangs fictionalized in the novella an wi narration bi Aidan Quinn

Opera

• Gesualdo, wi Craig Armstrong (2008)

Short stories

• "Summer Rites" (1984) (furthset in Cencrastus, No. 18 - actual a section o Rankin's furst novelle)
• "An Afternoon" (1984) (furthset in New Writing Scotland No. 2) (slichtly revised version furthset in OxCrimes, 2014)
• "Voyeurism" (1985) (furthset in New Writing Scotland No. 3)
• "Colony" (1986) (furthset in New Writing Scotland No. 4)
• "Scarab" (1986) (furthset in Scottish Short Stories 1986)
• "Territory" (1987) (furthset in Scottish Short Stories 1987)
• "Remembrance" (1988) (furthset in Cencrastus, Spring)
• "Playback" (1990) (Rebus; furthset in Winter's Crime 22; reprinted in A Good Hanging & Other Stories, 1992)
• "Talk Show" (1991) (Rebus; furthset in Winter's Crimes 23)
• "The Dean Curse" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Being Frank" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Concrete Evidence" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Seeing Things" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "A Good Hanging" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Tit for Tat" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Not Provan" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Sunday" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Auld Lang Syne" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "The Gentlemen's Club" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "Monstrous Trumpet" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in A Good Hanging & Other Stories)
• "In the Frame" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in Winter's Crimes 24)
• "Trip Trap" (1992) (Rebus; furthset in 1st Culprit)
• "Marked for Death" (1992) (furthset in Constable New Crimes 1)
• "Well Shot" (1993) (Rebus; furthset in 2nd Culprit; nae included in the UK an US editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "Video, Nasty" (1993) (furthset in Constable New Crimes 2)
• "Castle Dangerous" (1993) (Rebus; furthset in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, EQMM, October)
• "Someone Got to Eddie" (1994) (furthset in 3rd Culprit)
• "Facing the Music" (1994) (Rebus; furthset in Midwinter Mysteries 4)
• "A Deep Hole" (1994) (furthset in London Noir)
• "The Serpent's Back" (1995) (furthset in Midwinter Mysteries 5)
• "Adventures in Babysitting" (1995) (furthset in No Alibi an in Master's Choice Two)
• "Principles of Accounts" (1995) (furthset in EQMM, August)
• "Window of Opportunity" (1995) (Rebus, furthset in EQMM, December)
• "Natural Selection" (1996) (furthset in Fresh Blood)
• "Herbert in Motion" (1996) (furthset in Perfectly Criminal)^[34]
• "The Wider Scheme" (1996) (furthset in EQMM, August)
• "My Shopping Day" (1997) (Rebus; furthset in Herbert in Motion & Other Stories [limited edition chapbook o 200 copies]; nae included in the UK edition o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories, but included in the U.S. edition)
• "No. 79" (1997) (furthset in Herbert in Motion & Other Stories)
• "Glimmer" (1998) (furthset in Blue Lightning)
• "Unknown Pleasures" (1998) (furthset in Mean Time)
• "Detective Novels: The Pact Between Authors and Readers" (1998) (article; furthset in The Writer, December)
• "Death is Not the End" (1998) (novella later expanded intae Dead Souls)
• "The Missing" (1999) (furthset in Crime Wave, March)
• "Get Shortie" (1999) (Rebus; furthset in Crime Wave 2, Deepest Red, June; nae included in the UK an US editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "The Acid Test" (1999) (Rebus; furthset in EQMM, August; nae included in the UK an US editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "The Hanged Man" (1999) (furthset in Something Wicked (UK) an EQMM, September/October)
• "The Only True Comedian" (2000) (furthset in EQMM, February)
• "Unlucky in Love, Unlucky at Cards" (2000) (furthset in EQMM, March)
• "The Confession" (2000) (furthset in EQMM, June)
• "The Slab Boys" (2000) (furthset in Scenes of Crime)
• "No Sanity Clause" (2000) (Rebus; originally titled "Father Christmas's Revenge, furthset in The Daily Telegraph, December)
• "Tell Me Who to Kill" (2003) (Rebus; furthset in Mysterious Pleasures)
• "Saint Nicked" (2003/2004) (furthset in The Radio Times, 21 December 2003 & 4 January 2004)
• "Soft Spot" (2005) (furthset in Dangerous Women)
• "Showtime" (2005) (furthset in One City)
• "Not Just another Saturday" (August 2005) (wrate fur SNIP, a charity organisation; people in attendance o the event wur gien a "typescript" o the story)
• "Atonement" (2005) (written fur the anthology Complete Short Stories, that combined the contents o A Good Hanging & Other Stories an Beggar's Banquet, but wis far frae "Complete")
• "Sinner: justified" (2006) (furthset in Superhumanatural)
• "Graduation Day" (2006) (furthset in Murder in the Rough)
• "Fieldwork" (2009) (furthset in Ox-Tales)^[10]
• "Penalty Clause" (2010) (Rebus; furthset in Mail on Sunday, December)
• "The Very Last Drop" (2013) (Rebus; written tae read aloud at an Edinburgh charity event tae help the work o Royal Blind; furthset in the US an UK editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "Dead and Buried" (2013) (Rebus; furthset wi Saints of the Shadow Bible)
• "In the Nick of Time" (2014) (Rebus; furthset in Face Off)
• "The Passenger" (2014) (Rebus; furthset in the UK an US editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "A Three-Pint Problem" (2014) (Rebus; furthset in the UK an US editions o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "Cinders" (2015) (Rebus; furthset in the US edition o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories)
• "The Travelling Companion" (2015) (novella, furthset bi the Mysterious Bookshop, NYC; signed, lettered limited cloth edition o 26 copies an 100 nummered copies; softcover edition o 1,000 copies; furthset in the UK in 2016 bi Head of Zeus Ltd, London)
• "Meet & Greet" (2015) (furthset in The Strand XLVI)
• "The Kill Fee" (2015) (furthset in The New Statesman December 18, 2015—January 8, 2016)
• "Cafferty's Day" (2016) (Rebus; furthset wi Rather be the Devil)
• "Charades" (2017) (Rebus; furthset in Country Life December 13/20)

Ither

• "Oxford Bar" (2007) (Essay furthset in the anthology How I Write: The Secret Lives of Authors)^[56]
• "John Rebus" (2007) (Mysterious Profile #8, a chapbook furthset bi the Mysterious Bookshop in NYC in a signed limited hardcover edition o 100 copies an 1,000 softcover copies; reprinted in the UK edition o The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories as "Rankin on Rebus")
• Ian Rankin interviews Arthur Conan Doyle (2013), furthset in Dead Interviews^[57]

• Alegre, Sara Martin,"Aging in F(r)iendship: 'Big Ger' Cafferty and John Rebus," in Clues: A Journal of Detection 29.2 (2011): 73–82.
• Horsley, Lee, The Noir Thriller (Houndmills & New York: Palgrave, 2001).
• Lanchester, John, "Rebusworld", in London Review of Books 22.9 (27 April 2000), pp. 18–20.
• Lennard, John, "Ian Rankin", in Jay Parini, ed., British Writers Supplement X (New York & London: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004), pp. 243–60
• MacDonald, Erin E., "Ghosts and Skeletons: Metaphors of Guilty History in Ian Rankin's Rebus Series", in Clues: A Journal of Detection 30.2 (2012): 67–75.
• MacDonald, Erin E., Ian Rankin: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2020).
• Mandel, Ernest, Delightful Murder: A Social History of the Crime Story (Leichhardt, NSW, & London: Pluto Press, 1984).
• Marshall, Rodney, Blurred Boundaries: Rankin's Rebus (Amazon, 2012)
• Nicol, Christopher, "Ian Rankin's 'Black & Blue'", Scotnote No.24 (Glasgow: ASLS Publications, 2008)
• Ogle, Tina, "Crime on Screen", in The Observer (London), 16 April 2000, Screen p. 8.
• Plain, Gill, Ian Rankin’s Black and Blue (London & New York: Continuum, 2002)
• Plain, Gillian, "Ian Rankin: A Bibliography", in Crime Time 28 (2002), pp. 16–20.
• Robinson, David, "Mystery Man: In Search of the real Ian Rankin", in The Scotsman 10 March 2001, S2Weekend, pp. 1–4.
• Rowland, Susan, "Gothic Crimes: A Literature of Terror and Horror", in From Agatha Christie to Ruth Rendell (Houndmills & New York: Palgrave, 2001), pp. 110–34.