Frances Crawford - A Bad, Bad Place
WithFrances Crawford
In conversation withVal McDermid
On:26th February 2026, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Attendance options:
We're thrilled to welcome Frances Crawford to the bookshop to celebrate the Edinburgh launch of her debut novel A Bad, Bad Place. It's a sweeping crime novel about the far-reaching effects of a murder on a community in Glasgow, and an epic story of resilience, redemption and love. Crawford will be in conversation with Scottish crime legend Val McDermid for an evening you don't want to miss!
This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience, as well as a livestream for attendees watching from home. There will be a signing after the event.
Please note that A Bad, Bad Place is published on 12th February. If you have signed up for a Book & In-person or a Book & Livestream option and would like to receive your copy ahead of the event on 26th February, please get in touch via our contact form and we'll be happy to help.
In-person vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of A Bad, Bad Place – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book. Livestream vouchers are valid until the day after the event and can be redeemed on our website against a single copy of A Bad, Bad Place.
About A Bad, Bad Place:
Everyone's talking about Janey Devine…
Glasgow, 1979. While walking her dog, twelve-year-old Janey finds a murdered woman on an abandoned railway - and her innocent childhood ends in a shocking moment of trauma.
When the victim is named as daughter of a local hardman, Janey's nana, Maggie, is distraught and deeply afraid. Janey claims she can’t remember what she saw that day, but the police think she’s hiding something, and they’re not the only ones interested.
Maggie tries desperately to keep Janey safe but is battling long-buried secrets of her own. As fear and rumour stalk the streets of Possilpark, Maggie becomes convinced she will lose her beloved granddaughter forever - especially when Janey starts to remember exactly what happened in that bad, bad place...
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Frances Crawford Author
As a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, Frances Crawford was delighted to graduate age 60 with MLitt (Distinction) Creative Writing from Glasgow University. In 2023, she won Bloody Scotland/ Glencairn Crime Short Story Competition and the first chapters of her debut novel, A Bad, Bad Place, won Highly Commended in Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer 2024. Frances grew up in North Glasgow, and credits the people of Possilpark and Milton as her writing inspiration. She still lives in Glasgow with her family, and likes libraries and punk rock.
Val McDermid Chair
Val McDermid is a number one bestseller whose novels have been translated into forty languages, and have sold over nineteen million copies. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009, was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2010 and received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award in 2011. In 2016, Val received the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award at the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and in 2017 received the DIVA Literary Prize for Crime, and was elected a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Val has served as a judge for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, and was Chair of the Wellcome Book Prize in 2017. She is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates, is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford and a Professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand. She writes full time and divides her time between Edinburgh and East Neuk of Fife.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.