Doug Johnstone (born 22 July 1970) is a Scottish crime writer based in Edinburgh. His ninth novel Fault Lines was published by Orenda Books in May 2018.[1] His 2015 book The Jump (published by Faber & Faber) was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel.[2]

Doug Johnstone
Doug Johnstone playing drums with "Fun Lovin' Crime Writers" at Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, 2017
Born (1970-07-22) 22 July 1970 (age 54)
Arbroath, Scotland
OccupationWriter

He published two novels with Penguin, Tombstoning (2006) and The Ossians (2008), which received praise from Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Christopher Brookmyre.[3][4]

The Scotsman described him as "a master of the page-turning, heart-gripping, plot-driven tale."[5]

Johnstone is a Royal Literary Fund Consultant Fellow and he was Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University from 2014–2016. He was a writer in residence at the University of Strathclyde from 2010-2012 and before that worked as a lecturer in creative writing.[6] He has had several short stories appear in various publications, and since 1999 has worked as a freelance arts journalist, primarily covering music and literature. He is a singer, musician and songwriter in several bands, including Northern Alliance, part of the Fence Collective. Northern Alliance have released four albums, as well as recording an album as a fictional band called The Ossians, in parallel with Johnstone's 2008 novel of the same name. He has released two solo EPs - Keep It Afloat (including the autobiographical track I Used To Drum in a Rock'N'Roll Band), released in 2011, and 2014's I Did It Deliberately.[7]

Johnstone has a degree in physics, a PhD in nuclear physics and a diploma in journalism. Before embarking on his literary career, he designed radar and missile guidance systems for military aircraft.[8]

He grew up in Arbroath and lives in Portobello, Edinburgh with his wife and two children.[3][7]

Johnstone is also a co-founder of the Scotland Writers Football Club.[9][10]

Novels

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  • Tombstoning (2006)
  • The Ossians (2008)
  • Smokeheads (2011)
  • Hit & Run (2012)
  • Gone Again (2013)
  • The Dead Beat (2014)
  • The Jump (2015)
  • Crash Land (2016)
  • Fault Lines (2018)
  • Breakers (2019)
  • A Dark Matter (2020)
  • The Big Chill (2020)
  • The Space Between Us (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "Book review: Fault Lines, by Doug Johnstone". scotsman.com.
  2. ^ "Book review: Crash Land by Doug Johnstone". scotsman.com.
  3. ^ a b "Doug Johnstone promises a dead good read". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Hit and Run by Doug Johnstone". Goodreads.
  5. ^ "Book review: Crash Land by Doug Johnstone". scotsman.com.
  6. ^ "About". dougjohnstone.com. 11 February 2009.
  7. ^ a b "I did it deliberately, by Doug Johnstone". bandcamp.com.
  8. ^ "Interview: Doug Johnstone, author of Hit and Run". www.scotsman.com.
  9. ^ "Crime Watch: Asterix in Scotland: An interview with Doug Johnstone". 9 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Scotland Writers FC". dearscotland.com.
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