Profile of Ian Rankin on Famous Like Me

Ian Rankin (born April 28, 1960 in Fife, Scotland) is one of the best-selling crime writers of the United Kingdom, and one of the world's foremost writers in the genre. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two sons. Before becoming a full-time novelist he worked as grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, college secretary and punk musician. After graduating he moved to London for four years and then rural France for six while he developed his career as a novelist.

Rankin is best known for his Inspector Rebus novels, which are set in Edinburgh. Black & Blue, The Hanging Garden, Dead Souls and Mortal Causes have been televised on ITV, starring John Hannah as Inspector Rebus.

Rankin has been elected as a Hawthornden Fellow and won the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He has also won two Crime Writers Association (CWA) ‘Dagger’s for Short-Stories and in 1997 the CWA Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for Black & Blue (which was also short listed for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for best novel). He eventually won the Edgar in 2004 for Resurrection Men. In 2005 he was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger to mark a lifetimes achievement in crime writing. He has honorary doctorates, one from the University of Abertay Dundee and one, more recently, from the University of St Andrews. In June 2002 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in the Golden Jubilee Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to literature.

He is a regular contributor to the BBC Two arts programme Late Review. His 3-part documentary series on the subject of evil was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. In 2005 he collaborated with folk musician Jackie Leven on the album Jackie Leven said. He was educated at Edinburgh University.

Novels

To date he has written at least 21 novels, including:

Inspector Rebus novels

• Knots and Crosses (1987)
• Hide and Seek (1991)
• Wolfman (1992) (aka Tooth and Nail)
• A Good Hanging (1992) - short stories
• Strip Jack (1992)
• The Black Book (1993)
• Mortal Causes (1994)
• Let it Bleed (1996)
• Black and Blue (1997)
• The Hanging Garden (1998)
• Dead Souls (1999)
• Set in Darkness (2000)
• The Falls (2001)
• Resurrection Men (2002)
• A Question of Blood (2003)
• Fleshmarket Close (2004)

Jack Harvey novels

• Witch Hunt
• Bleeding Hearts
• Blood Hunt (2002)

Other Books

• The Flood (1986 re-released with new introduction in 2005)
• Beggars Banquet (collection featuring both Rebus and other short stories)
• Watchman (1988)
• Rebus's Scotland: A Personal Journey (2005)

Recordings

• Jackie Leven said (Cooking vinyl, 2005) with Jackie Leven

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