Over a bespoke whisky tasting with Adam Hannett, head distiller at Bruichladdich Distillery, Natalie Jayne Clark will talk about her darkly comic crime novel, The Malt Whisky Murders, shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize 2025. Set in Campbeltown, it features Eilidh and her wife Morag, who hope to run the first women-owned distillery in Scotland – until a grisly, decades-old secret is revealed in some old barrels.
Natalie is excited to visit the island. “This will be my very first time setting foot on Islay, although it has long been on my list of islands to visit, not least because I have examined and savoured whiskies from all over the isle for many years and wish to experience the winds, waters and land that so influence their final flavours and drinking experience. I am most looking forward to spending time with other bookish people and having wild debates and conversations about our current obsessions and interests. One of mine at the moment is rare bees, and it just so happens that Islay is one of the few places in the world with ‘machairs’, a place where wildflowers, and therefore rarer bee species, flourish! So I am also looking forward to traversing the island to see what I can spot.”
When asked about the session at Bruichladdich, Natalie told us, “expect a session where I am super passionate and excited about all parts of the whisky process – including barley, barrel, bottling and branding – and women’s role in the industry in the past and today. It’s not just for those with an interest in whisky either – the book contains lots of humour, amateur sleuthing, visitations from ghosts, LGBTQ+ relationships, and more.”
Of course, there’s a programme full of exciting and interesting events for the Festival, and Natalie can’t wait to get involved. “The whole line up for Islay Book Festival for 2025 is full of writers I am an enormous fan of. As a neurodivergent woman, Elle McNicoll’s book ‘A Kind of Spark‘ is one I hold close to my heart, and definitely helped heal a part of my inner child, and is a book I am so grateful exists for the young people growing up now. I can’t wait to hear more about McNicoll’s writing process. I’m also a big fan of Graeme Macrae Burnet, Len Pennie, and Peter Mackay and am really looking forward to their events.”
Tickets for this event are £20, and strictly over-18s only. There is only very limited availability remaining – get booking if you don’t want to miss out!
Please note the room in which this event will take place is accessed via a short flight of stairs; do get in touch if this would prevent you from attending.