Christopher Brookmyre given an honorary degree

The award winning, Barrhead-born author collected an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Edinburgh Napier University on Thursday 17th June, and told the 1,700 students at the ceremony he was "surprised, flattered and humbled" by the recognition.

Mr Brookmyre, whose books include All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye and A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away said he felt like he had finally been recognised as a genuine crime writer.

He told his audience at the Usher Hall: "As someone who always sought to write the kind of literature students might save as a less demanding treat for when their exams were over, rather than works that might appear on anyone's curriculum, it gives me quite a glow to receive this kind of academic recognition."

Mr Brookmyre is currently working on his next book, Where the Bodies are Buried, which is due to be published by Little, Brown next year.