Short stories

Denise has also written many short stories, not all of which are crime. This is just a selection.


Nemo Me Impune

Nemo Me Impune was commissioned as part of  the Historic Environment Scotland collection 'Bloody Scotland'. HES gave unprecedented access to sites of historic importance to the commissioned writers to inspire their stories. Denise Mina chose Edinburgh Castle for this short story abut a family outing that goes horribly wrong.


Incident at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (‘Angola’) June 12th,1982

Scottish crime writer Craig Robertson organised a corona virus response by commissioning a series of short crime stories for publication in the Daily Record

You can read the text here


In These Transgressive Spaces

2015

This story was commissioned by the Glasgow Women’s Library for a project called Mixing the Colours which produced an anthology of stories by woman – most of whom were not professional writers - about experiences of sectarianism.

You can read about the project and download the publication from the Library website.


The Blood-Spotted Tissue

2015

This story about a student found to have 'flesh in her drains' was the first episode in a new series called Blood, Sweat and Tears, commissioned by BBC Radio 4. The stories were recorded in front of an audience in the MCT theatre, Alleyn's School, Dulwich, introduced by Mark Billingham and broadcast in April 2015.


OxCrimes

2014

Denise contributed a story to this anthology of crime stories for the charity Oxfam.

OxCrimes was curated by Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival, and published by Profile Books. It is introduced by Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin and the other contributors included Mark Billingham, Alexander McCall Smith, Anthony Horowitz, Val McDermid, Peter James, Adrian McKinty and Louise Welsh.


Ernest Hemingway’s Third Wife

2012

This story appeared in a collection called 21 Revolutions produced to mark the 21st anniversary of the Glasgow Women’s Library’s in 2012.

Denise reads the story and talks about the inspiration behind it in this podcast on the Library's website.


Which No Man Shall Put Asunder

2010

This contemporary ghost story is the tale of sisters Martha and Lila at an ill-fated wedding on a stormy Scottish island. This was the first of a series of five brand-new ghost stories written by Scottish authors and featured on BBC Radio Scotland at Christmas. The series was presented by Denise.


I am Carnage

2010

Commissioned for a small collection of short stories called Open Up which was published to mark Breathing Space Day and raise awareness of mental health issues.

The collection was edited by Rosemary Goring and published by The Herald newspaper and the charity Breathing Space.


We Are All Waiting

2006

This story on the theme of Elsewhere was commissioned by the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

You can listen to Denise reading the story in this 15-minute podcast on the Book Festival website. Or you can read the story on the website.


Helena and the Babies

1999

This story won the Crime Writers Association Best Story Award.

First published in Fresh Blood III edited by Maxim Jakubowski and Mike Ripley (1999) and then in The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 2: Second Annual Collection edited by Ed Gorman (2001).