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Ian Rankin OBE, DL. (born April 28 1960 , in Cardenden , Fife , Scotland ) is one of the best-selling crime writers in the United Kingdom . His best known books are the '' Inspector Rebus '' novels. BACKGROUND Rankin's standard biography states that before becoming a full-time novelist he worked as grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, college secretary and punk musician.See here and here for mention of The Dancing Pigs in interviews.; his CV omits a stint as Literature tutor at the University Of Edinburgh . After graduating from Edinburgh University he moved to London for four years and then rural France for six while he developed his career as a novelist. He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath (which has recently been rebuilt). He lives in Edinburgh with his wife Miranda and their two sons Jack and Kit. Kit suffers from a rare disorder known as Angelman Syndrome . Rankin also used to live near the Commonwealth swimming pool. He has stated on a number of occasions that one of his favourite novels is ''Rivals'' by Jilly Cooper . WRITING Rankin did not set out to be a crime writer. He thought his first novels ''?" Rankin's '' Inspector Rebus '' novels are mainly set in Edinburgh, and are major contributions to the Tartan Noir genre. Four of the novels were Televised on ITV, starring John Hannah . In early 2006 Ken Stott took over in the part of Rebus, and was hailed by many fans as an ideal fit for the character. Rankin confirmed that he will soon start work on a five- or six-issue run on the comic book '' Hellblazer '', although the story may be turned into a standalone graphic novel instead. He talked about this at length with Simon Mayo on Radio Five Live . DOCUMENTARIES He is a regular contributor to the BBC Two arts programme ''Newsnight Review''. His 3-part documentary series on the subject of Evil was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. In 2005 he presented a 30-minute documentary on BBC4 called ''Rankin on the Staircase'' in which he investigated the relationship between real-life cases and crime fiction, loosely based on the Michael Peterson murder case as documented in Jean-Xavier Lestrade's documentary series 'Death on the Staircase'. The same year he collaborated with folk musician Jackie Leven on the album ''Jackie Leven Said''. In 2007, Rankin appeared in programmes for BBC Four exploring the origins of his alter-ego character, John Rebus. Titled "Ian Rankin's Hidden Edinburgh" and "Ian Rankin Investigates Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde," Rankin looks at the origins of the character and the events that led to his creation. AWARDS Rankin has been elected as a Hawthornden Fellow and won the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He has also won two Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Dagger prizes for short stories and in 1997 the CWA Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for '' Black And Blue '' (which was also short-listed for the Mystery Writers Of America Edgar Award for best novel). He won the Edgar in 2004 for '' Resurrection Men ''. In 2005 he was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger to mark a lifetime's achievement in crime writing. He has honorary doctorates from the University Of Abertay Dundee , from the University Of St Andrews and, in 2005, from the University Of Hull . 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. BIBLIOGRAPHY To date he has written at least 21 novels, including: Inspector Rebus novels ]] #'' Knots And Crosses '' (1987) #'' Hide And Seek '' (1991) #'' Tooth And Nail '' (1992 - originally published as ''Wolfman'') #'' 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) #'' The Naming Of The Dead '' (2006) #'' Exit Music '' (2007) Jack Harvey novels
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