Olga Wojtas
Olga Wojtas is an unconventional – and very witty – writer of postmodern crime fiction whose surrealist humour has been compared to the likes of PG Wodehouse, Jasper Fforde and the Marx Brothers. Her debut novel, Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar, has been published in the UK and US to great critical acclaim – being longlisted for the inaugural Comedy Women in Print Prize 2019, shortlisted for a CrimeFest Award, and named as one of the best mysteries and thrillers of the year by Kirkus.
A journalist for more than 30 years, Olga was Scottish editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement before she began adding creative writing to her portfolio. She won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015 and has had numerous short stories and several novellas published. Olga’s second novel, Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace, was published in 2020.
The third book in the Miss Blaine’s Prefect series, Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Weird Sisters, was published in 2022.
She lives in Edinburgh, where she once attended James Gillespie’s High School – the model for Marcia Blaine School for Girls, which appears in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, the novel that inspired the Miss Blaine’s Prefect series.
Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace
by Olga Wojtas
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SHORTLISTED: CrimeFest Last Laugh Award, 2021
LONGLISTED: Comedy Women in Print Prize, 2020
The intrepid librarian Shona McMonagle, erstwhile Marcia Blaine Academy prefect and an accomplished linguist and martial artist, finds herself in an isolated French mountain village, Sans-Soleil, which has no sunlight because of its topography. It’s reeling from a spate of unexplained deaths, and Shona has once again travelled back in time to help out.
Forging an uneasy alliance with newly widowed Madeleine, Shona is soon drawn into a full-blown vampire hunt, involving several notable villagers, the world-renowned soprano Mary Garden – and even Count Dracula himself. Will Shona solve the mystery, secure justice for the murder victims and make it through a deathly denouement in the hall of mirrors to return to present-day Morningside Library?
Cover for first edition. Still distributing whilst stocks last.
Prizes and awards
LONGLISTED: Comedy Women in Print Prize, 2020
SHORTLISTED: CrimeFest Last Laugh Award, 2021
REVIEWS OF Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace
“A thoroughly enjoyable romp.” York Press: Book of the Week
"The genius of Olga Wojtas’ writing is that she is able to combine fact and fiction to delightful effect." Live and Deadly
“Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace is so clever, hugely enjoyable and absolutely hilarious.” Portobello Book Blog
“I couldn’t wait to be reunited with this character. I utterly love her company. So funny, so brisk, and above all, so well educated! More, more, more, please.” Lynne Truss
“The plot is engaging and keeps you turning the page … it is the journey itself that is the reward. Highly recommended.” Undiscovered Scotland
“Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace is a marvellous romp through history, myth, and legend, and delights by playing with all of these … often impish and wry … rip-roaring, genuinely thrilling, and laugh-out-loud funny.” Alistair Braidwood, Scots Whay Hae
“Effortlessly blends together a number of genres … Smart, funny and all-round good company, wherever Shona goes, readers will eagerly follow.” Rhona Shennan, Scotsman
“Audacious … witty and fun.” Alastair Mabbott, Herald