Posts Tagged ‘author’
Borders Book Festival reveals its big name guests
A host of literary and political giants are among the highlights of the 2021 Baillie Gifford Borders Book Festival. This year’s event is being held in November at Ed Miliband, home of Sir Walter Scott, whose 250th anniversary is being celebrated throughout the year. Writers Hilary Mantel and Alexander McCall Smith, crime-writing royalty Ian Rankin,…
Read MoreYoung Walter Scott Prize writing event open for entries
The distinguished Young Walter Scott Prize 2021, a UK-wide historical writing prize for 11-19 year olds, now in its seventh year, is open for entries. The prize challenges young people to write a piece of short fiction – stories of between 800-2000 words – set in a time before they were born. Entries are judged…
Read MoreWhen vampires came to Scotland in a great read
I have always been a fan of the vampire genre, but this is a first for me. This tale of blood sucking horror set in the Highlands of Scotland. Mark Campbell, historian and author, is desperate to finish his new book on the infamous Highland Clearances when his researcher mysteriously disappears. Abandoning his depressed wife…
Read MorePrizewinners unveiled at Bloody Scotland
The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival has revealed the winners of its major prizes. The event, which ran from 17-19 September in Stirling, saw the presentation of two prizes, with the debut prize, as well as the McIlvanney Prize for the Scottish crime writing novel of the year. BBC Radio Scotland presenter and debut…
Read MoreWigtown welcomes Mrs Death and hosts a Meeting of Spirits
This year’s Wigtown Book Festival meets death and then plunges on to discuss what happens afterwards. Author Salena Godden will be at the festival to discuss her book Mrs Death Misses Death in which a troubled young author named Wolf meets, and befriends, Death in the guise of an elderly working class black woman and…
Read MoreSunrise by the Sea will bring some smiles and joy
A fantastically quirky yet moving story, Sunrise by the Sea features introvert Marisa Rosso, a young girl bound by grief for her recently deceased Italian grandfather. Through the suggestion of her rather obnoxious flatmate, she moves to a tidal island off the Cornish coast to get some peace and clarity. But upon arrival she realises…
Read MoreAlternative past with Scotland under Nazi occupation
Few can write as evocatively of our country’s past as Alistair Moffat. Stepping away from his usual historical tomes, he reimagines WWII through this extraordinary piece of speculative fiction, taking you on a journey to investigate what might have been had Nazi Germany won the war. Set in a disturbing post-1945 world where German occupation…
Read MorePush The Boat Out is Scotland’s newest poetry event
Scotland’s newest and most boundary-bending poetry festival, launches its inaugural programme today, Wednesday 8 September in Edinburgh. Taking place from October 15–17 within the creative hub of Summerhall, Push The Boat Out will be the second poetry festival ever to be held in Scotland and its aims to do what it says on the tin,…
Read MoreBook chronicles Dundee’s changing fortunes
For years, whenever we as Scots thought of Dundee, collectively the old cliche of jute, jam and comics were the obvious answers. But, with the passage of time, and in particular the arrival of the V&A on the banks of the Tay, that image has been completely eroded and modernised, as Dundee’s economy has diversified…
Read MoreA meticulous account of the battle for equality
Struggle and Suffrage in Glasgow comes with the subtitle of ‘women’s lives and the fight for equality’, and that’s exactly what this book is. It chronicles events that took place as the women of Glasgow battled for the right to vote: marching on the streets, daring escapes from under the noses of police officers, and…
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