The glamour chase
Sifting through a new history of the Hollywood blacklists Kenneth Wright recalls a time of violence and treachery with unintended lessons for today’s film makers
Long story short
Her captivating pictorial promotions champion small publishers and little known authors, and shine some light amidst contemporary gloom. Patrick Small meets writer Amy Long to discuss literary solidarity, genius cover design and why it had to be Taylor
Word up
Sally Huband lives in the Shetland Islands and is the author of Sea Bean. A recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, she holds a PhD in ecology and anthropology from the University of Edinburgh
The Best Non-fiction of 2023
From Rebecca Smith’s enthralling memoir to Michel Faber’s love letter to music, Alistair Braidwood sifts through the year’s most compelling titles
Sounds like a melody
Alistair Braidwood salutes Michel Faber’s ambitious take on how music affects us at the deepest level
Word up
Product talks to Scottish-Egyptian novelist Rachelle Atalla about dystopia, inspiration and the difference between writing for page and screen
Word up
Malachy Tallack is the author of four award winning books. His latest, Illuminated by Water, was shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies prize for nature writing in 2022
How I write
By Jean Findlay
Ugly and Proud of It
The rise of tartan noir was a key part of Glasgow’s cultural revival. But Scottish crime writing betrays a fatal smugness, says Kenneth Wright
Word up
Emma Brankin is a writer and educator from Glasgow. Her new collection of short stories, Attention Seekers, has just been published
World Book Trip
Which one novel would you recommend to represent your country’s literature? The next stop on our tour is Turkey, where Ayla Douglas champions Sabahattin Ali’s modern classic Madonna in a Fur Coat
Every mouth needs filling
Lilly Markaki on why Hilton Als’s White Girls still matters
Books of the year
Alistair Braidwood on the finest non-fiction books of 2022
Do the dive every time we dance
Jude Rogers’ remarkable book captures the unique power of music to heal and inspire, writes Alistair Braidwood
Drunk on cinema
Alistair Braidwood enjoys getting lost in Seacrest, the fictional town of scheming cineastes in Kirsti Wishart’s latest book The Projectionist
Word up
Writer Jenni Fagan discusses her new book Hex, witchcraft and the problem with magical realism
Once upon a time
Alistair Braidwood admires a fresh look at how Simple Minds created their early innovations
Aces High Part 2
In the second instalment of our interview, author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímíde answers readers’ questions about institutional racism, structuring, sobriety and solitude
Aces High
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímíde wrote one of the standout books of 2021. She fields readers’ questions on craft, dyslexia, diversity and how to find your confidence as a writer
Word up
Author Catherine Simpson’s remarkable work ranges across short stories, fiction and memoir. She discusses Alan Bennett, grabbing writing time and why details matter
Word up
The Broken Pane, Charlie Roy’s harrowing but uplifting debut examines loss, tragedy and our relationship with the past. Here she discusses creative process and how she grew from wistful scribbler to published author
Shine like stars
Bobby Gillespie’s sharp memoir vividly recounts the rise of a driven musical obsessive, writes Alistair Braidwood
Blurred lines
Graeme Macrae Burnet’s latest multi-layered mystery combines great wit and invention, writes Alistair Braidwood
Author Interview
A uniquely talented writer of short stories, novels and poetry, Anne Leigh Parrish opens up about owls, Monet and the art of precision
Street fighting man
Andrei Semenev enjoys an expansive study of Russia’s courageous and complex opposition leader
Enjoy this trip
From Rapper’s Delight to Fight The Power, Dylan Jones salvages the maligned 1980s in ten tracks, writes Alistair Braidwood
True colours
The inspiring story of Preston’s rebirth highlights some telling lessons and limits of localism, writes James Foley
Taming the the Selfish Giant
It’s time to protect books and those who create them, writes Jean Findlay
Cast the first stone
Shirley Jackson’s subversive horror story The Lottery remains as pertinent today as when it first appeared seventy years ago, writes Sibylla Kalid
How I write
By puppeteer and children’s author Tania Czajka
Cocaine for the kids
Katherine Hill’s timely book offers parents practical advice to help children negotiate the digital world, writes Alex Borthwick
History Maker
Alistair Braidwood who worked as a secretary for Alasdair Gray, and was an editor on ‘Of Me & Others’, pays tribute to a brilliant, kind and peerless polymath
Books of 2019
Alan McCredie on a truly timeless classic
Books of 2019
Petra Reid on a radical ’60s classic still relevant today
How I write
By Amy Jardine
Hope and despair
The highly lauded Nell Zink is one of many US writers considering the challenges of activism today, but her work lacks one vital element, writes Sibylla Kalid
Idiot Wind
A former UK ambassador to the EU lays out the clusterfuck that follows a retreat from reality, writes Ronnie McCluskey
You are the product
Shoshana Zuboff’s treatise “Surveillance Capitalism” warns how big data commodifies us all, writes Nik Williams
World book trip
Which novel would you recommend to someone who had never read a word written in your country? The first stop on our tour is Scotland, where Alan Warner highlights James Kelman’s astonishing Kieron Smith, boy
Altered image
Sceptical of the form, Sara Lally is won over by three of 2018’s most intriguing graphic novels
Lost girls
Author Mick Kitson tells Sibylla Archdale Khalid how he conjured Sal, one of the most compelling literary characters of 2018
A ripple from the storm
Brilliant and uncompromising, Doris Lessing inspired Amy Jardine to conquer fear, start writing and live a fuller life
World Book Trip
If you could only recommend one novel from your country, which would it be? Ana Iliescu salutes Mircea Cartarescu’s Orbitor, a triumph of Romanian literature
Still waters
Daisy Johnson talks to Naomi Richards about the power of myths, metamorphis and the art of writing her new novel.
Mister Malcontent
Bill Hicks has been derided as an anti-corporate fanatic, UFO devotee and gun fetishist. But what he would really have hated is being described as the lost saviour of stand-up, writes Allan Brown
She Punks
Sam Knee talks to Neil Cooper about Untypical Girls, his new book about pioneering all-female bands from post punk to riot grrrl
Silent Spring
Set in a near-future Earth devastated by global warming, The Book of Joan is a rare attempt to deal with a colossal issue. Sybilla Archdale Kalid on why climate change can’t be contained in modern literature
History repeats
Did the former Stoke MP lift sections of a long ago OU book for his 2004 historical tome? One of the original authors Chris Harvie finds it oddly familiar
High Times
The creators of Britain’s first counter cultural paper talk to Neil Cooper about their new visual catalogue of the ’60s radical underground press
Passion play
Author Malcolm Devlin discusses fairy tales, genre-jumping and placating restless stories with Naomi Richards
Speed of life
Alistair Braidwood is charmed by a book of recollections from Bowie fans and collaborators
Cabinet of wonders
A spellbinding collection of short stories is Naomi Richards’ Book of the Year
Everything you know is wrong
As her new collection of short stories is launched, Meaghan Delahunt talks to Naomi Richards about the art of writing
No one is safe
Lilly Markaki on Agamben’s timely warnings about state power and perpetual war
Seize the day
Robin McAlpine’s latest book urges Scottish independence campaigners to grab the initiative and win the big arguments, writes Paddy Bort
Kill the poor
A beginners’ guide to Ron Butlin’s fiction. By Alistair Braidwood
Soul train
Stuart Cosgrove’s latest is an eloquent mix of social history and musical retrospective, writes Alistair Braidwood
Start making sense
Common Weal’s Book of Ideas offers a wealth of inspiration for Holyrood policy making, writes Paddy Bort
Sister of mine
Kirstin Innes discusses Fishnet, its follow-up and the art of writing with Naomi Richards
Guns and roses
Andrea Needham’s lucid book celebrates an audacious direct action against the arms trade, writes Paul Rogers
Royal Babylon
Heathcote Williams has a fearsome back catalogue spanning five decades as an activist, writer and poet. His latest works are typically acute, essential polemics, writes Neil Cooper
How soon is now?
Two very different books on Scotland’s post-indyref options are united by a glaring omission, says Paddy Bort
The boy done good
As Billy Bragg releases a new book of lyrics Alistair Braidwood assesses the career of Britain’s finest political songwriter
Other voices, other rooms: part one
In the first of a series of interviews with contemporary American writers, Lisa Locascio meets Francine Prose
The Zelig of pop
Alistair Braidwood enjoys exquisite storytelling from a self-effacing writer who covered every major music event of the last 40 years
When we ruled the school
Alistair Braidwood is charmed by Stuart David’s typically-understated memoir of the early days of Belle and Sebastian
Tracks of my tears
Simon Frith salutes a brilliant piece of music writing which returns the song to centre stage
Games without frontiers
Everyone looking for a lasting peace in Ukraine should read Andrew Wilson’s incisive book, writes Stephen White.
Other voices, other rooms: part 2
Part 2: Lisa Locascio talks to author Judith Freeman about writing, madness and the creative spark.