Birlinn Author Availability 2016

Birlinn Limited

Jan RutherfordPublicity and Marketing Director

Birlinn Ltd 10 Newington Road

West Newington House Edinburgh EH9 1QS

Tel: 0131 337 9724

Mob: 077 1047 4308 E:mail: [email protected]

CO N TAC T

Author Availability Brochure

2016

Anna MarshallEvents Manager

Birlinn Ltd 10 Newington Road

West Newington House Edinburgh EH9 1QS

Tel: 0131 337 9724

Mob: 078 3577 3083 E:mail: [email protected]

CONTENTS

FEATUREDAlexander McCall Smith

Alistair Moffat

NON-FICTIONTam Dalyell

Alastair McIntoshMalachy Tallack

Karl SabbaghWalter Reid

David TorranceJohn McKendrick

Eilidh MuldoonAlan Taylor

Christopher Fleet & Charles WithersJames Hunter

Marian PallisterMohammad Sarwar

Louise Wyllie & Jan Patience

FICTIONRosemary Goring

Jan-Philipp SendkerDenzil MeyrickShirley McKayKevin MacNeil

FOOD & DRINKCharles MacLeanClaire Macdonald

2-34-5

www.birlinn.co.uk

2016

678910111213141516171819

2122-2324-252627

2829

CONTENTS

POETRYLiz LochheadMichael Pedersen Jenni FaganScottish Poetry LibraryRon Butlin

MUSICZoë HoweStuart CosgroveFreeland Barbour

GEMS FROM 2015Ian BuxtonAndrew DuffIan FraserMurdo FraserIan CroftonDavid SpavenRoger HutchinsonAlan McKirdySue LawrenceJessie Sheeler & Robin GillandersDaniel MacCannellJess SmithCara EllisonAndy WightmanGregory DowlingChris RushMichael F. RussellChristopher JoryGillian Galbraith

3132333435

www.birlinn.co.uk

2016

373839

41424344454647484950515253545556575859

www.polygonbooks.co.uk 2

ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH

Creator of Precious Ramotswe and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, which has sold 25 million copies in English and been translated into 46 languages. An hour in the company of Alexander McCall Smith is an hour of sheer delight!

October 2016: School Ship Tobermory (pbk) August 2016: The Bertie Project (44 Scotland Street, Vol. 11) The Sands of Shark Island (School Ship Tobermory series)May 2016: My Italian Bulldozer (stand-alone)November 2015: Chance Developments (stand-alone)

Also available: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series; the 44 Scotland Street series; the Isabel Dalhousie series; The Corduroy Mansions series; the von Igelfeld series; The School Ship Tobermory series,The Precious series; Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party, Trains & Lovers, Emma; The Forever Girl; A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith’s Edinburgh

Who is Alexander McCall Smith?Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and best-loved authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over 25 million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over 45 languages and become bestsellers across the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the von Igelfeld series; and Corduroy Mansions which started life as a delightful cross-media serial, written on the website of the Telegraph Media Group, winning two major cross-media awards. Alexander McCall Smith created Precious Ramotswe as a character in a short story in the 1990s. She made her debut in the novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in 1998 and since then that novel (and a further fifteen titles in the series) has sold many millions of copies to fans across the world .

Author based: Edinburgh

Willing to travel: Anywhere in the world

Happy to do:In-discussion or solo events; festivals large and small. Alexander is a hugely

experienced performer, with more than 50 appearances a year before audiences

ranging from small rural knitting groups to a packed Sydney opera house2016/17 – limited availability

Live Literature Funded: Yes

DRAFT COVER


About My Italian Bulldozer:Dominic is a successful wine-writer, under pressure to finish an encyclopaedia of wines on which he has been working for several years. He decides to go to Italy for a month to complete the book and recover from a recent break-up. On arrival in Pisa a mix-up at the car rental desk results in him renting a bulldozer, and he sets off – slowly – on the road to Montalcino. He becomes rather fond of the bulldozer, particularly when it helps him rescue the lovely Anna, an American art historian. Will love blossom as they trundle through the Renaissance countryside, or will Anna’s obnoxious boyfriend block their path?

About The Bertie Project (44 Scotland Street):Once more, we catch up with the delightful goings-on in the fictitious 44 Scotland Street from Alexander McCall Smith. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith gives us another instalment in this popular series, now running in its eleventh season in the Scotsman. Anything could happen to Bertie and the gang…

About Chance Developments:Inspired by a bundle of vintage photographs, Alexander McCall Smith started to imagine the stories of the people they portrayed. Through fifteen photographs he explores the many themes of love– romantic love, platonic love, passionate love, familial love, unrequited love, and many more.

Every one of these images, from formal sepia portraits to hazy family snaps is powerful and intriguing in its own way and through Alexander’s pen, each reveals a story of love. The result is an always charming yet often unexpectedly poignant collection of stories about that most powerful of human emotions.

About The Sands of Shark Island (School Ship Tobermory):For information on McCall Smith’s children’s series please see our Children’s Author Availability Brochure.

Praise for The Revolving Door of Life:

‘Always a delight, fans of Bertie should ready themselves for a satisfying treat!’ – Bookbag

www.alexandermccallsmith.comwww.facebook.com/alexandermccallsmith

@McCallSmith

DRAFT COVER

www.birlinn.co.ukwww.birlinn.co.uk 4

ALISTAIR MOFFAT

Award winning historian and author of over 20 books. Let Alistair Moffat take you on a fascinating, immersing journey through the history of a people.

May 2016: Bannockburn: The Battle for a Nation (pbk)September 2015: Scotland: A History from Earliest Times (hbk)

Also available: Scotland’s Last Frontier (2015); Hawick: A History from Earliest Times (2014); The British: A Genetic Journey (2013); The Great Tapestry of Scotland (2013); The Scots: A Genetic Journey (with Dr Jim Wilson) (2011); The Borders (2010); The Faded Map (2010); Tuscany: A History (2009); The Wall (2009); The Reivers (2008); The Sea Kingdoms (April 2008).

Who is Alistair Moffat?Alistair Moffat is a man of many talents, Director of the Borders Book Festival, and Co-Chairman of the Great Tapestry of Scotland- and he still finds time to write! Formerly Director of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes for Scottish Television, Alistair Moffat is now a regular BBC Radio 4 and television broadcaster and presenter. His non-fiction books have a huge UK and international following. He is in high demand as a speaker for events all over the UK.

About Scotland: A History from Earliest Times: From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, Alistair Moffat explores the history of the Scottish nation. As well as focusing on key moments in the nation’s history such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite Risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps less well documented. From prehistoric timber halls to inventions and literature, Moffat’s tale explores the drama of battle, change, loss and innovation interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men and women who defined a nation.

Author based: Scottish Borders

Willing to travel: Limited availability but happy to consider

anything within the UK and beyondHappy to do:

Festivals large and small, bookstore events, readers’ groups et al

Recent Events: Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Chalke Valley

History Festival2016: Limited AvailabilityLive Literature Funded: No

www.birlinn.co.uk www.birlinn.co.uk 5

About Bannockburn: The Battle for Scotland:As 8,000 Scottish soldiers, most of them spearmen, faced 18,000 English infantrymen, archers and mounted knights on the morning of Sunday 23 June 1314, many would have thought that the result was a foregone conclusion. But after two days’ fighting, the English were routed. The emphatic defeat of the much larger English force was the moment that enabled Scotland to remain independent for the next 400 years and pursue a different destiny. This book follows in detail the events of those two days that changed history. In addition to setting the battle within its historical and political context Alistair Moffat captures all the fear, heroism, confusion and desperation of the fighting itself as he describes the tactics and manoeuvres that led to Scottish victory. The result is a very human picture of Bannockburn that recreates the experience not only of the leaders – Edward II and Robert the Bruce – but the ordinary men who fought to the death on both sides.

About Scotland’s Last Frontier :The Highland Line is the most profound internal boundary in Britain. First recognised by Agricola in the first century AD, it divides the country both geologically and culturally, signalling the border between Highland and Lowland, Celtic and English-speaking, crofting and farming. In Scotland’s Last Frontier Alistair Moffat makes a journey of the imagination, tracing the route of the Line from the River Clyde through Perthshire and the North-east. In addition to exploring the huge importance of the Line over almost two thousand years, he also shows how it continues to influence life and attitudes in 21st-century Scotland. The result is a fascinating story, full of history and anecdote.

Praise for Alistair Moffat:

‘A most compelling, thought-provoking and entertaining history’ – Rosemary Goring, The Herald

‘A fascinating picture’ – James Naughtie, BBC Radio 4

‘Alistair gave a brilliant talk...he’s such a nice person and everyone enjoyed themselves’ - The Moffat Bookshop

www.alistairmoffat.co.uk

DRAFT COVER


TAM DALYELL

‘One of the most principled, honourable and dogged politicians of his generation’ - Daily Mail

July 2016: The Question of Scotland: Devolution & After (pbk)

Also available: The Importance of Being Awkward: The Autobiography of Tam Dalyell (2012)

Who is Tam Dalyell?When veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell retired as Father of the House in 2005, the Commons lost one of its most colourful and outspoken politicians. In a parliamentary career that spanned 43 years and the administrations of eight Prime Ministers, Dalyell was never a stranger to controversy. He argued fiercely against the Gulf War, military action in Kosovo, and the invasion of Iraq. He has also been a leading figure in the attempt to uncover the truth about the Lockerbie bombing.

As the originator of The West Lothian Question, Tam’s warnings about devolution and the disintegration of the United Kingdom are proving to be remarkably prescient. Answering the West Lothian question is now one of the most important and urgent political debates of our time, as leaders debate whether Scottish or Welsh MPs should be able to vote upon English-only matters after the devolution of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments. Tam is always in high demand for events, with repeated sell-out crowds at Hay and Edinburgh Book Festivals.

About The Question of Scotland:Following the Scottish Referendum, and subsequent SNP success in the 2015 General Election Tam Dalyell offers a personal reflection on why the UK is on the brink of the most serious constitutional crisis in its history. As Scotland’s longest serving MP, Tam utilises his first-hand experience of our political history to help explain why we have ended up where we are today, and offers sage advice and suggests ways forward which will inform debate as the UK moves into a new political era. Praise for Importance of Being Awkward:

‘A story of principle and persistence from a politician whose like we shall surely not see again’

– Journal of the Law Society of Scotland

Author based: Linlithgow, West Lothian

Willing to travel: Happy to consider anything within the UK

Happy to do: Festivals large and small, bookstore events,

readers’ groups et alRecent Events:

Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Literary Festival, Pitlochry Winter Words, Aye Write (Glasgow), National Library of

ScotlandSpecial requirements:

Requires to be driven to and from eventsLive Literature Funded: No

NON-FICTION


ALASTAIR MCINTOSH

‘Thoughtful, incisive and emotionally powerful’ — FrienDs oF the earth

June 2016: Poachers’ PilgrimageAlso available: Hell & High Water (2008)

Who is Alastair McIntosh?Alastair McIntosh is an independent writer, broadcaster, speaker and activist who is involved in a wide range of contemporary issues, from land reform, globalization and nonviolence to psychology, spirituality and ecology. Alastair is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow (visiting professor) in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow and a Research Fellow at the School of Divinity (New College) in the University of Edinburgh.

About Poachers’ Pilgrimage:The islands of the Outer Hebrides are home to some of the most remote and spectacular scenery in the world. They host an astonishing range of mysterious structures – stone circles, beehive dwellings, holy wells and ’temples’ from the Celtic era. Over a twelve-day pilgrimage, often in appalling conditions, Alastair McIntosh returned to the islands of his childhood and explored the meaning of these places. Traversing moors and mountains, struggling through torrential rivers, he went from the most southerly tip of Harris to the northerly Butt of Lewis. The book is a walk through space and time, across a physical landscape and into a spiritual one. Alastair had just come back from lecturing at military institutions across Europe. As he battled with his own ability to endure some of the toughest terrain in Britain, he met with the healing power of the land and its communities. This is a moving book, a powerful reflection not simply of this extraordinary place and its people met along the way, but of imaginative hope for humankind.

Praise for Hell & High Water:

‘McIntosh’s excellent expose might just clear a path out of the darkness’ - The Herald

‘An alternative, deeply humanist version of green politics ... of genuine international importance’ - The Scotsman

Author based: Glasgow

Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond

Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore and external

events and festivals large and smallLive Literature Funded: Yes


MALACHY TALLACK ‘Tallack is one of a burgeoning group of young travel writers...who have reinvigorated their increasingly tired genre with elements of psychogeography: the study of how places make us feel.’ - Will Self, the GuarDian

September 2016: The Un-discovered IslandsJune 2016: Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home (pbk)

Who is Malachy Tallack? Malachy Tallack is a writer and musician who has recently been awarded the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, and the New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust. As a singer-songwriter he has released four albums and an EP, and performed in venues across the UK.

Malachy has spent most of his life in Shetland, but has also travelled and lived in many places around the world, including several years on Fair Isle.

Malachy is frequently invited to literary festivals and book events across the UK. His events often include a musical element, ranging from A Capella singing in Shetland dialect, to country & western songs on the guitar. Highlight events in 2015 included performing to sell out audiences at EIBF & Cheltenham Literature Festival.

About The Un-discovered Islands:The oceans of the world are filled with places seen once and then never again; places born in myth and mystery. These islands have not been lost to rising seas or earthquakes. These islands are human in origin, the products of imagination and error- phantoms, fakes and legends.

About Sixty Degrees North: The sixtieth parallel marks the border between North and South. Malachy explores the places that share this latitude, beginning and ending in Shetland, where he has spent most of his life. Sixty Degrees North is also a deeply personal book, which begins with the author’s loss of his father and his troubled relationship with Shetland. Informed by the journeys travelled it moves towards a kind of resolution: an acceptance of loss, and ultimately a love of the place Tallack calls ‘home’.

Praise for Sixty Degrees North:

‘Malachy Tallack is the real deal... not just a vibrant new voice, but a wise, questioning and highly sophisticated talent.’ – John Burnside



Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and

festivals Recent Events:

Edinburgh International Book Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Wigtown Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival,

multiple bookshop eventsLive Literature Funded: Yes


KARL SABBAGH

‘Sabbagh...is a crusader’ - the Financial tiMes

June 2016: A Rum Affair: A True Story of Botanical Fraud

Who is Karl Sabbagh? Karl Sabbagh is a writer, journalist and TV producer. He is the author of a dozen books, including The Living Body (with Christian Barnaard), Power into Art and Palestine: A Personal Journey.

About A Rum Affair:In the 1940s, the eminent British botanist John Heslop Harrison proposed a controversial theory: that vegetation on the islands off the west coast of Scotland had survived the last Ice Age. His premise flew in the face of what most botanists believed – that no plants had survived the 10,000-year period of extreme cold. But Heslop Harrison had proof – the plants and grasses found on the isle of Rum.

Harrison didn’t anticipate, however, an amateur botanist called John Raven, who boldly questioned whether these grasses were truly indigenous to the area, or whether they had been transported there. This is the story of what happened when a tenacious amateur set out to find out the truth, and how he uncovered a most extraordinary fraud.

Praise for A Rum Affair:

‘An exciting scientific detective story’ – Times Literary Supplement

‘A breezy ride . . . informative and amusing’ – Washington Post Book World

Author based: Worcestershire




Edinburgh International Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No


WALTER REID

‘He makes us think along with the politicians, the diplomats, the riotous amateurs who made British policy’ - the scotsMan

May 2016: Keeping the Jewel in the Crown: The British Betrayal of India (pbk)

Also available: Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle East (2013); Churchill, 1940-1945 (2012); Arras, 1917 (2011); Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig (2009)

Who is Walter Reid?Walter Reid was educated at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities, where he read history. He is the author of five books on 20th century military history, and is renowned for his ability to turn meticulous research into approachable, capable prose. He knows how to pick his way through a maze of committees, memoranda, doubts, bluffs and improvisations, and present the information in a way that is accessible, engaging and, in the words of The Scotsman, ‘begs to be read’. About Keeping the Jewel in the Crown:In 1947, when India achieved independence, Britain portrayed the transfer of power as the outcome of decades, even centuries, of responsible planning – the honourable discharge of an historic responsibility. That view has never been seriously challenged in Britain. But Walter Reid shows that the official narrative is a travesty of what really happened. Drawing on the documentary evidence – letters, diaries, state papers – he reveals how Britain selfishly deceived and prevaricated in order to arrest political progress in India for as long as possible – a shameful passage in British imperial policy which led to tragedy and untold suffering when independence finally became inevitable.

Praise for Empire of Sand:

‘Extremely well written and enjoyable to read’ – European Review of History

‘[An] impeccably researched book’ – the Herald

Author based: Bridge of Weir, Scotland




Aye Write (Glasgow )Live Literature Funded: No


DAVID TORRANCE

‘Torrance has an excellent eye for political detail’

– scotlanD on sunDay

June 2016: Nicola Sturgeon: A Political Life (NEW EDITION)

August 2015: Salmond: Against the Odds (NEW POST-REFERENDUM EDITION)

Who is David Torrance?David Torrance is a writer, journalist and broadcaster. He was formerly political reporter for STV and is now a freelance political commentator, regularly appearing on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC television, as well as supplying obituaries to the Herald and commentary for The Scotsman, The Times and several websites. He is the author of 12 books.

About Salmond: Against the Odds (New Edition):In this new edition of his acclaimed biography, with which many of Salmond’s close friends and colleagues have co-operated, acclaimed political biographer David Torrance turns his attention to arguably the most intriguing politician Scotland has produced. Utilising a raft of published and unpublished material, he charts the life and career of Alex Salmond, including his time as leader of two SNP administrations, the 2014 referendum, his subsequent resignation as party leader and his announcement to run for the 2015 UK general election.

About Nicola Sturgeon: A Political Life:

From the age of just 16, Nicola Sturgeon has devoted her life to the SNP – her determination and grit finally winning her one of Labour’s stronghold seats in Govan in 2007, a constituency she battled to win for almost a decade. Sturgeon swiftly became one of the Scottish Government’s most successful ministers. By the time Alex Salmond resigned as First Minister and SNP leader in the wake of a No vote Sturgeon was viewed as his inevitable successor. Ten years earlier she’d been perceived as what some called a ‘nippy sweetie’, a street-fighting Glaswegian politician lacking Salmond’s broad populist appeal. But in the intervening period she had softened her image and even begun to outstrip her mentor and boss in terms of voter approval. As the country prepares for a General Election, Nicola Sturgeon could hold the balance of power in her hands, not just in Scotland, but in the United Kingdom.

Author based: London



festivals Live Literature Funded: No


JOHN MCKENDRICK

February 2016: Darien: A Journey in Search of Empire

Who is John McKendrick?

John McKendrick was born and brought up in Glasgow. He studied at the LSE and Oxford and is currently a barrister in London and an advocate in Edinburgh. He also worked for two years in Panama and the Caribbean. He was Times Lawyer of the Week in 2013.

About Darien:

The Company of Scotland and its attempts to establish the colony of Caledonia on the inhospitable isthmus of Panama in the late seventeenth century is one of the most tragic moments of Scottish history. Devised by William Paterson, the stratagem was to create a major trading station between Europe and the East. It could have been a triumph, but inadequate preparation and organisation ensured it was a catastrophe – of the 3000settlers who set sail in 1688 and 1699, only a handful returned, the rest having succumbed to disease, and the enormous financial loss was a key factor in ensuring union with England in 1707.

Based on archive research in the UK and Panama, as well as extensive travelling in Darien itself, John McKendrick explores this fascinating and seminal moment in Scottish history and uncovers fascinating new information from New World archives about the role of the English and Spanish, and about the identities of the settlers themselves.

Author based: Edinburgh & London

Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK

Happy to do: Bookstore and external events,

festivals large and smallLive Literature Funded: No





festivals large and smallRecent events:

National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh International Book Festival


EILIDH MULDOON

April 2016: The Colouring Book of Scotland

Who is Eilidh Muldoon? Eilidh Muldoon studied Art History and gained an MFA in Illustration from Edinburgh College of Art in June 2013, where she is currently Illustrator in Residence. She is also a freelance artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in prints, greetings cards and giftware.

About The Colouring Book of Scotland:

This is the first colouring book dedicated to the beautiful landscapes and landmarks of Scotland, and is sure to be popular with locals and visitors as well as everyone who enjoys the calming qualities and artistry of colouring.

Suitable for adults as well as children, the book features 20 of the country’s most iconic places, including:Edinburgh Castle • Forth Rail Bridge • St Andrews • HMS Discovery, Dundee • Balmoral castle • Loch Ness/Urquart Castle • Dunrobin Castle, Stromness, Orkney • Skara Brae • Callanish standing stones • Lews Castle, Lewis • Highland Games • Eilean Donan • DuartCastle, Mull • Tobermory, Skye • Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow • Caerlaverlock Castle • Abbotsford House • Melrose Abbey • Rosslyn Chapel • Falkirk Wheel • Stirling Castle • Edinburgh Christmas Market


ALAN TAYLOR September 2016: Glasgow: The Autobiography

Who is Alan Taylor?:Alan Taylor has been a journalist for over 30 years. He was deputy and managing editor at The Scotsman, and for the last 15 years has been Writer-at-Large for the Sunday Herald. He has contributed to numerous publications, including The TLS, The New Yorker and The Melbourne Age, and edited three acclaimed anthologies – The Assassin’s Cloak (2000), The Secret Annexe (2004) and The Country Dairies (2009).

About Glasgow: The Autobiography:Glasgow: The Autobiography tells the story of the fabled, former Second City of the British Empire from its origins as a bucolic village on the rivers Kelvin and Clyde, through the Industrial Revolution to the dawning of the second millennium.

Arranged chronologically and introduced by journalist and Glasgowphile Alan Taylor, the book includes extracts from an astonishing array of writers. Some, such as William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Dirk Bogarde and Evelyn Waugh, were visitors and left their vivid impressions as they passed through on. Many others were born and bred Glaswegians who knew the city and its inhabitants – and its secrets – intimately. They come from every walk of life and, in addition to professional writers, include anthropologists and scientists, artists and murderers, housewives and hacks, footballers and comedians, politicians and entrepreneurs, immigrants and locals. Together they present a varied and vivid portrait of one of the world’s great cities in all its grime and glory - a place which as at once infuriating, frustrating, inspiring, beguiling, sensational and never, ever dull.

Authors based: Edinburgh


Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals

Recent Events:British Science Festival,

Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival, National Library of Scotland

Live Literature Funded: No


CHRISTOPHER FLEET & CHARLES WITHERS October 2016: Mapping Scottish Islands

Also available: Edinburgh: Mapping the City (2014); Scotland: Mapping the Nation (2011)

Who are Christopher Fleet & Charles Withers?Chris Fleet is Senior Map Curator at the National Library of Scotland. In 2010 he was awarded both the Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and its Bartholomew Globe for excellence in the assembly, delivery and application of geographical information through cartography, GIS and related techniques. Professor Charles Withers is the Geographer Royal for Scotland, and the Ogilvie Chair of Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests centre on the historical geography of science, in the Enlightenment and in the nineteenth century, in travel and exploration, the history of cartography, and the history of the book.

About Mapping Scottish Islands:Islands fascinate. As minature worlds, as beautiful locations, and as homes to communities seemingly distant from the rigours of modern life. Scotland’s many islands are diverse repositories of the nation’s history and geography. Mapping Scottish Islands illustrates the many dimensions of island life, and their changes over time. This beautiful book provides a window into the past, and also a glimpse into the future of mapping these incredible places.

Praise for Scotland: Mapping the Nation:

‘Some books are simply so magnificent in their scope and execution you know they are destined to become classics from the moment you open the cover and begin to turn the pages. Scotland: Mapping the Nation is one of those books’ – Undiscovered Scotland

‘Anyone who enjoys poring over old maps will be thrilled by this lavish publication’ – Scottish Field ‘Much more than a visual treat . . . elegantly written, thoroughly referenced and exsquisitely presented’ – Times Educational Supplement

Authors based: Edinburgh



Recent Events:British Science Festival,

Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival, National Library of Scotland



JAMES HUNTER

September 2016: Set Adrift Upon the World- The Sutherland Clearances (pbk)

Also available: The Making of the Crofting Community (2010); On the Other Side of Sorrow (2014)

Who is James Hunter?:James Hunter is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of the Highlands and Islands. He has written extensively about the north of Scotland and about the region’s worldwide diaspora. In the course of a varied career Hunter has been, among other things, director of the Scottish Crofters Union, chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and an award-winning journalist.

About Set Adrift Upon the World:They would be better dead, they said, than set adrift upon the world. They opposed and confronted men sent to evict them. They had a leading land agent brought to trial on capital charges. They won support in the press. But their landlords, Britain’s wealthiest couple, proved invincible. So set adrift they were. Thousands of them. Their land made over to sheep farmers, their communities destroyed, their homes burned and demolished. Such were the Sutherland clearances.

Never before has this extraordinary episode been investigated in such detail. James Hunter’s researches took him to archives in Scotland, England and Canada. To the now deserted straths of Sutherland. To the frozen shores of Hudson Bay. To a New Orleans battlefield where hundreds of men from Sutherland died fighting for a country that, back home, sent other soldiers north to enforce eviction, dispossession and expulsion. The outcome of Hunter’s travels and enquiries is a gripping, moving, definitive account of a people’s struggle for survival in the face of tragedy and disaster.

Praise for Set Adrift Upon the World:

‘His [Hunter’s] scholarship is breathtaking’

- The Herald

Author based: Inverness



events and festivals large and smallRecent events:

Timesspan Arts & Heritage Centre, Strathnaver Museum, Highland Archive,

UHI Centre for HistoryLive Literature Funded: No


MARIAN PALLISTER

June 2016: The Crinan Canal

Also available: Cruachan! The Hollow Mountain (2015) Who is Marian Pallister?Marian Pallister is an award-winning journalist who has reported and commented on major social issues in Scotland and the developing world, and covered natural and man-made disasters in the former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Having studied history and culture in Europe from the 15th century, she is fascinated by the people who have shaped Scotland’s past and present. She previously taught journalism at Napier University and is currently based in Argyll as tutor in English subjects, and founder of a charity which supports education in Zambia.

About The Crinan Canal:Known as ‘Britain’s most beautiful shortcut’, the Crinal Canal runs from Ardrishaig on Loch Fyne, across the Kintyre peninsula to the west coast of Scotland.

Opened in 1801, the canal was originally planned to save commercial ships the long journey from the industrial region around Glasgow round the Mull of Kintyre to reach the west coast and Hebridean islands. By 1854, 33,000 passengers, 22,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle had been transported along it. These days the canal is a popular route for leisure craft.

In the book Marian Pallister tells the story of the canal from its origins to the present day, discussing how it was built, who built it, how it changed life in the surrounding areas, and how it has been used.

About Cruachan! The Hollow Mountain:In the early 1960s, the invasion of the 3,000 men who hollowed out Argyll’s noblest and highest mountain as part of a massive hydroelectric project could have annihilated the local community. Instead, the people of Loch Awe, Dalmally and Taynuilt welcomed the invaders, embraced the project and emerged the winners. Fifty years on, an integrated community still lives under the Hollow Mountain.

In this book, based on interviews, media reports, court reports and film archive material, Marian Pallister tells the story of the project – featuring the extraordinary experience of those who worked on the mountain as well as the effects on the local community of one of the biggest civil engineering projects ever to have been undertaken in Scotland. She also considers the long-term effects of the project, looking at how the community was changed by the experience.

Author based: Argyll




Waterstones Oban, Cruachan Visitor Centre



MOHAMMAD SARWAR

‘He is taking up the position [of governor] at a time when Punjab and the rest of Pakistan are facing huge problems, including unemployment, a crippling power shortage and a near constant danger from Islamist militants’

- the inDepenDent

January 2016: My Remarable Journey: The Autobiography of Britain’s First Muslim MP

Who is Mohammad Sarwar?:

Mr Sarwar made history when he became Britain’s first Muslim MP in 1997, securing the Glasgow Govan constituency for Labour. He later contested and won the Glasgow Central seat and before finally standing down as an MP in 2010. This is the inspirational account of how Mohammad rose to fame, fortune and political power from modest beginnings in rural Pakistan.

Born in Punjab in 1952, Sarwar’s early years were characterised by hardship and persecution. But this all changed after arriving in Glasgow, where he transformed a corner shop on the verge of bankruptcy to a Cash-and-Carry wholesale business with a turnover of more than £200m a year.

From business he moved into politics, becoming MP for Glasgow Govan, then Glasgow Central from 1997-2010. No stranger to controversy – he voted against Tony Blair’s decision to invade Iraq, and was famously caught in a News of the World sting in 1997 for allegedly bribing an election rival – he has also been heavily involved in extensive charity humanitarian work in Pakistan. This work continued in his later role as Governor of Punjab.

Praise for My Remarkable Journey:

‘Scotland is fortunate that Mr Sarwar happened to find himself here...for by speaking out in the way he has done, and continues to do, the country credit’

- Mike Russell, MSP, The Herald

Author based: Pakistan/ScotlandWilling to travel:

Anywhere in the UK and beyondHappy to do:

Bespoke events, bookstore and external events and festivals large and small

2016 Limited AvailabilityLive Literature Funded: No


LOUISE WYLLIE & JAN PATIENCE

‘A widely recognised and popular figure far beyond the world of the visual arts’ - the GuarDian

April 2016: Arrivals and Sailings: The Making of George Wyllie Who are Louise Wyllie and Jan Patience?Louise Wyllie is artist George Wyllie’s eldest daughter. Recent writings include an episode of CBeebies drama, Katie Morag. She edited and commissioned the recent George Wyllie Retrospective exhibition catalogue, which won an D&AD In-Book Award.

Jan Patience has been a journalist and editor for over twenty-five years. She writes on visual art for The Herald, Homes and Interiors Scotland and the Daily Record, among others. Jan was a driving force behind the Whysman Festival in 2012.

About Arrivals and Sailings:Containing never-beforeseen images and fresh insight into his influences and early life, this book seeks to answer questions about the forces which shaped his unique worldview.

The voyage begins with Wyllie’s Glasgow childhood – a period ‘disadvantaged by happiness’ – and moves on to time spent serving in the Pacific with the Royal Navy during WWII, where he witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by the world’s first atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. After the war, like Robert Burns and Adam Smith before him, Wyllie became an Excisemen. He made ‘time for art’ in his forties, going on to create memorable public art works such as the life-sized Straw Locomotive, which hung from the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow, and the giant seaworthy Paper Boat, with the letters QM (Question Mark) on her side.

By the time of his death at the age of ninety in 2012, this idiosyncratic self-taught artist had laid out his vision of himself as the artist-shaman, arrow in hand, making a last Cosmic Voyage.





FICTION


ROSEMARY GORING

‘Rosemary Goring skilfully and vividly recreates dangerous times...A really, gripping story’ – love reaDinG

March 2016: Dacre’s War (pbk)

Also available: After Flodden (2014) Who is Rosemary Goring?Rosemary Goring is the Literary Editor of The Herald and The Sunday Herald- the only remaining literary editor in Scotland. She is also the author of the best-selling Scotland: The Autobiography (Penguin, 2014).

Rosemary is vastly experienced at events, having appeared solo, in-conversation and as part of panel events at multiple book festivals and bookshops across the country. She is also a capable, friendly and knowledgable chairperson.

About Dacre’s War:Dacre’s War is a story of personal and political vengeance. Ten years after the battle of Flodden, Adam Crozier, head of his clan and of an increasingly powerful alliance of Borderers, learns for sure that it was Lord Thomas Dacre – now the most powerful man in the north of England – who ordered his father’s murder. He determines to take his revenge. As a fighting man, Crozier would like nothing better than to bring Dacre down face to face but his wife Louise advises him that he must use more subtle methods. So he sets out to engineer Dacre’s downfall by turning the machinery of the English court against him. A vivid and fast-moving tale of political intrigue and heartache, Dacre’s War is set against the backdrop of the Scottish and English borders, a land where there is never any chance of peace.

Praise for Dacre’s War:

‘Dacre’s War is an absorbing, dense read, packed with political twists. The Scottish Borders are superbly evoked – this is a land of constant fear and hardship, as well as great beauty. Highly recommended.’ – Antonia Senior, The Times

‘A must read for history enthusiasts and those who love dark romance... Goring’s novel uniquely engages in the personal elements of political revenge, bringing to life a land where there is never any chance of peace’ – Scottish Field




festivals large and smallRecent Events:

Aye Write, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Borders Book Festival,

National Library of Scotland, bookstore events.



Author based: Berlin


Happy to do: Bookstores and external events,

festivals large and small.Recent Events:

Extensive US and European tours, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Goethe Institute


JAN-PHILIPP SENDKER

The creator of international best-seller, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, Jan Philipp’s books have sold 2 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into over 30 languages.

September 2016: Dragon Games

Also available: Whispering Shadows; A Well-Tempered Heart; The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Who is Jan-Philipp Sendker?Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. He lives in Berlin with his family. In 2000 he published Cracks in the Great Wall, a non-fiction book about China. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was his first novel and is already a bestseller in several European countries and the USA, selling over 400,000 copies in Germany alone. A film is in pre-production.

About Whispering Shadows:In the wake of his hugely popular Art of Hearing Heartbeats series, Sendker has embarked upon an even more ambitious series of novels set in modern day China. After spending many years in Hong Kong as a foreign correspondent for Stern, Jan-Philipp developed a fascination with the city and China, returning to visit on many occasions to research his subject. In the first of these novels, Whispering Shadows, a moving love story fused with a tense suspense thriller, he so effectively creates the backdrop, so graphically describes the locations that you imagine yourself there.

Whispering Shadows tells the story of Paul Leibovitz, an ambitious advisor, dedicated father, and loving husband. But after living for nearly thirty years in Hong Kong, personal tragedy strikes and Paul’s marriage unravels in the fallout.

When he makes a fleeting connection with Elizabeth, a distressed American woman on the verge of collapse, his life is thrown into turmoil. Less than twenty-four hours later, Elizabeth’s son is found dead in Shenzhen, and Paul, invigorated by a newfound purpose, sets out to investigate the murder on his own.

As Paul, Elizabeth, and a detective friend descend deeper into the Shenzhen underworld they discover dark secrets hidden beneath China’s booming new wealth. In a country where rich businessmen with expensive degrees can corrupt the judicial system, the potential for evil abounds.

DRAFT COVER


About Dragon Games:In his new novel, Dragon Games, Sendker picks up the story with his two protagonists and delves deeper into Chinese life and culture. We learn the details of Christine’s dark family history which is mired in the horrors and iniquities of Mao’s cultural revolution and now her brother and his wife who are living in rural China are victims of a very modern ecological scandal that is just as terrifying as past atrocities.

About The Art of Hearing Heartbeats:A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present. When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will change her life once more.

About A Well-Tempered Heart :Almost ten years have passed since Julia Win came back from Burma, her father’s native country. Though she is a successful Manhattan lawyer, her private life is at a crossroads. One day, in the middle of an important business meeting, she hears a stranger’s voice in her head. In the following days, her crisis only deepens. Not only does the female voice refuse to disappear, but it starts to ask questions Julia has been trying to avoid. Interwoven with Julia’s story is that of a Burmese woman named Nu Nu who finds her world turned upside down when Burma goes to war and calls on her two young sons to be child soldiers. This spirited novel explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain: the human heart.

Praise for Jan-Philipp Sendker events:

‘Every event we’ve had with Jan Philipp has exceeded our expectations, both in sales and attendance...once you experience one of Jan Phillip’s events you can see why his fans are willing to go to such length to see him in person. From the beginning of the event he holds the audience in his hand and commands their attention with ease’ - McLean and Eakin Booksellers, Michigan

‘His books are mesmerizing, and meeting him and listening to him speak adds to the wonderment. Sendker is a particularly good speaker. He knows what to talk about and how to answer questions in a way that not only satisfies the asker but also invites more interest’ - The Bookmark Bookshop, Florida

DRAFT COVER


DENZIL MEYRICK

‘Touches of dark humour, multi-layered and compelling’ – Daily recorD

April 2016: Rat Stone Serenade

Also available: Whisky from Small Glasses, Dark Suits and Sad Songs,The Last Witness

Who is Denzil Meyrick?Denzil Meyrick served in Strathclyde Police Force in Glasgow during the 1990s, when the Scottish city was the murder capital of Europe. He encountered the violence and danger of Glasgow’s criminal underworld first-hand, and after leaving the police due to injury, used his experience to inform his gripping DCI Daley thriller series. His books have sold over 80,000 copies worldwide, and he is in increasing demand at book festivals and book shop events across the country.

About Rat Stone Serenade:It’s December, and the Shannon family are returning home to their clifftop mansion near Kinloch for their annual AGM. Shannon International is one of the world’s biggest private companies, with tendrils reaching around the globe in computing, banking and mineral resourcing, and it hasbrought untold wealth and privilege to the family. However, a century ago Archibald Shannon stole the land upon which he built their home – and his descendants have been cursed ever since.

When heavy snow cuts off Kintyre, DCI Jim Daley and DS Brian Scott are assigned to protect their illustrious visitors. As an ancient society emerges from the blizzards, and its creation, the Rat Stone, reveals grisly secrets, ghosts of the past come to haunt the Shannons. As the curse decrees, death is coming – but for whom and from what?

About Dark Suits and Sad Songs:When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It’s clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging on by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley’s world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it’s about survival.

Author based: West Dunbartonshire




Spirit of Moray Book Festival, Tidelines Book Festival, Edinburgh International

Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No


About The Last Witness:James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, James Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction. But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. Top of his list is his previous associate, Frank MacDougall, who unbeknownst to D.C.I. Jim Daley, is living under protection on his lochside patch, the small Scottish town of Kinloch. Daley knows that, having been the key to Machie’s conviction, his old friend and colleague D.S. Scott is almost as big a target. And nothing, not even death, has ever stood in James Machie’s way . . .

About Whisky from Small Glasses: When the body of a young woman is washed up on an idyllic beach on the west coast of Scotland, D.C.I. Jim Daley is despatched from Glasgow to lead the investigation. Far from home, and his troubled marriage, it seems that Daley’s biggest obstacle will be managing the difficult local police chief; but when the prime suspect is gruesomely murdered, the inquiry begins to stall. As the body count rises, Daley uncovers a network of secrets and corruption in the closeknit community of Kinloch, thrusting him and his loved ones into the centre of a case more deadly than he had ever imagined. The first novel in the D.C.I. Daley Thriller series, Whisky from Small Glasses is a truly compelling crime novel, shot through with dark humour and menace.

Praise for the DCI Daley series:

‘Touches of dark humour, multi-layered and compelling’ – Daily Record

‘Tartan noir continues to flourish . . . just the right amount of authenticity . . . gritty writing . . . most memorable’ – The Herald

‘simultaneously dark and funny’ – Scottish Field

‘truly mesmerising... completely captivating... DCI Daley is shaping up to be the West Coast’s answer to Edinburgh’s Rebus’ – Scottish Home & Country


SHIRLEY MCKAY

October 2016: 1588: A Year of Murder (hbk)

April 2016: Queen and Country (pbk) Also available: Friend & Foe (2014); Time & Tide (2015); Fate & Fortune (2011); Hue & Cry (2010)

Who is Shirley McKay?Shirley McKay was born in Tynemouth but now lives with her family in Fife. At the age of fifteen she won the Young Observer playwriting competition. She went on to study English and Linguistics at the University of St Andrews before attending Durham University for postgraduate study in Romantic and seventeenth-century prose. She was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger. Shirley works as a freelance proofreader. About Queen & Country:1587. Three years after his enforced departure to London, Hew is reconciled with King James VI and recalled to Scotland. He elopes to St Andrews with a young Englishwoman. The death of Mary, Queen of Scots has unleashed a wave of anti-English sentiment among the Scottish people, and fear and confusion in the king himself. James will grant his blessing to their controversial marriage on the condition that Hew discovers what lies behind a painting cunningly contrived to prick the young king’s conscience – an anamorphic death’s-head with his mother’s face. Meanwhile in St Andrews, the death of a painter is troubling to Giles Locke, and the English Frances, struggling to adapt to a foreign town and culture, helps Hew find the link among the artists and intriguers of opposing courts, a quest for love – and life - requiring all his skills. Praise for Shirley McKay: ‘A gripping mystery that holds the reader to the very last page, and a marvellous portrait of St Andrews in the sixteenth century’ – John Burnside

‘Intoxicating mix of dramatic crime and repressed passion’ -New Books

Author based: Fife




Bloody Scotland, Inverness Book Festival, Skye Book Festival, Newcastle

Festival, various bookstores.Live Literature Funded: No


KEVIN MACNEIL

‘Kevin MacNeil is a writer prepared to take his chances’ - the scotsMan

March 2016: The Brilliant & Forever

Also available: A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll & Hyde (2011) Who is Kevin MacNeil?Kevin MacNeil was born and raised in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Novelist, poet, playwright, editor, aphorist and lyricist, his books include A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde, The Stornoway Way, Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides and Be Wise, Be Otherwise. He is also an international creative writing tutor, and has vast experience teaching workshops, leading residential writing retreats, lecturing on creative writing courses at university level (Edinburgh, Uppsala, Kingston), and mentoring debut novelists from obscurity to award-winning prominence.

About The Brilliant & Forever:On an island like no other, populated by writers, the annual Brilliant & Forever Festival is a much anticipated event; its participants a story away from either glory or infamy. This year, three best friends – two human, one alpaca – are chosen to compete, so victory is not only about reward.This is a novel like no other; a wonderful, provocative tussle, a whip-cracking, energetic, laugh-out-loud satire on what we value in culture, and in our lives. And yet, written with exquisite warmth and empathy, it’s also a moving exploration of integrity, friendship and belonging. It’ll split your sides and break your heart.

Praise for A Method Actor’s Guide:

‘A funny, irreverent and moving 21st-century look at human nature, and an intriguing rewiring of a classic’ - The Herald





Edinburgh International Book Festival, Aye Write (Glasgow), WordPlay

(Shetland)Live Literature Funded: No


CHARLES MACLEAN

‘Charles MacLean is Scotland’s leading whisky expert’ -the tiMes

November 2015: Famous for a Reason: The Story of the Famous Grouse Also available: Whiskypedia: A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky (pbk) Who is Charles MacLean?Charles MacLean has been researching, writing and lecturing about Scotch whisky for 30 years. He is the author of nine books on the subject, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky, and the authoritative Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards. His Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History won Wine & Spirits Book of the Year in the 2004 James Beard Awards and Best Drink Book in the World at the Food Media Awards. He is a consultant to the whisky industry, and to Bonhams International Auctioneers, and sits on the judging panel of the International Wine & Spirits Awards. About Famous for a Reason:From humble beginnings in Perth in the early 19th century Matthew Gloag established a thriving whisky business that found favour with the royal household and the Scottish public alike. The family business he established struck gold in 1896 when they created the The Famous Grouse – a blended whisky that became a national favourite. Through innovative and entertaining marketing campaigns it has developed into a much-loved and bestselling brand. Charles MacLean has been granted unique access to the company archives and interviews with surviving family descendants to compile this fascinating story. About Whiskypedia:The flavour of Scotch whisky is as much influenced by history, craft and tradition as it is by science. Whiskypedia explores these influences. Introductory sections provide an historical overview, and an explanation of the contribution made by each stage of the production process. Each entry provides a brief account of the distillery’s history and curiosities, lists the bottlings which are currently available, details how the whisky is made, and explores the flavour and character of each make.

Praise for Whiskypedia:

‘Whisky’s finest guru’ -the sunDay tiMes

‘Charles MacLean writes like no other expert on the subject. His prose is informed and highly entertaining’ - The inDepenDent





Private and corporate tastings around the world, Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival,

Cannes Film Festival. 2016 Limited availability


FOOD & DRINK


CLAIRE MACDONALD

‘Claire Macdonald is one of the country’s most respected cooks’ – sunDay post

October 2015: The Claire MacDonald Game Cookbook Also Available: Lifting the Lid: A Life at Kinloch Lodge, Skye (2014); The Scottish Food Bible (2014); The Scottish Salmon Bible (2013); The Claire MacDonald Cookbook (2012); Entertaining Solo (2012); Simply Seasonal (2012); Fish (2012)

Who is Claire Macdonald?Claire Macdonald is one of the best known figures in the culinary world today. A hugely successful and critically acclaimed cookery writer for over thirty years, she has garnered numerous awards and has appeared regularly on TV and at cookery demonstrations and courses all over the globe. In addition to all this, for forty years she ran the award-winning and internationally renowned Kinloch House Lodge on Skye. Cited as one of the world’s top 25 small hotels in Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Kinloch’s restaurant is one of only 16 restaurants in Scotland to have been awarded a coveted Michelin star. About The Claire MacDonald Game Cookbook :In this book Claire Macdonald de-mystifies game cooking, with a wide and varied selection of recipes for pheasant, wild duck, partridge and snipe, woodcock, venison, hare, wild boar and wild salmon. In addition to tips on roasting, she also includes useful information on what combines well with different types of game – lentils, beans, root vegetables, dark green vegetables and mushrooms – and sauces and jellies that make excellent accompaniments. She also shows how game can be combined – game pie, for example, can be composed of pheasant, grouse, a leg of hare or a partridge. Similar recipes include game pudding with a lemon and thyme suet crust, game stock, game soup, salami of game, game terrine, game with an oatmeal crumble, potted game with walnuts, and game shepherd’s pie.

About Lifting the Lid :In this book Claire looks back over four eventful decades to tell the story of how she, her husband, clan chief Godfrey Macdonald of Macdonald, and their family built up Kinloch from insignificant beginnings in a remote but spectacularly beautiful corner of Skye to the great culinary institution it is today. Full of anecdote and humour, it also reveals how hard it was to achieve their dream.

Praise for Claire Macdonald :

‘She radiates a love of cooking and ... a love for eating’ – hoMes anD GarDens

Author based:Skye



festivals large and small.Recent events:

Royal Highland Show, Borders Book Festival, Boswell Book Festival, Skye Book

FestivalLive Literature Funded: No

POETRY


Author basedGlasgow




Edinburgh International Book Festival; Hay Festival; international festivals


LIZ LOCHHEADSCOTLAND’S MAKAR 2011-2016

May 2016: Fugitive Colours (NEW COLLECTION)

Also available: A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead (2011); The Colour of Black and White (2005); Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems (2003); True Confessions and New Cliches (2003)

Who is Liz Lochhead?Scottish poet and playwright Liz Lochhead was born in Motherwell in 1947. She is a Fellow of Glasgow School of Art, an Honorary Doctor of Letters of Glasgow University, a Fellow of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and of Glasgow Institute of Art, and is an Honorary President of the Scottish Poetry Library. Her poetry collections include Dreaming Frankenstein (Polygon, 1984), True Confessions and New Clichés (Polygon, 1985), Bagpipe Muzak (Penguin, 1991), and The Colour of Black and White: Poems 1984–2003 (Polygon, 2003). Her plays include Tartuffe (Polygon, 1986), Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (Penguin, 1989) and the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award-winning Medea (Nick Hern Books, 2000). Liz Lochhead lives in Glasgow.

About Fugitive Colours:This stunning new collection features never-before published work along with poems written during her time as Scots Makar, and marks the end of her term as Scotland’s Poet Laureate (2011-2016). Whether commissioned works, such as ‘Connecting Cultures’, written for the CommonwealthGames in 2014 or more personal works, ‘Favourite Place’, about holidays in the west coast with her late husband, this collection is beautiful, sensitive and brilliant. Throughout her career Liz Lochhead has been described variously as a poet, feminist-playwright, translator and broadcaster but has said that ‘when somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. If I were a playwright, I’d like to be a poet in the theatre.’

Praise for Liz Lochhead:

‘Human relationships, especially as seen from a woman’s point of view, are central: attraction, pain, acceptance, loss, triumphs and deceptions, habits and surprises; always made immediate through a storyteller’s concrete detail of place or voice or object or colour remembered or imagined’ – Edwin Morgan

‘Dreaming Frankenstein is a rare thing: a book of poems which sparkles’ – The Scotsman


MICHAEL PEDERSEN

‘Michael’s poems are so physical you can almost touch the images in them. Fabulously sensual and alive. I adore poetry like this’ – Stephen Fry

May 2016: #UntitledTwo Neu! Reekie!

Also available: #UntitledOne Neu! Reekie! (2015); Play With Me (2013)

Who is Michael Pederson?Michael Pedersen is a poet, playwright and animateur with an electric reputation on the performance circuit and a prolific precedent of collaborations, having teamed up with some of the UK’s top musicians, film-makers and artists. He is widely published in magazines, journals, anthologies and e-zines, and a key creative within Dream Tower Productions. He’s also the lyricist for cult band Jesus, Baby! and has written short plays for various troupes including the National Theatre of Scotland.

Pedersen is also co-founder and circus master at Neu! Reekie! – started in January 2011, now one of the country’s most formidable literary nights. Based at the Summerhall Arts complex Neu! Reekie! has organised over seventy cultural showcases, on three continents, featuring spoken word, animation and live music. Other eclectic elements are thrown into the mix too, just to see what happens.

About #Untitled One :A poetry anthology boasting some of the UK’s most exciting voices who have all shared the Neu! Reekie! bill. Many of the works are new, many are favourites read at the events; all are savoured, sublime, sumptuous voices within poetry already – with the exception of Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap and Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit – who are ferocious forces within music and beyond. Contributors include: Irvine Welsh, Douglas Dunn, Liz Lochhead, Ron Butlin and Tom Leonard; as well as younger blood such as: Jenni Fagan, Hollie McNish and William Letford.

Praise for Michael Pedersen & Neu! Reekie!:

‘Neu! Reekie! dismantles the structures and snobberies dividing high and low art – art is for everyone’ – Skinny

Author basedEdinburgh



festivals large and small.Recent events:

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Stanza Poetry

FestivalLive Literature Funded: Yes

http://neureekie.tumblr.com/

DRAFT COVER


JENNI FAGAN

‘The patron saint of Literary Street Urchins’ – new york tiMes

April 2016: The Dead Queen of Bohemia- New & Collected Poetry

Who is Jenni Fagan?Currently Writer In Residence at The University of Edinburgh, Jenni Fagan is a poet and novelist. Her debut novel The Panopticon was selected as part of Waterstones best worldwide debut novels of 2012. Jenni was recently selected as one of the (once-a-decade) Granta Best of Young British Novelists. The original collection Dead Queen of Bohemia won the 3AM Poetry Book of the Year in 2010.

Jenni Fagan has worked as a Writer In Residence in several locations, and has worked with visually impared writers, young offenders and women in prison. She is in constant demand to appear at events throughout Europe and the UK.

About The Dead Queen of Bohemia:The Dead Queen of Bohemia is a journey through a life lived on the edge. Following in the schools of Gertrude Stein and William Burroughs, this collection is woven with surrealistic imagery; it is both unflinching and dislocating. Within these pages you will find poetry that is simplistic yet beautiful, tender and humane. With themes of loss and recovery, hope and defiance, these were written by a self-taught poet who started writing at the age of seven and so far has not stopped.

The Dead Queen of Bohemia documents the progression of a voice and a life written over the last twenty years. It opens with Jenni’s most recent work and includes her previous two collections, both now out of print.

Praise for The Panopticon:

‘The term ‘stunning debut novel’ doesn’t even begin to cover The Panopticon. ...An utterly magnificent achievement’ - Irvine Welsh

‘A brilliant, raw, wonder of a book — read it right away’ - Matt Haig

Author basedEdinburgh




Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish Book Trust, Aye Write (Glasgow),

Foyles (London)Live Literature Funded: No


SCOTTISH POETRY LIBRARY

August 2016: Whatever the SeaNovember 2015: Beneath Troubled Skies- Poems of Scotland at war 1914-1918

About Whatever the Sea:There is not one way to age but neither can any of us truly stop our bodies from ageing. Ageing is not a single phenomenon but complex, multiple, perplexing. This anthology may not console but it can widen our perspectives, helping us to change what we can change: our attitudes.Poetry can help to give us a fresh language to think about ageing and these poems are carefully chosen to fortify, celebrate, lament, grieve, rage and ridicule.In association with the Baring Foundation, The Saltire Society and the Scottish Poetry Library, Whatever theSea, edited by Lizzie MacGregor, brings together newly commissioned poems from: Vicki Feaver, Diana Hendry and Douglas Dunn as well as a selection of poems dealing with ageing.

Contributors available for events include Douglas Dunn, Vicki Feaver and Diana Hendry.

About Beneath Troubled Skies:The story of Scotland at war in the poetry of the time, in English, Gaelic and Scots, by servicemen, volunteers, and those on the home front. Well known soldier poets like E.A. Mackintosh, Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna and Joseph Lee are joined by others who fought with their pens to chronicle and comment on the war, among them Mary Symon, Neil Munro and Margaret Sackville.

The book is in chronological order, following the war as it develops, with introductions to each year by Yvonne McEwen. From the very first ‘Sough o’ War’ sweeping through the land to conflicting attitudes to volunteering; from the despair of the trenches to the anguish of the bereaved; from unexpected humour to hatred to comradeship; from women at work to men shattered by conflict; from the appalling tragedies of Gretna and the Iolaire to sorrow for a generation cast into the fire, and a last angry condemnation of the human race.

Contributors available for events include Lizzie MacGregor and Yvonne McEwen.

Authors basedEdinburgh



festivals large and small

‘Weathering. Patina, gloss and whorl.The trunk of the almond tree, gnarled but still fruitful.

Weathering is what I would like to do well’Alasdair Reid


RON BUTLINEDINBURGH’S MAKAR 2008–2014

August 2015: The Magicians of Scotland (pbk)

Also available: The Magicians of Edinburgh (2012)

Who is Ron Butlin?Ron Butlin is a poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer and opera librettist whose works have been broadcast in the UK and abroad and have been translated into many languages. His volumes of poetry include the award-winning Ragtime in Unfamiliar Bars (Secker & Warburg, 1985) and Histories of Desire (Bloodaxe, 1995). His New and Selected Poems was published by Barzan in 2005. His novels include The Sound of My Voice (winner of the Prix Mille Pages 2004 and Prix Lucioles 2005, both for Best Foreign Novel), Night Visits and most recently Belonging. He was Edinburgh Makar from 2008-2014.

About The Magicians of Scotland :The Magicians of Scotland will build upon the success of The Magicians of Edinburgh (reprinted five times) and on that book’s critical acclaim. In his role as Edinburgh Makar, Ron Butlin will give this collection an Edinburgh emphasis while seeking to celebrate and interrogate Scotland and its peopleat a crucial turning point in our country’s history.Just as The Magicians of Edinburgh’s themes ranged from Sir Walter Scott to the new Parliament, from Greyfriar’s Bobby to the trams, the themes of the new collection will include Scotland’s past, present and future, its landscape and people, its myths and politics – from Bannockburn, Flodden toFaslane, the Loch Ness Monster, wind farms, Hutton to Higgs, Bonnie Prince Charlie to Donald Trump. It will be accessible, serious and entertaining.

Praise for Ron Butlin : ‘Butlin is the best, the most productive Scottish poet of his generation’ – Douglas Dunn

Praise for The Magicians of Edinburgh:

‘Edinburgh poems in the fullest sense. A consistently successful collection’ – Edinburgh Review

Author based:Edinburgh


Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small, schools and libraries

Recent Event:Edinburgh International Book Festival,

Borders Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: Yes


ZOË HOWE ‘A great writer who is in love with rock ’n’ roll and a writer who can make the essence and magic of the dark stuff seem so alive’

– John Robb, louDer than war

September 2016: Lee Brilleaux, Rock ’n’ Roll Gentleman (pbk)

Also available: Barbed Wire Kisses: The Jesus & Mary Chain Story

Who is Zoë Howe?Zoë Howe is a music author whose other books include the acclaimed Typical Girls? The Story of the Slits; ‘How’s Your Dad?’ Living in the Shadow of a Rock Star Parent, British Beat Explosion – Rock n’ Roll Island and Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson’s memoir Looking Back At Me, published by Cadiz Music in 2012. Her writing has also appeared in The Quietus, Company, Notion, BBC Music, Holy Moly, Classic Rock and NME. Zoë has also made music radio series for stations including the award-winning Resonance FM, and she can be heard talking about rock ’n’ roll from time to time on BBC 6 Music, Absolute Radio, Planet Rock, BBC London and elsewhere.

About Lee Brilleaux:Lee Brilleaux, the uniquely charismatic star of proto-punk R&B reprobates Dr Feelgood, was one of rock’n’ roll’s greatest frontmen. But he was also one of its greatest gentlemen – a class act with heart, fire, wanderlust and a wild streak. Exploding out of Canvey Island in the early 1970s – an age of glam rock, post-hippy folk and pop androgyny – the Feelgoods, with Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson at the helm, charged into London, grabbed the pub rock scene by the throat and sparked a revolutionary new era, proving that you didn’t have to be middle class, wearing the ‘right clothes’ or living in the ‘right place’ to succeed. Lee Brilleaux: Rock ’n’ Roll Gentleman, while a totally different work, is a companion of sorts to the hugely popular Wilko Johnson book: Looking Back At Me (also co-authored by Howe). It is the first comprehensive appreciation of Lee Brilleaux and, with its numerous exclusive interviews and previously unseen images, is a book no Dr Feelgood fan would wish to be without.

Praise for Lee Brilleaux: ‘this is a book that needed to be written about the iconic frontman of one of the most influential British bands of all time’ - Dave Jennings, Louder Than War

Author based: Leigh-on-Sea, EssexWilling to travel:


Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small

Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival



STUART COSGROVE ‘Cosgrove weaves a compelling web of circumstance’ - the inDepenDent

March 2016: Young Soul Rebels, The Ultimate History of Northern SoulOctober 2016: Detroit 67: The Year That Changed Soul (New Edition)

Who is Stuart Cosgrove?Stuart Cosgrove is a television executive with Channel 4. He was media editor with the NME and a feature writer for a range of newspapers and magazines. In 2005 he was named Broadcaster of the Year in the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards and in 2012 he won numerous awards including a BAFTA and Royal Television Society award for Channel 4’s coverage of the London Paralympics 2012. Stuart presents Scotland’s most popular radio show Off the Ball and lives in Glasgow and London.

About Young Soul Rebels:Young Soul Rebels sets up a powerful and intimate story of Northern Soul, Britain’s most fascinating underground musical scene. In his unique style, Cosgrove takes the reader on a journey into the iconic clubs that made it famous – The Twisted Wheel, The Torch, Wigan Casino, Blackpool Mecca and Cleethorpes Pier – the bootleggers that made it infamous, the splits that threatened to divide the scene, the great unknown records that built its global reputation and the crate-digging collectors that travelled to America to unearth these gems.

About Detroit 67: Detroit 67 is the story of Motor City in the year that changed everything. Cosgrove takes you on a turbulent year-long journey through the drama and chaos that ripped through Detroit in 1967 and tore it apart in personal, political and interracial disputes. It is the story of Motown, the break-up of The Supremes and the damaging disputes at the heart of the most successful African-American music label ever.Set against a backdrop of urban riots, escalating war in Vietnam and police corruption, the book weaves its way through a year when soul musiccame of age and the underground counterculture flourished.

Author based: Glasgow/LondonWilling to travel:



Recent events:Aye Write (Glasgow), Edinburgh

International Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No

STUART COSGROVE

DETRIOT 67:THE YEARTHATCHANGEDSOUL


FREELAND BARBOUR

‘Barbour’s distinctively white-haired, accordion-wielding figure has been a kenspeckle figure on the Scottish dance scene over four decades or more’ - the scotsMan

October 2015: The Music and The Land- The Music of Freeland Barbour

Who is Freeland Barbour?Freeland Barbour, born in Edinburgh and brought up in Perthshire, is one of Scotland’s leading accordionists and has performed with many of the world’s greatest traditional musicians. A BBC music producer for a number of years, Freeland has taught at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He runs a music publishing company and is the owner and former manager of Castlesound, one of the leading independent recording studios in the UK. He now lives in Edinburgh.

About The Music and The Land:Freeland Barbour has been a very well-known figure on the Scottish music scene for many years. He is a former member of ground-breaking folk group Silly Wizard, and a founder member of two of the country’s most successful ceilidh dance bands, the Wallochmor Ceilidh Band and the Occasionals. His compositions for Scottish dancing are hugely popular and have been recorded and performed all over the world. In this book he recalls his life in music, presenting a tour in words, photographs and musical notation through the lands that have inspired him – covering the whole of Scotland and beyond. His compositions are gathered here with the work of some of Scotland’s leading photographers, in a book that is both an invaluable resource for the working musician and wonderful tribute to Scotland’s landscape and traditions.

Praise for Music & The Land:

‘A magnificent collection of tunes, photographs and reminiscences’ - The Scotsman

‘The book is a piece of social history, a geography lesson, a heartfelt, often humorous celebration of the tradition to which Freeland has himself contributed so much. and a hymn of love to the land and the sea. It will, undoubtedly, become a collector’s item’ - James Robertson




festivals large and smallRecent Events:

Queens Hall (Edinburgh), Blackwells, Celtic Connections, Watermill

BookshopLive Literature Funded: No

GEMS FROM 2015


IAN BUXTON

‘Gin lovers have never had it so good’ – the heralD

August 2015: 101 Gins: To Try Before You Die Who is Ian Buxton?Ian Buxton has been working in and around the whisky industry for about 20 years, but has been drinking professionally for a good deal longer. He began writing regularly for Whisky Magazine shortly after it launched, and now also writes for The Keeper, Country Life, Scotland Magazine, Scottish Field and in Russia for Whisky and Magnum magazines. Ian has published three books: Whisky History, Hints & Tips, a facsimile edition of Aeneas MacDonald’s 1930 classic Whisky and 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die. About 101 Gins:We’re in the middle of a new Gin Craze. From being the drink of choice of middle-aged, Jaguar-driving golfers and an easy target for stand-up comedians, today it’s harder to find anything hipper on the international bar scene. But how do you choose? Is Edinburgh Gin a style, or just a brand name? Can a rose-flower and cucumber infusion properly be called gin? Can gin be aged in wood or does that just make it a strange tasting young whisky? What tonic to choose, and why? Perhaps it’s safer to stick to the classic brands your parents drank? From Adnams to Zuidam; Beefeater to Bombay and London to Plymouth (and beyond) this new book from best-selling drinks writer Ian Buxton will be the authoritative guide to the new world of gin. It may have taken more than 250 years, but gin has now shaken off its reputation for debauchery and ruin to take its place as one of the hottest of world spirits. Praise for 101 Gins:

‘His humorous scepticism is part of the fun, but he is also an enthusiast and able to explain the varied distillation processes’

– The Guardian

‘By turns wise, witty and well-informed, this is all the tonic your gin will ever need!’

– Alex Nicol, Edinburgh Gin

Author based: Worcestershire




Sheffield’s Festival of Words, Dundee Literature Festival, Wigtown Book

FestivalLive Literature Funded: No

@101Whiskies


ANDREW DUFF‘He was a champion, he sold many books!’ - toppinG & co.

May 2015: Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom

Who is Andrew Duff? Andrew Duff is a freelance journalist based in London and Scotland who writes on India and related subjects. In the UK his work has appeared in The Times, The Financial Times and the Sunday Telegraph, and in India in the Times of India and the India Quarterly. He travels frequently in India and East Asia.

About Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom:This is the true story of Sikkim, a tiny Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas that survived the end of the British Empire in India only to be annexed by India in 1975.

It tells the remarkable story of Thondup, the last King of Sikkim, and his American wife Hope Cooke, thrust unwittingly into the spotlight as they sought support for Sikkim’s independence after their ‘fairytale’ wedding in 1963. But as tensions between India and China spilled over into war in the Himalayas, Sikkim became a pawn in the Cold War ideological battle that played out in Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Rumours circulated that Hope was a CIA spy. Meanwhile a shadowy Scottish adventuress, the Kazini of Chakung, married to Sikkim’s leading political figure, coordinated opposition to the Palace. As the geopolitical tectonic plates of the Himalayas ground together forming the political landscape that exists today, Sikkim never stood a chance. On the eve of declaring an Emergency in India, Indira Gandhi brazenly annexed the country. Thondup died a broken man in 1982; Hope returned to New York; Sikkim began a new phase as India’s 22nd state.

Based on interviews, archive research as well as a retracing of a journey the author’s grandfather made in 1922, this is a thrilling, romantic and informative glimpse of life in Shangri La.

Praise for Sikkim:

‘A wonderful story, expertly told... What a film it would make!’ – Sara Wheeler, Spectator

‘A richly researched and compellingly written account’ – John Keay, Literary Review

Author based: London and Scotland




Hay Literature Festival, Chalke Valley History Festival, Edinburgh

International Book Festival, Beyond Borders Festiva



IAN FRASER‘Ian Fraser speaks truth to power. I applaud him for his accurate analysis’

- tax research uk

October 2015: Shredded: Inside RBS. The Bank that Broke Britain (updated pbk)

Who is Ian Fraser?Ian is an award-winning finance and economics journalist. He is widely praised for his foresight, and his meticulous and tenacious research. Ian has collaborated on 8 BBC documentaries, including the BAFTA nominated RBS: Inside the Bank that Ran Out of Money.

He is frequently invited to speak at financial institutions and book festivals around the country including Borders Book Festival, EIBF, and the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.

About Shredded:Longlisted for the 2014 Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, Shredded has been described as ‘the definitive account of the RBS fiasco’.

At its zenith, the Royal Bank of Scotland was the world’s biggest bank. It had assets of $3 trillion, employed over 200,000 people, and was admired and trusted by millions Now the mere mention of its name causes anger and resentment, and its former CEO, Fred Goodwin, is reviled as one of the architects of the worst financial crises since 1929.

Now updated in paperback, Ian Fraser lifts the lid on the catastrophic mistakes that led the bank to the brink of collapse, scrutinizing the role played by RBS’s directors who failed to check Goodwin’s hubris, the colleagues who were overawed by his despotic leadership style, the politicians who created a regulatory free-for-all in which banks went virtually unsupervised, and the investors who egged Goodwin on.

Praise for Shredded:

‘Shredded is a definitive and unflinching 435-page account of exactly what went wrong . . . a compelling book for Scotland, for finance and for the political and business world’

– Bill Jamieson, Scotsman

‘‘Shredded is a monumental book, well written, impeccably researched and hard to put down at any point’ - Financial Times

Author based: London and Scotland



Recent Events:Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation,

Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival, National Library of Scotland,

Borders Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No

www.ianfraser.org


MURDO FRASER

October 2015: The Rivals- Montrose and Argyll and the Struggle for Scotland

Who is Murdo Fraser?:

Murdo Fraser was Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives from 2005 until 2011 and is MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife. Born in Inverness, he studied law at Aberdeen and worked as a solicitor in Aberdeen and Edinburgh before becoming an MSP in 2001.

About The Rivals:

The struggles of the Scottish Civil War of 1644–45 could easily be personified as a contest between James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose and Archibald Campbell, 8th Marquis of Argyll. Yet at first glance there seems to be more that unites them than separates them. Both came from ancient and powerful families; both were originally Covenanters; both considered themselves loyal subjects of Charles I, then Charles II, who in turn betrayed each of them, and both died at the hands of the executioner.

In this book Murdo Fraser examines these two remarkable men, underlining their different personalities: Montrose, the brilliant military tactician – bold and brave but rash, and Campbell – altogether a more opaque figure, cautious, considered and difficult to read.

The result is a vivid insight into two remarkable men who played a huge part in writing Scotland’s history, and a fascinating portrait of a time of intense political upheaval.

Praise for The Rivals:

‘As narrative history, this is absolutely outstanding…’

- Harry Reid

Author based: Perth




Aye Write (Glasgow) Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No


IAN CROFTON May 2015: The History of Scotland without the Boring BitsJuly 2015: Walking the Border: A Journey Between Scotland and England (pbk)

Also Available: A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable Who is Ian Crofton?Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and worked for Collins in Glasgow before moving to London, where he has been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Previous books include Brewer’s Dictionary of Curious Titles; Brewer’s Britain and Ireland (with John Ayto); Brewer’s Cabinet of Curiosities; A Dictionary of Art Quotations; History without the Boring Bits; Science without the Boring Bits; and A Dictionary of Scottish Quotations. About The History of Scotland Without the Boring Bits:As an antidote to more sober accounts of Scotland’s history, Ian Crofon offers a colourful chronology of the eccentric, the infamous, the bawdy, the horrific and the hilarious people and events that have spattered across the pages of our nation’s story. From the Royal High School riot to Marocco the Wonder Horse, from the War of the One-Eyed Woman to the MP cleared of stealing his ex-mistress’s knickers, A History of Scotland Without the Boring Bits includes a host of little-known tales that you won’t find in more conventional works of history, including the chatelaine who struck a general over the head with a leg of mutton, the cow that gave birth to fourteen puppies, the clan chief who ripped out the throat of his enemy with his teeth, the surgeon who was so fast with the saw that he inadvertently took off his patient’s testicles as well as his leg, and the mathematician who calculated that the Christian religion would finally disappear in the year 3153.

About Walking the Border:In this book Ian Crofton makes a journey on foot from Gretna Green in the southwest to Berwick in the northeast, following as close as possible the Anglo-Scottish border as it has been fixed since the union of the crowns in 1603. Much of the line of the border runs through a wild, overwhelmingly unvisited no man’s land – the sort of trackless waste perfect for keeping two belligerent peoples apart? During the course of his journey Ian Crofton considers a number of questions, such as how ‘natural’ are borderlines? Sometimes they follow physical barriers, sometimes an arbitrary line on a map, the compromise made by some committee of distant diplomats.





@iancrofton


DAVID SPAVEN

November 2015: The Scottish Railway Atlas- Two Hundred Years of History in Maps (hbk)

Who is David Spaven?David Spaven was born and brought up in Edinburgh, and has lived and worked in Inverness, London and Glasgow. He spent his whole working life in the rail industry and is the author of a number of acclaimed railways books, including Mapping the Railways (HarperCollins, 2011) and Britain’s Scenic Railways (HarperCollins, 2012). About The Scottish Railway Atlas:The rich diversity of Scotland’s railway network has never before been the subject of a specialist atlas. This book showcases 100 topographical and railway maps, telling the story of the country’s railways from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Researched and written by David Spaven – who co-wrote the best-selling Mapping the Railways on the history of Britain’s rail network – this beautiful atlas allows the reader to understand the bigger story of the effects of the railways on the landscape and the impact of Scotland’s distinctive geography on the pattern of railway development over a period of nearly 200 years. The unique map selection is supported by an informative commentary of key cartographic, geographic and historical features. This sumptuous atlas will appeal not just to railway enthusiasts and those who appreciate the beauty of maps, but also to readers fascinated by the role of railways in Scotland’s modern developments

Praise for Britain’s Scenic Railways:

“The authors, Julian Holland and David Spaven are clearly old hands at exploring the country’s railways – and it shows.” -BBc country File

Praise for Waverley Route:

‘Extremely well-researched, and elegantly written’

– Keith Aitken, Daily express




events and festivals large and smallRecent Events:

Borders Book Festival, National Library of Scotland


www.deltix.co.uk


ROGER HUTCHINSON

October 2015: Martyrs- Glendale and the Revolution in Skye

Also available: St Kilda: A People’s History, The Silent Weaver; The Toon; Father Allan; Walking to America; Calum’s Road The Soap Man; Camanachd! Who is Roger Hutchinson?Roger Hutchinson is an award-winning author and journalist. After working as an editor in London, in 1977 he joined the West Highland Free Press in Skye. Since then he has published thirteen books, including Polly: the True Story behind Whisky Galore. He is still a columnist for the WHFP, and has written for BBC Radio, the Scotsman, the Guardian, the Herald and The Literary Review. His book The Soap Man (Birlinn 2003) was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year (2004) and the bestselling Calum’s Road (2007) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. About Martyrs:In the 1830-1840s the district of Glendale on Skye was swamped by immigrants cleared from other north Skye estates. The resultant overcrowding and over-use of land caused simmering discontent – not against the incomers, but against the landowners, who regarded their tenants as no more than chattels.

This book is a definitive account of what happened when full-scale land-war ensued. Pitched battles with police, factors and bailiffs, military intervention, arrests, trials, imprisonment and the personal intervention of the Prime Minister were to have huge consequences for crofters all over the Highlands, who, ultimately, were the victors.

At the heart of the rising was a man named John MacPherson, a courageous, charismatic and articulate crofter who was twice imprisoned for leading a rebellion against a system which kept all but the wealthiest in a state of bitter servitude. MacPherson quickly became known as ‘the Glendale Martyr’. Martyrs tells the story of John MacPherson, his comrades, his allies, his enemies and his final success.

Praise for Calum’s Road:

‘wonderful, elegant and serious’

– The Telegraph

‘This is an extraordinarily fine book, and one of the most important books to have come out of the Highlands and Islands in recent yearst’ – West Highland Free Press

Author based: Raasay




Islay Book Festival, Ullapool Book Festival, Wigtown Book Festival, Edinburgh

International Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: Yes


ALAN MCKIRDYJuly 2015: Set in Stone (pbk)

Also available: Land of Mountain and Flood (pbk) (2009); Land of Mountain and Flood (hbk) (2007) Who is Alan McKirdy?Alan McKirdy has worked in conservation for almost thirty years. He has edited or written many popular books on geology and has contributed to a number of TV and radio programmes. About Set in Stone:The land that was to become Scotland has travelled across the globe over the last 3,000 million years. During these travels, there were many continental collisions, creating mountain belts as high as the present-day Himalayas. The Highlands of Scotland were formed in this way. Our climate too has changed dramatically over the last 3 billion years from the deep freeze of the Ice Age to the scorching heat of the desert. And within a relatively short time – geologically speaking, we will plunge back into another ice age. Alan McKirdy traces Scotland’s amazing geological journey, explaining for the non-specialist reader why the landscape looks the way it does today. He also explores how Scots and those working in Scotland have played a seminal role in the development of the science of geology.

About Land of Mountain and Flood:Scotland is justly famed for its magnificent scenery - mountains, lochs, islands, wild rocky places and sandy beaches. The sheer diversity of Scotland’s rocks and landforms are the physical reminders of a fascinating journey through time. They reveal that the land that makes up Scotland today has travelled the world and has not always even belonged to one single continental landmass. Continents formed and split apart, ancient volcanoes erupted vast quantities of lava and Ice Age glaciers shaped the landscape. Containing a huge amount of detailed information presented in clear, comprehensible language and enhanced throughtout with specially commissioned illustrations, diagrams and photographs, this is an essential book for anyone interested in the world around them.

Praise for Land of Mountain and Flood: ‘Big and beautifully illustrated, this book is rigorous yet lucid, and written with patriotic pride - a work of more than scientific importance, *****’ – Scotsman

Author based:Perthshire

Willing to travel:Anywhere in the UK and beyond

Happy to do:Bookstore and external events, festivals

large and smallRecent events:

Edinburgh International Book Festival, MV Festival, Perth MuseumLive Literature Funded: No


SUE LAWRENCE

June 2015: The Scottish Berries Bible

July 2014: Scottish Baking Who is Sue Lawrence:Sue Lawrence, the ‘Queen of Baking’, is a food writer and journalist who has written many books on cooking and baking, including The Scottish Kitchen (2002), The Sue Lawrence Book of Baking (2004) and Eating In (2011). She won Masterchef in 1991 and regularly features on STV’s The Hour. In December 2013 she appeared on the Christmas Edition of the Great British Bake Off.

About The Scottish Berries Bible:The latest in Birlinn’s bestselling Food Bible series combines new and traditional recipes, including Bramble Clafoutis, Strawberry Risotto, Chocolate Raspberry Brownies, Duck with Blackcurrants, Redcurrant and Apple Lattice Pie and Blaeberry Polenta Cake. Sue provides recipes that are easy to cook but reliably produce delicious results.

About Scottish Baking:In recent times Britain as a whole can’t get enough of programmes like The Great British Bake-off and The Fabulous Baker Boys, but Scotland has always had a wonderful tradition of baking in both sweet and savoury recipes. Leading cookery writer Sue Lawrence has now combined her two passions, for baking and Scottish cooking, into one definitive book. A compendium of 70 easy-to-follow recipes, it brings together the traditional breads, scones and cakes that have shaped Scotland’s great baking heritage and new contemporary bakes like Sticky Toffee Apple Cake and Coconut Cherry Chocolate Traybake. This is a book that will reach out to anyone who loves to dabble with flour, sugar, and butter.

Praise for Sue Lawrence:

‘The queen of home baking’ – Time Out

‘There couldn’t be a book by Sue Lawrence that I wouldn’t want to own and, indeed, I’d be horrified to learn that there were any titles I don’t own. She writes beautifully, is as much chatty historian as cookery writer and her recipes always interest me and make me ravenous’ – Nigella Lawson

Author based:Edinburgh



festivals Recent events:

Fringe by the Sea, Scottish Baking Awards, Edinburgh International Book Festival,

Stirling Book FestivalLive Literature Funded: No


Authors based: Dumfries




JESSIE SHEELER &ROBIN GILLANDERS August 2015: Little Sparta

Who are Jessie Sheeler and Robin Gillanders?Jessie Sheeler was brought up in Edinburgh and read Classics at Edinburgh University. In the early 1960s, working with Ian Hamilton Finlay, she co-founded the Wild Hawthorn Press and its poetry magazine Poor. Old. Tired. Horse.

Robin Gillanders taught Photography at Edinburgh Napier University between 1988 and 2012, and was Reader from 2004. He has exhibited frequently in Scotland and also in France, Spain, Poland, Norway and the USA.

About Little Sparta:Ian Hamilton Finlay’s garden in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh is widely regarded as one of the most significant gardens in Britain. In addition to being a spectacular example of garden design, it also features almost 300 artworks by Finlay and others which form an integral part of the garden scheme.

This new companion to Little Sparta tells the story of Ian Hamilton Finlay’s extraordinary creation, exploring the underlying themes, and introducing and explaining the significance of the main elements and artworks in each part of the garden. Featuring new photography, as well as archive material, it also shows how the garden has matured and developed over the last 50 years.

Praise for Little Sparta:

‘The only really original garden made in this country since 1945’ – Sir Roy Strong

‘One of the wonders of twentieth-century art’ – The Guardian


DANIEL MACCANNELL March 2015: How to Read Scottish Buildings (pbk)

Also available: Edinburgh: Mapping the City, Lost Banff and Buchan

Who is Daniel MacCannell?Daniel MacCannell lives in East Lothian, where he runs the Historical Detective Agency Ltd. He has studied Scottish, English, Dutch and French buildings, landscapes and townscapes for more than twenty years, and was awarded a Ph.D. in History and Art History by the University of Aberdeen in 2010. He is the great-grandson of Canadian-American landscape architect Earle Edgerly MacCannell. This is his fifth book for Birlinn.

About How to Read Scottish Buildings:Scotland has a huge and diverse amount of built heritage. Yet most writing about this fascinating subject is overly technical – an alphabet soup of L-plans, Z-plans and bartizans. How to Read Scottish Buildings is a unique, informative and refreshing companion to Scottish architecture that dispenses with jargon to enable us to appreciate Scottish buildings with regard to their ages, styles, influences, and functions, as well as the messages that their builders, owners and occupants intended them to convey. Readers will be able to answer for themselves a whole host of questions about function, style, age and building techniques that will make a visit to any historic Scottish building a rewarding and enriching experience.

About Edinburgh: Mapping the City:Maps can tell much about the story of a place that traditional histories fail to communicate. This is particularly true of Edinburgh, one of the most visually stunning cities in Europe and a place rich in historical and cultural associations. This lavishly illustrated book features 80 maps of Edinburgh which have been selected for the particular stories they reveal about different political, commercial and social aspects. Together, they present a fascinating insight into how Edinburgh has changed and developed over the last 500 years, and will appeal to all those with an interest in Edinburgh and Scottish history, as well as other audiences – those interested in urban history, architectural history, town planning and the history of cartography.

Author based: Bristol


Happy to do: Bookstores and external events, festivals

large and smallRecent Events:

Spirit of Moray Book Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Central Library (Edinburgh)Live Literature Funded: No


JESS SMITH

‘One of Scotland’s most popular authors - a truly charismatic speaker with innate storytelling ability’

- stirlinG council

October 2015: The Way of the Wanderers- The Story of Travellers in Scotland (reprint)

Also available: Tales from the Tent; Tears for a Tinker, Jessie’s Journey, Sookin’ Berries, Bruar’s Rest

Who is Jess Smith?:

Jess Smith lives in historical Glenturret, Perthshire. She comes from a long line of Travelling people and writes extensively about her early years as a misty wanderer. Jess is also heavily involved in researching the ancestral roots of the Travelling people.

About The Way of the Wanderers:

TV programmes like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, books like Gypsy Boy and the recent disturbances at Dale Farm have created enormous interest in the history and lifestyle of gypsies. Scottish gypsies, known as travellers, have wandered Scotland’s roads and byways for centuries, and their turbulent history is captured in this passionate book by Jess Smith.

This is a personal pilgrimage through the stories, songs and culture of a people for whom freedom is more important than security and a campfire under the stars is preferable to a warm hearth within stone walls. Settled society has always discriminated against Travellers and Jess tells shocking stories of bullying, violence, the enforced break-up of families and separate schooling. But drawing on her own and her family’s experiences, she also captures the magic and drama of days wandering the roads and working the land, and brings to life the travellers’ rich and vibrant traditions.

Praise for The Way of the Wanderers:

‘Way of the Wanderers … should be taught in every school in the land . . . It is vigorous and vivid and feisty’

– Dundee Courier & Advertiser

Author based: Perthshire




Off the Page Book Festival (Stirling), Scottish Storytelling Centre, Grassroots

Cafe (Oban)Live Literature Funded: Yes


CARA ELLISON ‘The Embedded project was incredible in scope and in the gonzo-style writing that resulted.’

‘Cara is a master of pensive explorations of the personal affects of games.’

- GiantBoMB.coM ForuM

November 2015: Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers

Who is Cara Ellison?

Cara Ellison is a writer, game critic and video game narrative designer. She has worked for games developers such as Rock Star North and Arkane Studios. Her narratives have most recently appeared in Dishonoured 2. She’s currently working on the narrative for another high profile game, but details are strictly confidential.

She was a regular columnist for the Guardian, and for many games-specific magazines including PC Gamer, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, and Eurogamer. She was co-writer on Charlie Brooker’s How Videogames Changed The World for Channel Four and also speaks frequently at conferences and events around the world.

Cara was one of The Guardian’s Top Ten Young People In Digital Media 2014, she doesn’t always have pink hair, and voiced the character of ‘Female Pedestrian on Fire’ in Grand Theft Auto IV.

About Embed with Games:

In 2014 Cara was hating living in London, late one evening she rather flippantly pledged to the internet that she’d leave home, become itinerant, and travel around the world to live with and write about some of the most interesting game developers. Prosecco may have been involved.

Within 24 hours, the internet had responded with enthusiasm. People pledged thousands of pounds to send Cara on her adventure.

Originally Cara posed the Embed With Games series monthly on a free blog as she travelled from couch to couch, writing about the people she met and about the way game creators express the culture around them.

This is the collected work- let the games commence!

Praise for Cara:

‘Cara Ellison’s writing is consistently amusing, perceptive, honest, and touching’

– Charlie Brooker





National Library of Scotland, Dare Protoplay 2015, NY University

Game Centre, London Literature Centre,

Game Developers Conference (San Francisco)







ANDY WIGHTMAN August 2015: The Poor Had No Lawyers (New and Fully Revised Edition) (pbk)

Who is Andy Wightman?Andy Wightman was born in Dundee and studied forestry at Aberdeen University. He worked as a ghillie, environmental scientist, and an environmental campaigner before becoming a self-employed writer and researcher in 1993. He is the author of several books, including the best-selling Who Owns Scotland, and a prominent analyst and critic of land reform process. He lives in Edinburgh.

About The Poor Had No Lawyers:Who owns Scotland? How did they get it? What happened to all the common land in Scotland? Has the Scottish Parliament made any difference? Can we get our common good land back?

In this book, Andy Wightman updates the statistics of landownership in Scotland and explores how and why landowners got their hands on the millions of acres of land that were once held in common. He tells the untold story of how Scotland’s legal establishment and politicians managed to appropriate land through legal fixes. Have attempts to redistribute this power more equitably made any difference, and what are the full implications of the recent debt-fuelled housing bubble, the Smith Commission and the new Scottish Government’s proposals on land reform?

For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, this updated edition of The Poor Had No Lawyers provides a fascinating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland.

Praise for The Poor Had No Lawyers: ‘Frank, fearless and at times ferocious… a remarkable book’ – The Herald

‘Superlative’

– The Scotsman


GREGORY DOWLING

September 2015: Ascension

Who is Gregory Dowling?Gregory Dowling grew up in Bristol before studying English at Christ Church, Oxford where he obtained a First Class Degree. He moved to Venice in 1981, where he is Associate Professor of American Literature at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Gregory has published four novels, co-edited two anthologies of poetry and written various non-fiction books and academic articles. He is non-fiction editor for the journal Able Muse and editor of the British section of the Italian poetry-journal Semicerchio, and wrote for Time Out Guide to Venice.

About Ascension:Venice in 1749 - the city has lost its political and financial primacy but has become Europe’s pleasure capital, famous for its gambling dens, its courtesans, its hectic carnival, its music, art and theatre – and the most highly organised secret service in Europe.Alvise Marangon, born in Italy but brought up in London, returns to the city of his birth and quickly becomes involved in the protection of a visiting English lord and his beautiful sister. He is then forcibly recruited into the city’s powerful secret service to investigate a murder case. A reluctant spy he may be, but he is a gifted one.Amidst the world of gambling dens and courtesans, something momentous is being planned for the Feast of the Ascension, Venice’s most important and spectacular holiday, and it seems that only Alvise can prevent the day from turning into bloody mayhem.

Praise for Ascension:

‘Blends a laconic, amused style informed by American detective literature with a profound knowledge of Venetian geography and history. Stylish, clever and gripping’ – The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month

‘Alvise is a terrific character, the murder mystery is absorbingly ingenious and, if you are a sucker for Venice, the sights, sounds and smells of its streets and canals ooze up from the page’ – Daily Mail

Author based: Venice





CHRISTOPHER RUSH ‘Read it if you yearn for something startlingly original and uncompromising.’ –Historical Book of the Month, the tiMes

September 2015: Penelope’s Web (hbk)

Also available: Will (2014) Who is Christopher Rush?Christopher Rush was born in St Monans and taught literature for thirty years in Edinburgh. His books include A Twelvemonth and a Day and the highly acclaimed To Travel Hopefully. A Twelvemonth and a Day served as inspiration for the film Venus Peter, released in 1989. The story was also reworked by Rush in a simplified version in 1992 as a children’s picture book, Venus Peter Saves the Whale, illustrated by Mairi Hedderwick, which won the Friends of the Earth 1993 Earthworm Award for the book published that year that would most help children to enjoy and care for the Earth About Penelope’s Web:Odysseus returns to Ithaca after nearly twenty years, half of it spent as a soldier and the other half as a soldier of fortune. During his absence his wife Penelope remained faithful, despite Odysseus being missing and presumed dead, but when her husband suddenly reappears he confronts those who have been trying to seduce his wife and kills them all. The perspectives of Odysseus and Penelope question one another, as do their distinctly contrasting voices, the lines between them often blurring as the reader is led deeper into the question of what constitutes reality and truth.

About Will: A Novel:2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. In Rush’s novel William Shakespeare is dying, with his lawyer at his bedside. It is time to dictate his will. But how can a man put his affairs in order before he’s come to terms with his past? Acclaimed poet, novelist, and Shakespeare professor Christopher Rush has put thirty years of scholarship and creativity into this unforgettable re-imagining of the Bard’s life.

Praise for Penelope’s Web: ‘Penelope’s Web is a book about war that, like The Naked and the Dead or Catch-22, manages to be about very much more… Christopher Rush has written a profound meditation not just on our present condition but on how we all live inside ‘the web’, how we weave fact, the way we make and unmake fictions, and how we choose to live and die by them’ – Scottish Review of Books





National Library of Scotland, Topping & Co. Booksellers



MICHAEL F. RUSSELL

June 2015: Lie of the Land Who is Michael F. Russell? Michael F. Russell grew up on the Isle of Barra before leaving to study Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Journalism Studies at the University of Strathclyde. He is deputy editor at the West Highland Free Press and writes occasionally for the Sunday Herald. His writing has appeared in Gutter, Northwords Now and Fractured West. He lives on Skye with his partner and two children.

About Lie of the Land:For investigative journalist Carl Shewan, the Scottish coastal village of Inverlair is a picturesque cage. Imprisoned in this remote refuge by a technological catastrophe for which he feels partly responsible, Carl struggles to adapt to impending fatherhood and to a harsh new existence in an ancient landscape, until a childless gamekeeper offers him an alternative to guilt and alienation.

Set in the near future, Lie of the Land examines the claustrophobia of small-town life and questions how far the state will go to preserve an orderly society, one in which ubiquitous surveillance has reduced human life to a virtual experience.

Praise for Lie of the Land:

‘It is as cosy as a handful of gorse raked across your back. It announces a talent to be followed closely’ – Scotland on Sunday

**** – Newbooks Magazine Summer Reading Special

Author based:Skye





CHRISTOPHER JORY

April 2015: The Art of Waiting (hbk)

Who is Christopher Jory?Christopher Jory was born in 1968 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He spent his early childhood in Barbados, Venezuela and finally Oxfordshire. He did a degree in English Literature and Philosophy at Leicester University and then worked as an English teacher for the British Council and other organisations in Italy, Spain, Crete, Brazil and Venezuela. He is currently a Publisher at Cambridge University Press. His first book, Lost in the Flames (Troubadour, 2011), was a moving account of RAF Bomber Command airmen and their families.

About The Art of Waiting:Russia, 1943. A girl from Leningrad, a soldier from Venice, standing together on the edge of wilderness. She approaches him, a shadow of a man, trapped behind wire, an enemy in her land. She takes something from her pocket, slips her hand through the wire, and catches her skin on one of the barbs. Up comes a tiny sphere of blood. ‘Have this,’ she says, and the wind carries her voice away across the steppe. The man takes the gift – a small crust of bread, a little piece of hope – and its memory will keep him alive on his long journey home. And when home again, which way will he tip, which sentiment will be strongest? His quiet love for the girl who saved his life, and for Isabella, and for the re-emerging sense of self that the war had put in the ground and buried? Or his unfulfilled desire for vengeance, to right the wrong that was done to him years before, to see to it that Fausto Pozzi finally pays the price for the terrible thing that he has done?

Praise for The Art of Waiting:

‘A poignant story of youth, love, hate, retribution – and hope’ – Country Life

Author based:Oxfordshire




Chipping Campden Literature FestivalLive Literature Funded: No

DRAFT COVER


GILLIAN GALBRAITH

April 2015: The Good Priest (pbk)September 2015: Troubled Waters (pbk) Also available: The Good Priest (hbk) (2014); Troubled Waters (2014); The Road to Hell (2013); No Sorrow to Die (2011); Dying of the Light (2009); Where the Shadow Falls (2008); and Blood in the Water (2007).

Who is Gillian Galbraith?Until 2006, Gillian was an Advocate at the Scottish bar specialising in medical negligence cases. She has also written on legal matters for the Times. Following the publication of Blood in the Water she became a full-time writer. Gillian is an accomplished book festival performer, having appeared on many occasions at the Edinburgh International Book festival, amongst other venues. About The Good Priest: A Father Vincent Ross MysteryIn the house of a Roman Catholic bishop a man lies in a pool of blood. Out in the bishop’s diocese the quiet life of parish priest Father Vincent Ross is about to be thrown into turmoil by a terrifying revelation. There are ugly scandals being hidden by the church he has served for so long, and a murderer is on the prowl. The police and the authorities are groping in the dark, but Father Ross has been given special information that he cannot disclose to anyone. It dawns on him that he and he alone can unravel the mystery and bring the nightmare of violence to an end. He must put his personal safety, his reputation and finally his life on the line. About Troubled Waters: An Alice Rice MysteryA young, disabled girl is lost on a winter’s night in Leith, unable to help herself or find her way home. Someone is combing the streets, frantically searching for her. Within hours of her disappearance, a body is washed up on Beamer Rock, a tiny island in the Forth. No sooner has Detective Inspector Alice Rice managed to discover the identity of that body than another one is washed up in Belhaven Bay. What is the connection between the two bodies? Can Alice solve the puzzle before another life is taken? In this novel, the sixth in the Alice Rice series, appearances belie reality, and truths and falsehoods gradually merge, becoming indistinguishable. Praise for the Alice Rice myteries :

‘This is a vivid and exciting story. There is not a dull page in it’ – alexanDer Mccall sMith

‘The Edinburgh underworld may have emitted a collective sigh of relief at the departure of Inspector Rebus, but just as they thought it was safe to reclaim the streets of Auld Reekie it seems that a fresh avenger of evil, DS Alice Rice, has come of age’ – scottish FielD

Author based: Kinross, PerthshireWilling to travel:

Anywhere in the UKHappy to do:


Recent events:Edinburgh International Book Festival,

Aye Write Festival, Bloody Scotland, libraries, local festivals


Birlinn Author Availability 2016

Documents

Transcript of Birlinn Author Availability 2016