Books
A journey through life in a collection of poetry
Alexander McCall Smith takes readers on a journey through the Scottish landscape in A Gathering: A Personal Anthology of Scottish Poems. In choosing the Scottish poems which mean the most to him, there poems are helpfully split up into chapters such as ‘love & marriage’ and ‘war, conflict & loss’ allowing the reader to dip…
Read MoreCorrie’s Capers are the best in the Westie
The Westie Fest: Corrie’s Capers is a beautifully illustrated book with lots of information about things to see and do on the Isle of Arran, along with a smidge of Gaelic. Corrie the West Highland Terrier, named after one of Arran’s villages, wants to do her Papa and her country proud by competing in the…
Read MoreScotland in the 19th century lives on in 3D
Most people assume that 3D imaging and virtual reality are relatively modern technologies. However, they were developed in St Andrews 170 years ago. Peter Blair has selected 3D images from his own collection to create a Victorian virtual reality tour of Scotland. A cardboard stereoscope is included with the book which allows you to view…
Read MoreGranite Noir Festival to welcome First Minister
Granite Noir – Aberdeen’s crime writing festival – has revealed Scotland’s First Minster as chair for one of the festival’s opening events. A voracious reader since childhood, Nicola Sturgeon will chair an event with author Abir Mukherjee, the child of immigrants from India, who was bought up in the West of Scotland, on Friday, February…
Read MorePlans for defending the nation are mapped out
Two map experts explore the extraordinarily rich legacy of Scottish military mapping over the course of the last five centuries in Scotland: Defending the Nation. Carolyn Anderson and Christopher Fleet’s research includes fortification plans, reconnaissance mapping, battle plans, tactical maps and plans of mines. The book also explores a number of unrealised proposals and projected schemes.…
Read MoreTweet yourself a literary agent in 280 characters
After the astonishing success of the last three years, XpoNorth’s Writers’ Tweet Pitch is back. On Friday 11 January, from 9am-9pm, writers from across Scotland can tweet pitch their work to a panel of Scotland’s literary agents and publishers. Twitter channels will be open to pitches of unpublished fiction, nonfiction and writing and illustration for…
Read MoreThe Scots who shaped London after the war
Scots in Great War London commemorates the end of the First World War and recognises the contribution of London-Scottish organisations during this time. This new examination of the Great War pulls together often untold stories and includes famous names such as Sir Douglas Haig, John Buchan and Lord Kinnaird, known as football’s first superstar. This…
Read MoreTwelve real life stories of Scots in the Great War
Historian Walter Stephen reflects on the centenary of the end of World War I in A Dirty Swindle. This is a collection of 12 stories of Scottish soldiers from the Great War. A World War II veteran himself, Stephen tells the often neglected accounts of Scotland’s involvement in the conflict. Stephen provides a level of…
Read MoreThe Bookshop Band to tour America’s book shops
Scotland’s renowned The Bookshop Band is touring some of the finest bookstores and libraries across the USA with its repertoire of songs inspired by literature. Folk duo Ben Please and Beth Porter perform across the UK and Europe – and have frequently appeared on stage with the famous writers whose work they sing about. Living…
Read MoreThe Scottish roots of Dracula are revealed
When Brave Men Shudder: The Scottish Origins of Dracula is the previously untold story of how the terrifying character, capable of giving the toughest among us chills, was created. Shepherd is the first to investigate Bram Stoker’s time in Cruden Bay in detail. With an introdcution by Dacre Stoker, the great grand-nephew of Bram Stoker,…
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