Chocolat author to give free talk at Scottish school

The writer of a best seller which was turned into an international hit film is to visit a Scottish school. Bestselling Chocolat author Joanne Harris, with Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing, will visit McLaren High School in Stirlingshire next Monday, 19 November, from 4.30–6pm. Book Week Scotland is…

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Crime novelist set to launch Granite Noir festival

Aberdeen’s crime writing festival Granite Noir is all set to launch its third festival programme at a special event this weekend. Local crime novelist Stuart MacBride will join the team behind Granite Noir to share the secrets of the festival’s 2019 programme and mark its official launch. Granite Noir 2019 will take place from Friday…

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Scots are fully booked for reading with family

A new survey has named Scots as the UK’s most avid readers. Book Week Scotland runs from 19-25 November, a celebration of the world of literature and the perfect time for Scotland to share and enjoy reading their favourites together. New research by popular tuition provider Explore Learning, which has five centres in Edinburgh, Glasgow,…

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The artistic story of the Students at Hospitalfield

Hospitalfield was the nursery which cultivated around 700 20th century Scottish artists during its half a century in use. This book detils the history of Hospitalfield, located in Arbroath, and the impact it had on its community of artists who exchanged ideas there and found inspiration in the landscapes. Beardmore accompanies the fascinating history with…

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Robert Louis Stevenson award seeks writers

To marking Robert Louis Stevenson Day, the Scottish Book Trust has announced that the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship for professional writers is now open for applications. Previous fellows include novelist Jenni Fagan, Makar Liz Lochhead, and poet and performer Michael Pedersen. Writers based in Scotland are encouraged to apply, and the Fellowship awards successful applicants…

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Delicious recipes in Feathers: The Game Larder

The makers of Venison: the Game Larder have come back fully equipped with more game bird cooking recipes from master game chef José Souto. He offers a wide selection of recipes, both appetisers and main meals, simple and intricate, each of them truly of a higher class. There’s more: the reader is also given insight…

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The story of McGill’s Buses brought to book

The story of Scotland’s largest independent bus operator is celebrated in a new book. McGill’s Bus Services operates throughout the west of Scotland, with its headquarters in Greenock, and David Devoy’s book charts and highlights the firm’s substantial growth in recent years. The present company was founded in 2001, taking on the name of a…

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Ardkinglas: The Biography of a Highland Estate

In her third book, Ardkinglas: The Biography of a Highland Estate, Christina Noble returns home to explore her roots. The story begins in 1905, when the estate she grew up on was built, and travels to the present. Her gained perspective grants her narration a bittersweet wisdom, but her love of the estate infects the…

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Cocktail book will leave you shaken and stirred

Anyone who’s ever wanted to go drinking with James Bond would, most likely, end up the way that most of his arch-foes go. Dead. Mr Bond does have a fondness for a drink, as, over the course of the 14 books written by Ian Fleming, 007 does enjoy a cocktail or three. Shaken – Drinking…

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Urquhart Castle stocks goodies made by locals

Chocolates, a children’s book and scented candles are some of the products being sold at a castle by Loch Ness – many designed by local school pupils. Young entrepreneurs from local schools and social enterprises have won the opportunity for their products to be stocked at Urquhart Castle until March 2019. The products include a…

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