Books
Wigtown Book Festival inspires Irish book town
IRELAND could soon get its first “book town” thanks to inspiration from Wigtown Book Festival. Granard in County Longford aims to raise £20,000 for its inaugural literary festival. Wigtown has been hailed as the “perfect model for arts-based economic regeneration”. The Galloway community became “Scotland’s National Book Town” in 1998. Its ten-day Wigtown Book Festival…
Read MoreWinners revealed at Bloody Scotland book festival
TWO crime writers carried off the top prizes last night as the Bloody Scotland book festival got underway in Stirling. Alan Parks won the McIlvanney Prize for May God Forgive, while Tariq Ashkanani took the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize with Welcome to Cooper. Ayo Onatade, chair of the McIlvanney Prize judges, described May God Forgive…
Read MoreHost named for Outlander author Diana Gabaldon event
THE host has been named for an event in Inverness with Outlander author Diana Gabaldon. Local historian and author Sarah Fraser will interview the writer on stage at Eden Court theatre on 15 October. Fraser appeared in the Men in Kilts television series alongside Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham MacTavish “I am very excited…
Read MoreDoric scriever starts residency
DORIC writer Shane Strachan has been named as the next Scots scriever by the National Library of Scotland. The role involves promoting the Scots language by carrying out research at the library and producing original work. Strachan said: “I’m fair trickit tae be this year’s Scots scriever, especially gettin tae promote the Doric o my…
Read MoreThe Portobello Bookshop launches books by post
A SUBSCRIPTION service for book lovers has been unveiled by The Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh. “Porty by Post” provides a fiction or non-fiction book each month, along with an interview with an author in an accompanying booklet. Gifts from fellow independently-owned local businesses are also included in the pack, along with a bookmark and a…
Read MoreLady Glenconner at Royal Scots Club lunch
THE Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh is preparing to host Lady Glenconner for its next literary lunch. Lady Glenconner, 90, was maid of honour at the Queen’s coronation and was appointed as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret in 1971. Her memoir, Lady in Waiting, was published in 2019 and became a best-seller, with Lady Glenconner…
Read MoreVoxblock plays audiobooks without a screen
AN EDINBURGH couple has today launched Voxblock, a device for playing audiobooks without a screen. Rebecca Lundgren and Tom Williams were inspired to create the machine after watching their daughter play Lundgren’s childhood audiobooks on an old cassette player. ‘‘Watching our own daughter listen to and love my old storybook cassettes was a revelation and…
Read MoreBloody Scotland shines spotlight on new authors
THE Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival has chosen 22 new writers for its “Crime in the Spotlight” feature. Each author will appear alongside more famous writers, either on stage or online. The idea was inspired by the support acts at music festivals. More than 100 new writers have been supported by the project in…
Read MoreDonna Ashworth shares exclusive poem
Poet Donna Ashworth shares her new work, Home, written for Scottish Field. HAILING from Tillicoultry, Donna Ashworth rose to fame on social media, with her poetry winning a legion of celebrity fans, including Cat Deeley, Lisa Faulkner, and Lisa Snowden. A new collection of her poems, I Wish I Knew, has been released by Black…
Read MoreAlexander McCall Smith features on new album
AUTHOR Alexander McCall Smith is one of the narrators featured on the forthcoming album from string duo Sequoia. Isola, which is due to be released on 16 September, features the Scotland Street author, along with Hamish Henderson. The author features on the title track, which he helped to compose. The idea for the album came from…
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