Ali Smith

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Best of 2011: Books

The best books of 2011, including George Pelecanos, Ali Smith, Jane Harris, Sunjeev Sahota, Julian B

George Pelecanos – The Cut. Every time the name ‘George Pelecanos’ is mentioned these days the words ‘The Wire’ closely follow. But the Washington writer has been knocking out quality crime novels long before his involvement on the HBO show. The Cut was…

Interview: Ali Smith - There but for the

Scottish writer appears at 2011 Edinburgh Book Festival

There can be few more anxious experiences for an author than turning to the literary section of a newspaper as the book they have slogged over for possibly years is taken apart by a faceless critic. One national paper gave Ali Smith the fright of her…

Edinburgh International Book Festival 2011 line up highlights

Grant Morrison, Will Self and Jo Nesbø among highlights

A selection of international authors, a bunch of Scottish novelists, an array of top non-fiction scribes, a host of children’s writers and a series of exciting innovations: yes, it’s just another Edinburgh International Book Festival programme. A cliché…

Ali Smith - There but for the

The author's new novel deals wittily with the difficulties of modern communication

(Hamish Hamilton) You rarely get bombs or tornados or motorway pile-ups in Ali Smith books, but the results of inner turmoils within her characters can often be just as devastating. In There but for the, nuances and shades and intricacies stack on…

The best upcoming events in Scotland in 2011

Highlights of the 2011 cultural calandar from Film, Music, Comedy, Theatre and Visual Art

Huge gigs, inspiring theatre productions, comedy legends and two cute little waving bears – just a few of the things coming up in ‘11 that we can barely contain our excitement about

Best of a decade: Books

1. Cormac McCarthy – The Road (2006) 2. Dave Eggers – A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) 3. Jonathan Franzen – The Corrections (2001) 4. James Ellroy – The Cold Six Thousand (2001) 5. A L Kennedy – Paradise (2004) 6. Louise…

Ali Smith - The First Person and Other Stories

SHORT STORIES In this, her fourth collection of short stories, Ali Smith sets out her philosophical stall as quickly as she can. Her opening tale, ‘True Short Story’, ponders the very nature of the form itself as two men debate the merits of the…

Ali Smith - review

Myth adaptation

Ali Smith has a distinctive way with words, and while her writing may not be to everyone’s taste, it certainly makes for an absorbing read. Girl Meets Boy, the Inverness-born writer’s fourth novel, following her 2004 Whitbread award-winning work The…

Ali Smith - Hotel World (2001)

100 Best Scottish Books of all Time

‘Woooooooohooooooo what a fall what a soar what a plummet what a dash into dark into light …’ So opens Hotel World, as Sara Wilby’s ghost remembers her body plunging to its death down a lift shaft in a branch of the Global Hotel chain. Right away we…