Books
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Scottish festivals 2013 - An A-Z of the best summer festivals
17 May 2013
The best festivals of music, film, food, cycling and more taking place in Scotland 2013
When it comes to festivals, Scotland really doesn’t hold back. From Orkney to Byres Road, muddy fields to stately homes, the growing number of them cater to all tastes, styles and budgets. Our A-Z guide profiles Scotland’s best summer jamborees, the…
Horror author Joe Hill introduces his new novel, NOS4R2
16 May 2013
The writer also touches on working with Daniel Radcliffe and being Stephen King's son
The latest novel from author Joe Hill is a full throttle horror story. In NOS4R2, a serial killer prowls both real and imaginary worlds in his Silver Wraith Rolls Royce, abducting children for a hundred year reign of terror. The killer takes his…
James Robertson - The Professor of Truth
16 May 2013
A contemporary story dealing with the aftermath of a Lockerbie-like attack
Twenty-one years after the death of his wife and child in a plane bombing, Dr Alan Tealing remains unconvinced by the official account of this atrocity. Tealing’s obsession with what he calls The Case defines the novel: this is Lockerbie in everything…
Kate Manning - My Notorious Life by Madame X
16 May 2013
A timely historical drama about abortion and the female body in the Victorian era
After a year of American politicians sounding off about women’s bodies like it was the 19th century, Kate Manning’s novel, inspired by an infamous midwife/abortion provider from that era, comes as a reminder of how grim things used to be. Axie…
Helen Ivory - Waiting for Bluebeard
16 May 2013
The poet's latest collection dissolves the barriers between reality and fantasy
In what is undoubtedly her most bewitching poetry collection to date, Helen Ivory peels away the layers of reality and leaves her reader a tantalising world to explore. Each poem is beautifully woven together to create a dream-like narrative. Through…
Curtis Sittenfeld - Sisterland
15 May 2013
A tense, gripping narrative let down by hard-to-swallow racist and homophobic tendencies
When Kate’s identical twin sister, professional psychic Vi Shramm, has a premonition that a giant earthquake is about to strike their hometown of St Louis, Kate begins to set in motion a plan to protect her family. As Vi gets carried away by the media…
Flash Fiction - Shells by Liam Bell
15 May 2013
Most recent installment in The List's series of ultra-sort stories
The house is built half-in, half-out of the water. At high tide the water laps at the supporting wall beneath their bedroom window. When the wind rises, the breaking waves send spittle and spray up to the rattling glass. Then the tide ebbs out and the…
Jenny Mayhew - A Wolf in Hindelheim
15 May 2013
Former screenwriter Mayhew's debut novel is a strong, atmospheric story set in pre-WWII Germany
War hangs heavy over the small German mountain community of Hindelheim in Jenny Mayhew’s unusual crime novel, set in 1926. WWI has left local constable Hildebrandt crippled and estranged from his adult son, while the war which we know is still to come…
David Gaffney - More Sawn Off Tales
10 May 2013
Small tales of great depth
When reading this collection of very short stories you will forget where you are, what you’re supposed to be doing and where you’re supposed to be going. It is utterly, and wonderfully addictive. Each 150-word story in this follow up to Sawn Off Tales…
Writer and perfume expert Alex Musgrave delivers talk on poetry and scent
10 May 2013
Custom-scented verse, live music and free wine
What does poetry smell like? Would a rose by any other name smell... well, let's save the rest for Alex Musgrave AKA perfume blogger the Silver Fox, as well as a poet, novelist and business manager at the Edinburgh branch of perfumery store…
Here and Now: Letters 2009-2011 - Paul Auster and J M Coetzee
10 May 2013
Epistolary correspondence between two stalwarts of contemporary English literature
Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee, two stalwarts of contemporary English literature, first met in 2008. Shortly after, Coetzee wrote suggesting they “could strike sparks off each other”. Here and Now is the result: epistolary correspondence from 2008 to…
I Am An Executioner
10 May 2013
Nine wildly inventive tales on love, life and death from Indian-born US writer Rajesh Param
I Am an Executioner is the debut collection of short stories by Indian-born US writer Rajesh Parameswaran. The tagline is 'Love Stories', an indication of the inextricability of love, life and death which Parameswaran explores in these nine wildly…
Clandestino: In search of Manu Chao
10 May 2013
A carnival of photojournalism and trans-continental reportage which brings you closer to the World M
It is no marketing accident that Peter Culshaw’s book has all the look and feel of a Lonely Planet volume. A carnival of photojournalism and trans-continental reportage, Clandestino, in search of Manu Chao is an ambitious biography of an artist who both…
The Flamethrowers
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10 May 2013
Fast-paced novel which reflects Kushner's need for speed
Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers is remarkable for its expansiveness and for its exhilarating succession of ideas. At its heart is Reno – named after her hometown – who becomes involved in the New York art world of the 1970s. From there the novel…
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
10 May 2013
DiSclafani's debut novel fails to provoke passion in its readers
Like many debuts, Anton DiSclafani’s novel draws on her childhood. Initially set in her summer home of North Carolina, the author’s love of horseback riding backdrops part of this story of a high society teen at brink of the Depression. Sent away to The…
Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard-Living, Hair and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower East Side
10 May 2013
Vivid recollections of a punk's fascinating life
From the moment Rayya Elias describes breaking her leg on the marble floor of the Syrian apartment she lived in until the age of seven, Harley Loco is a beautifully ugly memoir. Elias’ gravelly voice hustles her story onto the page; her Detroit…
The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour
10 May 2013
Witty duets guide you through the city's literary history
This entertaining mash-up of pub crawl and street theatre uses conflict to bring its subject alive, with great results. Hosted by two characters (one a bohemian who believes Edinburgh’s famous writers were formed from the city’s squalor, the other an…
Matt Hill - The Folded Man
10 May 2013
Transgressive fiction that keeps us shuddering for Britain's future
Part science-fiction, part horror, Matt Hill’s debut depicts a war-torn near-future Britain poisoned by nationalism and racism. Using current anxieties over riots, terrorism and the recession as a springboard for clever satire, Hill makes weighty topics…
Alice Thompson - Burnt Island
10 May 2013
Sixth novel takes the gothic genre to a whole new level
When emotionally fragile literary author Max Long wins a three-month writing fellowship on the mysterious Burnt Island (not to be confused with the Fife coastal town), he believes that this could be his opportunity to write the bestseller that has so…
Apple Tree Yard
10 May 2013
A novel reflecting upon how we all create our own stories in order to justify our actions
Yvonne Carmichael, a successful geneticist and suburban wife, embarks on a dangerous affair with a married man, which intensifies and leads to a shocking act of violence. At first glance, the plot of Apple Tree Yard may seem like a mixture of crime…
Top 5 superhero romances
30 Apr 2013
Iron Man 3's Tony Stark and Pepper Pots are but the latest in a long-line of superhero sweethearts
Warning: may contain spoilers!
Stephen Collins – The Gigantic Beard that was Evil
26 Apr 2013
Collins’ graphic novel inspects the havoc wreaked on a neat community by unruly facial hair
On the bland, egg-shaped island of Here, Dave lives a comfortably dull life: by day he performs a data-processing job; by night he sketches the view from the windows of his suburban home. Like the other inhabitants of Here, Dave is wary of change and…
Picture gallery - Animation Sketchbooks by Laura Heit
22 Apr 2013
The art book showcases the in-progress ideas from some of the world's most inventive animators
Creating any piece of animation requires a huge amount of work, most of which never finds its way before an audience. Academic and artist Laura Heit aims to change this by presenting the sketches of over 50 contemporary animation luminaries in her new…
Interview: Robert Newman on latest novel The Trade Secret
18 Apr 2013
Writer also known for stand-up comedy publishes new novel set in 17th Century
Writer Robert Newman – who is perhaps better known for his stand-up comedy - will see his latest novel The Trade Secret hit bookstores this week. Published in hardback by Cargo, and also available in ebook format by Cargo Crate, Newman’s eagerly awaited…
First and last: AL Kennedy interview
18 Apr 2013
Author and comedian on Leo Sayer, chestnut soup and funeral conga lines
First record you ever bought. I can’t recall. Maybe something by Queen. Probably something embarrassing like Showaddywaddy, or Slade. Last extravagant purchase you made. A new suit. They lend confidence. And prevent troubling choices. First film you…
