https://www.theskinny.co.uk/ Latest articles from The Skinny en-us Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:13:00 +0100 Hannah Leven's sophomore novel is a wild and witty exploration of queer suburban utopia and the possibility of transforming mundanity into beauty https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/a-pizza-hut-a-pizza-hut-kentucky-fried-chicken-and-a-pizza-hut-by-hannah-levene https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/a-pizza-hut-a-pizza-hut-kentucky-fried-chicken-and-a-pizza-hut-by-hannah-levene hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:03:26 +0100 An idyllic childhood is shattered in Sofia Montrone's languid, queered coming-of-age tale set in the Italian mountains https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/nymph-by-sofia-montrone https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/nymph-by-sofia-montrone hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:22:00 +0100 Book launches, zine making and a fantasy and sci-fi festival are here to meet all your literary needs this month https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-june-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-june-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 29 May 2026 11:34:38 +0100 Sufiyaan Salam's debut novel is an unflinching, if somewhat unfocused, exploration of modern day masculinity https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/wimmy-road-boyz-by-sufiyaan-salam https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/wimmy-road-boyz-by-sufiyaan-salam hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 26 May 2026 09:30:00 +0100 As 1984 New York is devastated by AIDS, one woman sees the ghosts of the dead in this moving and warm queer fable on grief and community https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/waiting-on-a-friend-by-natalie-adler https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/waiting-on-a-friend-by-natalie-adler hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Wed, 20 May 2026 13:48:35 +0100 We speak to Syrian journalist Samar Yazbek about her latest book, a collection of testimonials from Gazans living under genocide https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/samar-yazbek-on-your-presence-is-a-danger-to-your-life-voices-from-gaza https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/samar-yazbek-on-your-presence-is-a-danger-to-your-life-voices-from-gaza hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 12 May 2026 10:44:32 +0100 A woman heads to a commune on a remote Scottish island in this skewering of the wellness industry and how we grapple with our past traumas https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-colony-by-christiana-spens https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-colony-by-christiana-spens hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 07 May 2026 09:54:00 +0100 Avigayl Sharp explores the bleakly comic millennial urge to self-diagnose in this wickedly abrasive debut novel https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/offseason-by-avigayl-sharp https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/offseason-by-avigayl-sharp hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 04 May 2026 10:20:00 +0100 Two big book festivals hit Scotland this month, while a bunch of launches and readings happen in bookshops across the country https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-may-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-may-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 01 May 2026 11:13:56 +0100 Susannah Dickey's novel Into the Wreck explores the aftermath of a man's death through his remaining family members https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/into-the-wreck-by-susannah-dickey https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/into-the-wreck-by-susannah-dickey hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:12:46 +0100 Visual artist Babak Ganjei brings out an idiosyncratic novella of everyday, low-level dread https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/on-the-bus-without-a-phone-by-babak-ganjei https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/on-the-bus-without-a-phone-by-babak-ganjei hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:57:59 +0100 First Date, Edinburgh's romance book festival, returns at the end of the month. Elsewhere, Polly Barton launches her debut novel and there's a poetry open mic at Glasgow Zine Library https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-april-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-april-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:02:00 +0100 We chat with author and journalist Shahed Ezaydi on her debut book The Othered Woman and her years of research into the harms of white feminism https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/shahed-ezaydi-on-the-othered-woman-white-feminism-and-islamophobia https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/shahed-ezaydi-on-the-othered-woman-white-feminism-and-islamophobia hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:28:00 +0100 Across multiple Octobers, Lebanese poet Nur Turkmani explores ideas of memory, love and transformation https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/october-by-nur-turkmani https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/october-by-nur-turkmani hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:53:19 +0100 Cult gay poet and writer Wayne Koestenbaum finally gets a UK release with his latest book, My Lover, The Rabbi https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-lover-the-rabbi-by-wayne-koestenbaum https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/my-lover-the-rabbi-by-wayne-koestenbaum hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:34:07 +0000 Jenni Fagan's intensely humanist novel explores the administrative structures of the afterlife https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-delusions-by-jenni-fagan https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-delusions-by-jenni-fagan hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Fri, 13 Mar 2026 13:56:13 +0000 Poet Peter Scalpello turns his hand to prose in this psychedelic exploration of queerness and addiction https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/mirrorstage-by-peter-scalpello https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/mirrorstage-by-peter-scalpello hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:11:10 +0000 Something deadly is lurking in the background of Briarley School for Girls in this queer Gothic boarding school novel https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/spoiled-milk-by-avery-curran https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/spoiled-milk-by-avery-curran hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:50:30 +0000 People disappear into others in this enigmatic Hitchcockian thriller https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/body-double-by-hanna-johansson https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/body-double-by-hanna-johansson hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:30:18 +0000 In Sarvat Hasin's beautiful friendship break-up book Strange Girls, the intimacies, co-dependencies, and queernesses of female friendship prompt a crisis https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/sarvat-hasin-on-queer-friendship-novel-strange-girls https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/sarvat-hasin-on-queer-friendship-novel-strange-girls hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:24:00 +0000 StAnza, St Andrews' poetry festival, returns this month while elsewhere there are book launches from Isabel Waidner, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-march-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/events/scottish-books-events-march-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:01:00 +0000 In Lauren J. Joseph's Lean Cat, Savage Cat, a charismatic Bowie-like figure appears in a woman's life, opening up questions around ambiguity, identity and desire https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/lean-cat-savage-cat-by-lauren-j-joseph https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/lean-cat-savage-cat-by-lauren-j-joseph hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:33:00 +0000 Ashani Lewis' highly atmospheric novel Suckerfish explores the tangled relationships between mothers and daughters https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/suckerfish-by-ashani-lewis https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/suckerfish-by-ashani-lewis hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:31:10 +0000 Acclaimed poet Sophie Robinson chats to us about her debut novel Prairie Oyster, and why poetry wasn't enough to tell this particular story https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/sophie-robinson-on-her-debut-novel-prairie-oyster https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/sophie-robinson-on-her-debut-novel-prairie-oyster hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:29:24 +0000 In this thrilling yet uneven ride, a sex worker assassinates an extremist politician https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/murder-bimbo-by-rebecca-novak https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/murder-bimbo-by-rebecca-novak hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:45:33 +0000 In Thea Lenarduzzi's The Tower, two complex narratives mingle and diverge in an exploration of storytelling and trauma https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-tower-by-thea-lenarduzzi https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/the-tower-by-thea-lenarduzzi hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:36:00 +0000 There's a new zine festival in town (or Fife), with the launch of Fife Queer Zine Fest. Elsewhere, there's book launches in Edinburgh and collage and zine workshops in Glasgow https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/news/scottish-books-events-february-2026 https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/news/scottish-books-events-february-2026 hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:01:00 +0000 In her latest novel, Ali Smith looks to the past to explore how and why we never seem to learn from historic mistakes https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/glyph-by-ali-smith https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/glyph-by-ali-smith hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:31:33 +0000 Originally published in the 1990s in Margo Glantz' native Mexico, her novel Apparitions is a heady, erotic exploration of the entanglement between sex, religion and art https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/apparitions-by-margo-glantz https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/apparitions-by-margo-glantz hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:56:00 +0000 This year, relying on relationships to fix us is out. We talk to author Roxy Dunn about her smart and sexy new novel Wants and Needs, and how we figure out who we are outside of our desire for love https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/roxy-dunn-on-her-new-novel-wants-and-needs https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/features/roxy-dunn-on-her-new-novel-wants-and-needs hello@theskinny.co.uk (The Skinny) Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:53:59 +0000