Scottish Books Events: September 2023

If you’re all book-ed out after the madness of the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Book Fringe, too bad! There’s more books events on in September and they look great!

Over in Glasgow, queer critic and author So Mayer launches their debut fiction collection Truth & Dare at queer bookshop Category Is Books (15 Sep). They’ll also be heading over to Edinburgh for a launch at Lighthouse Bookshop the day before (14 Sep). At Waterstones Argyle Street, meanwhile, acclaimed Gothic storyteller Kirsty Logan launches her first memoir The Unfamiliar, an eerie and moving exploration of motherhood, gender roles and queer identity. If you’re in the mood to chat as well as listen, Glasgow Women’s Library continue their Readers of Colour book group – head to the library for their latest discussion on literature by women and non-binary people of colour (30 Sep).

Edinburgh may be tired from the August madness, but it’s still very much in on the action. You can find the Readers of Colour book group (Edinburgh edition, baby) the week before (24 Sep) at Lighthouse Bookshop – also at Lighthouse this month is the launch of political writer Naomi Klein’s latest work Doppelganger (28 Sep), as well as the launch of Alyssa Songsiridej’s novel Little Rabbit (18 Sep, online only). Acclaimed author Zadie Smith drops by Portobello Bookshop for the launch of her latest book The Fraud (8 Sep, held in the University of Edinburgh’s Gordon Aikman Theatre) and Lemn Sissay launches Let the Light Pour In with fellow poet Jackie Kay (21 Sep). And for poetry fans (we know you’re out there), Loud Poets returns to the Scottish Storytelling Centre (15 Sep), with a showcase of some of the sharpest, funniest, most ground-breaking spoken word out there. Finally, on 28 September, Iona Lee celebrates her debut collection, Anamnesis, with a night in Summerhall featuring Selena Godden, Hannah Lavery, Nikki Kent, Leyla Josephine and Colin Bramwell.