Scottish Books Events: January 2026
It's a quiet month for book events but there's still some big names – Ali Smith launches her latest novel Glyph, while Madeleine Gray, Bryan Washington and Tyler Coburn all hold launches too
It is an extremely quiet month in books, as all the bookshops rightfully recover from the Christmas rush, but there's still a handful of unmissable events to get you out of the house (and isn't that what we're all after in January).
Over at Lighthouse Bookshop, Madeleine Gray launches her latest book Chosen Family in collaboration with Wuthering Dykes (27 Jan). There's also an indie poetry night on 28 January exploring ideas of ecology with Julie Laing, Vicki Husband and Eloise Birtwhistle. Over at The Portobello Bookshop, Ali Smith launches her latest book Glyph on 29 January – get in quick before tickets sell out – and Bryan Washington launches his novel Palaver on 26 January. And at Good Press in Glasgow, Tyler Coburn launches his experimental collection Some Monologues (8 Jan).
There's also the monthly Story Cafe at Glasgow Women's Library on 29 January, centring the art of storytelling and oral traditions. And over at Glasgow Zine Library, there's the first session in a new writing workshop series called Revolting Now & Then: Anti-Capitalist Writing Workshops, running also on 29 January.