Features
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FeaturesSour Soul: Stuart Cosgrove on Detroit ’67
Stuart Cosgrove on his stunning new book Detroit '67, documenting the most significant 365 days in soul's history, which saw racism and riots rage, and commodified musicians come to tragic ends. Angry parallels to our current times become easily apparent Read more »| 01 May 2015 -
FeaturesLast Orders: John Doran on Jolly Lad
One of the finest music critics of the past 20 years, some of John Doran's most scathing reviews would come to be about himself, in a series of columns that led to his debut book, Jolly Lad Read more »| 30 Apr 2015 -
FeaturesSex Work: Kirstin Innes on debut novel Fishnet
Kirstin Innes has spent years studying the Scottish sex industry and has now sewn these experiences into acclaimed debut novel Fishnet. She talks to The Skinny about her writing process, and the mixed morality surrounding the world's oldest profession. Read more »| 30 Apr 2015 -
FeaturesEcho Chamber: do we need more diverse voices in literature?
Liverpool’s annual literary festival Writing on the Wall takes over the city this month with events focusing on the Harlem Renaissance, race riots and multicultural England. Our Books editor considers race in literature and diversity in publishing Read more »| 27 Apr 2015 -
Features
Neu! Reekie! Waiting for the ink to dry
Edinburgh based poetry-music-animation curators Neu! Reekie! are publishing their first physical book. The Skinny catches up with them over a couple of weeks as they work towards its launch Read more »| 06 Apr 2015 -
Features
Living Memory: Patricia Duncker reimagines George Eliot
The appetite for Victoriana is endless; it seems we can’t get enough of corsets and bonnets. As Patricia Duncker releases a new novel, she talks to us about the neo-Victorian tale, her fascination with George Eliot and the nature of literary celebrity Read more »| 01 Apr 2015
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Features
Aye Write! All Write: 10 Years of Literature in Glasgow
We discover how literary festival Aye Write! has become a key date in the Glasgow cultural calendar, speaking to its guest programmer and the writers who have grown with it: Louise Welsh, Christopher Brookmyre, Alan Bissett and his birthday suit. Read more »| 31 Mar 2015 -
Features
Karin Altenberg: “I’ve always felt like an outsider”
We chat to bestselling author Karin Altenberg about her new book Breaking Light, and landscapes lost and found Read more »| 31 Mar 2015 -
FeaturesCreature Creators: The Critter Shed publish their first comic
The founders of The Critter Shed publishing collective explain why they decided to put out their first comic Read more »| 06 Mar 2015 -
Features
Utopian Thinking: News from Nowhere on the Power of Literature
As the general election approaches, it will be impossible to avoid the ambush of political soundbites and slogans. The Skinny talks to radical bookshop News from Nowhere about the link between politics and language – and the fate of independent bookstores Read more »| 06 Mar 2015 -
Features
The Shame Game: Jon Ronson on his divisive new book
We chat to the award-winning writer Jon Ronson about his new book So You've Been Publicly Shamed, and discuss the need for empathy in our increasingly perilous digital landscape, where the unwary are lynched in 140 characters or less Read more »| 04 Mar 2015 -
Books
Mark Ellen: Pop Court Chronicler
Mark Ellen has documented late 20th century pop music's biggest moments in his memoir Rock Stars Stole My Life! Here he regales us with tales of those times and offers a lament on why modern day stars just don't cut the mustard (or anything else) Read more »| 04 Mar 2015 -
Books
StAnza: Scotland's International Poetry Festival Comes of Age
You might expect a piece on a poetry festival written by an award winning poet to be... well... poetic. Neu! Reekie! helmsman Michael Pedersen refuses to prune the flowers of his prose here in his lyrical look at StAnza blooming into adulthood. Read more »| 27 Feb 2015 -
Features
A Wordy, Weighty Challenge: How possible is 100 books in a year?
As we begin to regret those New Year resolutions of gyms and sobriety, spare a thought for Oliver Gaywood, who had aspirations of reading 100 books during 2014 as he travelled the world. Here he tells his tale and lays down the challenge to you. Read more »| 13 Feb 2015 -
Features
Station Approach: Jenn Ashworth and Richard Hirst on an interactive e-book inspired by Preston's Brutalist bus depot
As Jenn Ashworth releases her latest book, an interactive text co-written with collaborator Richard Hirst, The Skinny chats to the two authors about the notorious bus station behind its inspiration and why every story is unreliable Read more »| 10 Feb 2015