Books
The Skinny book guide – bringing you book reviews, features, events, reviews and author interviews. Find previews and on the ground reporting from festivals of literature and poetry in Scotland and beyond.
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Book ReviewsWarrior Daughter by Janet Paisley
If you had to categorise Warrior Daughter, it would definitely fall into the historical/fantasy/porno genre. Paisley’s latest novel is set in a... Read more »| 26 Oct 2009 -
FeaturesCargo Publishing: A Young Upstart
Mark Buckland set up Cargo Publishing this August with the goal of "putting a firework up the arse of Scottish literature". No small feat for a 22 year old. How did he do it? Read on. Read more »| 26 Oct 2009 -
Book ReviewsMagazine: The Biography by Helen Chase
“Magazine were always a connoisseur's choice”, claims guitarist John McGeoch in this vigorous account of their short bittersweet career. As the l... Read more »| 20 Oct 2009 -
Book Reviews
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Bryan Talbot’s last graphic novel (if it should be called that) was the phenomenal Alice in Sunderland, a multi-layered exploration of the history of S... Read more »| 12 Oct 2009 -
Book ReviewsSimon's Cat by Simon Tofield
Simon’s Cat started off life as an internet animation that developed a cult following. The short films featuring a hungry cat on Youtube gained enough ... Read more »| 29 Sep 2009 -
Features
Gutter Press
The newly launched Gutter magazine already looks like being a promising step for Scottish writing as a whole. Here's why. Read more »| 28 Sep 2009
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Book Reviews
Transition By Iain Banks
Iain Banks’ new book is of a sort that Iain M Banks could have put his name to – because this book, though it has a (sort of) contemporary settin... Read more »| 25 Sep 2009 -
Book Reviews
Alasdair Gray: A Secretary's Biography by Rodge Glass
Reviews written for the paperback edition of this entertaining biography are pre-empted by the fact that Gray himself has written his own review of the book ... Read more »| 24 Sep 2009 -
Book Reviews
The Death of Bunny Munro, by Nick Cave
Yes, that Nick Cave, musician extraordinaire. This isn’t his first foray into fiction – he scripted a well-received film, the Australian Western ... Read more »| 25 Aug 2009 -
Features
Christopher Brookmyre: Creating Pandaemonium
A chat with Christopher Brookmyre about his new book, Pandaemonium, demons, quantum physics, and the nature of reality. Read more »| 25 Aug 2009 -
Festivals
EIBF: David Sedaris
The first of The Skinny’s events, and a good one at that. Chairman Al Senter started things off by saying his role would be mostly redundant, and so it... Read more »| 25 Aug 2009 -
Events
Bletherheads, The Electric Circus, 29 Aug
AL Kennedy, Tam Dean Burn and Somerset Maugham award winner Rodge Glass are invited by the organisers of DiScomBoBuLate to show what they can do in a new per... Read more »| 25 Aug 2009 -
Features
Ewan Morrison Speaks.
Four books in five years is an impressive standard for any successful author. Ewan Morrison seems to have made up for lost time in writing fiction. Starting with a collection of short stories followed by two novels, Ewan’s most recent release – Ménage – set in the Young British Artist scene of 90s London sees three characters engage in an enveloping ménage a trois. In an undisturbed university room in the heart of Glasgow, Ewan talks about the book and the engine that runs it. Read more »| 17 Aug 2009 -
Features
David Simon: Journalism's Loss, Television's Gain
The Skinny is sponsoring The Wire creator David Simon's event at the Edinburgh international Book festival. Peter Geoghegan spoke to him about his books, his TV shows, and his views on drugs, politics, and America. He didn't disappoint. Read more »| 28 Jul 2009 -
Festivals
Tipped at the Top: Richard Holloway on his Highlights for the 2009 Book Festival
Richard Holloway was appointed as Guest Director of this year’s Book Festival after departing Director Catherine Lockerbie had picked the programme. Still, who better to pick from the big names than the writer, theologian, and controversial former bishop? Read more »| 23 Jul 2009