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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EventsScottish Books Events: April 2023
Lots of bookish treats this month, including open mics, queer storytelling, and a magical conversation between Max Porter and Heather Parry Read more »| 28 Mar 2023 -
Book ReviewsNever Was by H. Gareth Gavin
H. Gareth Gavin's experimental novel defies categorisation, exploring the common, queered experience of depersonalisation Read more »| 27 Mar 2023 -
Book ReviewsRadical Intimacy by Sophie K Rosa
Sophie K Rosa's groundbreaking manifesto Radical Intimacy invites us into a politically emancipatory conceptualisation of intimacy beyond capitalism and heteronormativity Read more »| 20 Mar 2023 -
IntersectionsLucky (& Radical) in Love: A first read of Anahit Behrooz's BFFs
There's something truly powerful about female friendships – the intimacy, the joy, the romance. 404 Ink's BFFs by our very own Anahit Behrooz explores all this and more Read more »| 08 Mar 2023 -
FeaturesLeila Aboulela on her latest novel River Spirit
We chat with Cairo-born, Sudan-raised and Aberdeen-resident Leila Aboulela about her latest novel River Spirit, and the importance of re-examining the histories we are handed Read more »| 02 Mar 2023 -
Book ReviewsFire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
Jacqueline Crooks' debut Fire Rush is a vibrant journey into clubs, music and culture, set in the late 70s and early 80s between England and Jamaica Read more »| 02 Mar 2023
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Book ReviewsCouplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner
A poet takes the intimate form of the couplet to tell a tale of breaking apart and new passion in Maggie Millner's lyrical novel Read more »| 28 Feb 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: March 2023
Scotland's international poetry festival StAnza returns, Loud Poets are back, and not one but two members of The Skinny books team launch new work Read more »| 28 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsYour Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns
Priya Guns’ debut is a five-star ride, dripping in vivid sensuality: a Taxi Driver for the Uber generation and a heart-rending tale of queer lust across social strata Read more »| 27 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsWandering Souls by Cecile Pin
Cecile Pin's timely debut novel explores the long history of refugee narratives through the story of three Vietnamese siblings in Thatcherite Britain Read more »| 27 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsOwlish by Dorothy Tse
Dorothy Tse's Owlish is a surreal fairytale that tackles the political reality of Hong Kong through a shifting dreamspace Read more »| 21 Feb 2023 -
FeaturesHome Country: Orsola Casagrande on Kurdistan + 100
Orsola Casagrande introduces Kurdistan + 100, an anthology of speculative fiction which seeks to embed the Kurdish identity in the historical record Read more »| 20 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsBad Cree by Jessica Johns
Jessica Johns' debut is an atmospheric folk horror that examines the impossibility of escaping cultural and familial trauma through the story of a young Cree woman Read more »| 07 Feb 2023 -
EventsScottish Books Events: February 2023
Book festival shenanigans abound at Paisley Book Festival, while Aberdeen hosts the nation's first crime festival of the year, Granite Noir Read more »| 03 Feb 2023 -
Book ReviewsHijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H
Lamya H's memoir teases out the latent queerness of their Muslim faith, discovering stories of rebel women whose strength, resilience and faith offer inspiration Read more »| 31 Jan 2023