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 ReviewsOld Buildings in North Texas by Jen Waldo
A lot of Jen Waldo’s debut novel takes place out on the porch of Olivia’s mother’s house. Having flown from the mundanity and small-mindedn... Read more »| 13 Oct 2016 -
Book ReviewsI'll Sell You a Dog by Juan Pablo Villalobos
Humour, according to Juan Pablo Villalobos, is 'a weapon against power'. It was this principal that animated the Mexican writer's widely acclaimed first two ... Read more »| 13 Oct 2016 -
Features
Manchester Literature Festival: Stories from Korea
This year's Manchester Literature Festival hosts two writers from the Korean peninsula: Sungju Lee, whose memoir Every Falling Star relates his experiences a... Read more »| 10 Oct 2016 -
FeaturesRecurring Nightmare: Hans Fallada’s Lost Work
Nightmare in Berlin, the lost work of Hans Fallada – addict, womanizer, jailbird and thief – is finally published in English. Its trans... Read more »| 07 Oct 2016 -
News
Book Week Scotland announce 2016 events
Alexander McCall Smith, Liz Lochhead, Will Self and Jodi Picoult are among the big names taking part in this year’s Book Week Scotland Read more »| 05 Oct 2016 -
Features
Dundee Literary Festival 2016: Join the party
Dundee Literary Festival has sure grown in its 10 years of life and its 2016 programme offers an absolutely stellar list of talent, including James Kelman, Jenni Fagan and Alan Cumming. Come and join the party this October Read more »| 04 Oct 2016
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Features
From pulp to corsets: lesbian literary stereotypes
Vita Sackville-West was a writer who happily shunted the boundaries of literary form, along with the imposed norms of gender and sexuality. As her granddaugh... Read more »| 30 Sep 2016 -
Features
Bard is a Four-Letter Word
With National Poetry Day fast approaching, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library Asif Khan talks over some of the challenges faced by professional poets. Also, a heads-up on this months performances and print poetry Read more »| 29 Sep 2016 -
Book Reviews
Ten Days by Gillian Slovo
To read Gillian Slovo’s latest novel Ten Days after the summer of 2016 is a strange thing. The novel, just now released in paperback, was originally pu... Read more »| 28 Sep 2016 -
Book ReviewsThe Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
Casting agents are surely already circling the lead role in the inevitable screen version of this, Eimar McBride's exceptional follow-up to her 2013 debut A ... Read more »| 23 Sep 2016 -
Features
25 Years of Glasgow Women's Library
As Glasgow Women's Library celebrate their 25th birthday, The Skinny takes a tour of the Bridgeton premises where all are welcome. We find a grassroots project of history and potential, that's making a real difference to its local community Read more »| 22 Sep 2016 -
Features
Helen Sedgwick on The Comet Seekers
In her acclaimed and inventive debut novel, Helen Sedgwick lights up the lives of characters through the ages by the trail of the great comets. She offers more traditional insight into The Comet Seekers by speaking to The Skinny Read more »| 21 Sep 2016 -
Features
The Good Immigrant: BAME Authors Unite
We publish three extracts from The Good Immigrant, an essential collection of 21 BAME writers confronting the issues of race and immigration in modern Britain: powerful, timely and unapologetic Read more »| 19 Sep 2016 -
Students
The Bookworm's Guide to Bluffing
Haven't read the literary canon? Don't worry – you can cheat Read more »| 14 Sep 2016 -
Festivals
Five to see at Manchester Literature Festival
There's lots to see at this year's Manchester Literature Festival, but if we had to whittle down our highlights, here are the five events we'd pick Olivia L... Read more »| 13 Sep 2016