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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FestivalsThe Skinny is Ten: Theremin Lies the Truth
Over ten years The Skinny has grown into Scotland’s cultural barometer, so we will throw our hands in the air and throw a party. Author Sean Michaels witnessed our very beginnings so brings his magical and melodious new novel to our gathering Read more »| 02 Jul 2015 -
FestivalsPoetic Justice: Spoken Word takes Centre Stage at Jura Unbound
Find out how and where to get your word fix on these upcoming summer nights Read more »| 02 Jul 2015 -
FestivalsJura Unbound: From Cutting Teeth to Cutting Edge
Six years ago, the improper child of the Book Festival proper was born. So to celebrate an eventful journey and introduce 2015, we share some wine and words with Roland Gulliver, the man we must all thank and blame Read more »| 02 Jul 2015 -
Festivals
Ryan Gattis brings Sounds of the City to Jura Unbound
Ryan Gattis hollers the sound of one famous city - LA - engulfed by fear and fire in '92. Here he discusses his novel All Involved and the visceral vignettes he will bring to Jura Unbound, alongside fellow authors Marlon James and Lisa McInerney. Read more »| 02 Jul 2015 -
Festivals
What's On at Jura Unbound 2015
Your guide to the late night events of Edinburgh International Book Festival, starting at 9pm every night in the Spiegeltent, Charlotte Square Gardens. And they're all free! Read more »| 02 Jul 2015 -
Book Reviews
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle
With his debut novel, John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats fame takes the soft, melancholy lyricism of his music and draws it out into a strange, sad novel. ... Read more »| 02 Jul 2015
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Book Reviews101 Detectives by Ivan Vladislavic
'How toxic are you?' is the formidable question raised by South African author Ivan Vladislavic in his latest short story collection. Vladislavic commentates... Read more »| 01 Jul 2015 -
Book Reviews
S.N.U.F.F. by Victor Pelevin
In this farcical utopia, esoteric Russian writer Victor Pelevin fast-forwards our current culture – where the lines between fact and fiction are i... Read more »| 01 Jul 2015 -
News
Comma Press launch new literary platform MacGuffin
Comma Press has launched MacGuffin, a new self-publishing platform for fiction, essays and poetry. The Manchester-based imprint – who specialise in sho... Read more »| 30 Jun 2015 -
Features
Stop the Clocks: Natasha Pulley on The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
As Natasha Pulley releases her acclaimed debut novel, The Skinny talks to her about history writing itself and finding her feet in the present Read more »| 30 Jun 2015 -
Book Reviews
The Cartel by Don Winslow
Don Winslow’s The Power of the Dog was an epic fictional dissection of the US-Mexican drug wars, rightly regarded as a modern classic of crime fiction.... Read more »| 29 Jun 2015 -
Book Reviews
The Well of Trapped Words by Sema Kaygusuz
In 2013, Sema Kaygusuz addressed the Edinburgh International Book Festival and spoke of the transitional qualities of literature, especially across linguisti... Read more »| 29 Jun 2015 -
Events
Northwest Book Highlights – July 2015
Forget Independence Day, it’s all about American literature this July: Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman is released to suitable fanfare, while The Last Poets, Walter Mosley and Judy Blume also visit the Northwest as part of this year's literary festivals Read more »| 29 Jun 2015 -
Festivals
Book Around You: Our Edinburgh Book Festival Highlights
Tickets for the 2015 Edinburgh International Book Festival went on sale this week, ahead of this year's festival which runs from 15-31 August. Hot tickets f... Read more »| 25 Jun 2015 -
Book Reviews
Love + Hate: Stories and Essays by Hanif Kureishi
The first story of Love + Hate invites us on businessman Daniel’s return flight home. He is sipping a glass of champagne, unaware that his trip might n... Read more »| 12 Jun 2015