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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EventsNorthwest Book Highlights – May 2015
Liverpool celebrates its port-city heritage with a cultural festival dedicated to the transatlantic, while dead poets return to battle it out in Salford Read more »| 29 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 -
NewsMe Write Pretty One Day: Writers' Essentials' Free Novel-Writing Classes
For those putting thoughts to page and laptop screen, then contemplating the frightening thought of taking them to a publisher, there are now twelve free classes on novel writing live in Edinburgh and online. Simply turn up or tune in. Read more »| 27 Apr 2015 -
EventsInner City Rhythm: George the Poet spits words at Aye Write!
This weekend a 24-year-old with both a raw and refined way with words takes to the stage at Aye Write! We talk politics and poetry with BRITs 2015 Critics' Choice Award nominee George the Poet Read more »| 16 Apr 2015 -
Book ReviewsDetroit '67 by Stuart Cosgrove
Stuart Cosgrove's immaculately researched account of a year in the life of the Motor City manages a delicate balancing act. While his love for the ... Read more »| 07 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
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Book Reviews
A Decent Ride by Irvine Welsh
By the end of the first chapter of Irvine Welsh's new book, Edinburgh cab driver ‘Juice’ Terry Lawson has managed to secure himself a ten grand d... Read more »| 01 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 -
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 -
Events
Northwest Book Highlights – April 2015
A brand new poetry series launches in Liverpool this month, while non fiction and spoken word nights continue to thrive in Manchester Read more »| 31 Mar 2015 -
Book Reviews
The Discreet Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa
The latest novel from this Nobel Prize-winning writer examines a web of corruption that extends from the world of business to the heart of family life. There... Read more »| 30 Mar 2015 -
Book Reviews
The Honours by Tim Clare
Tim Clare is a stand-up poet and the author of award-winning memoir We Can’t All Be Astronauts. His debut novel, The Honours, is a tightly pl... Read more »| 27 Mar 2015 -
Book Reviews
Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill
This true-crime classic reveals Scorsese’s The Departed as slight exaggeration rather than full-blown fabrication. His Frank Costello was, if anything,... Read more »| 27 Mar 2015 -
News
Scottish Book Trust unveils Journeys project
The Scottish Book Trust and National Theatre of Scotland have launched a call for submissions for Journeys, a new project exploring the various voyages, excu... Read more »| 25 Mar 2015