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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FestivalsWord Power: Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival's New Literary Strand
The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival enters its fifth year with the theme of power, adding a new literary strand to its many activities. The Skinny chatted to Festival Manager Gail Aldam to find out more Read more »| 30 Sep 2014 -
FeaturesOnly If...: Bill Ryder-Jones at Manchester Literature Festival
Poet Michael Pedersen talks with Bill Ryder-Jones ahead of the singer-songwriter's live performance of his landmark solo debut, If..., with the Manchester Camerata as part of the Manchester Literature Festival Read more »| 30 Sep 2014 -
Features
Roaring the Gospel: Kate Tempest at Manchester Literature Festival
From the Ted Hughes award to a Mercury nod, Kate Tempest's star is in ascendance, but the young poet, rapper and playwright remembers what got her into this in the first place – the thrill of performance Read more »| 30 Sep 2014 -
Book ReviewsThe Surfacing by Cormac James
We start with the colour of mud and mustard – streams running through the white-out of the icy universe in which we encounter The Impetus for the first... Read more »| 30 Sep 2014 -
Book ReviewsIDP: 2043
Commemorating the Edinburgh International Book Festival's 30th Birthday, IDP: 2043 harnesses the talents of ten acclaimed writers and artists to tell the sto... Read more »| 29 Sep 2014 -
Events
Beer, Bookselling and Birds of Prey: Wigtown Book Festival preview
As Scotland's National Book Town hosts its annual Festival here's our guide to the vibrant programme of literary events in Wigtown, a town regenerated through the power of words. Read more »| 24 Sep 2014
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Festivals
Melissa Benn on Female Representations in the Media
Author and journalist Melissa Benn took time out from Edinburgh International Book Festival in August to educate The Skinny on feminist issues and challenging a media which views women through a distorted lens Read more »| 15 Sep 2014 -
Features
Language, Live! Spoken Word and Poetry in the Northwest
Budding poet, writer or performer? Grab the bull by the horns – or, er, your audience by the... imagination – and test your material onstage at a variety of vibrant spoken word nights Read more »| 08 Sep 2014 -
Festivals
Speaking Out: An Interview with Hollie McNish
Poet, mother, lover, daughter, friend, feminist and proper author Hollie McNish is one of the UK’s best-known spoken word artists. In a rare free moment ahead of her October tour, She chats to The Skinny about luck, poetry and YouTube comments Read more »| 05 Sep 2014 -
Book Reviews
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Already hailed as a classic of the genre, H is for Hawk is a rich blend of memoir, biography and natural history. Broken by the grief of her father’s d... Read more »| 04 Sep 2014 -
Festivals
Linda Grant: Abrasions of the Past
Author Linda Grant has clothed past insecurities with a confidence drawn from her series of highly acclaimed novels, the most recent being Upstairs at the Party. She takes time out from Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss just how Read more »| 03 Sep 2014 -
Book Reviews
Lunch Poems by Frank O'Hara
Hard to believe half a century’s passed since the publication of Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems – so named because most of the book was w... Read more »| 02 Sep 2014 -
Features
Alan Warner: Imagining Scotland
As he publishes his new novel Their Lips Talk of Mischief, Alan Warner – one of Scotland's greatest living authors – talks candidly of referendum, ageing and critics. And as is only relevant, books, of course Read more »| 02 Sep 2014 -
Book Reviews
Werner Herzog – A Guide for The Perplexed by Paul Cronin
As one might expect from a 493-page conversation with the filmmaker Werner Herzog, the most explosive moments come in the form of confrontations with his cul... Read more »| 01 Sep 2014 -
Book Reviews
Flanagan's Run by Tom McNab
Got post-Commonwealth Games blues? Don’t worry, you can get your fix of Scottish sporting prowess with Tom McNab’s classic novel Flanagan’s... Read more »| 29 Aug 2014