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 ReviewsThe House of Journalists by Tim Finch
Located in a London terrace, the House of Journalists is a refuge for writers exiled from their home nations due to conflicts of interest with their oppressi... Read more »| 23 Jul 2013 -
Book ReviewsKiss Me First by Lottie Moggach
Leila is a socially isolated young woman who lives alone after the death of her mother. When the charismatic leader of an internet forum contacts her with a ... Read more »| 23 Jul 2013 -
Book ReviewsThe Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman
A product of a post-feminist, politically-correct upbringing, Nathaniel Piven is conscientious, intellectual and successful. He is also self-absorbed, snobbi... Read more »| 23 Jul 2013 -
Book Reviews
Office Girl by Joe Meno
Joe Meno's sixth novel might act as an effective acid test for determining hipster tolerance: one protagonist spends his time recording the sounds made by sn... Read more »| 20 Jul 2013 -
Features
Canongate: Life Begins at 40
Not content to gaze lovingly at their last 40 years of success, Canongate are asking the nation's cultural heavyweights to help them discover the next generation of movers and shakers. True to form, it looks pretty spectacular Read more »| 15 Jul 2013 -
Book Reviews
Unstated: Scottish Writers on Independence
Unstated: Scottish Writers on Independence contains 27 essays by writers with varying attitudes towards the question of independence. Unfortunately upon publ... Read more »| 11 Jul 2013
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FeaturesNatasha Smith: Where the Hidden Andalusia Trembles
Ahead of presenting her latest work at Manchester's Cervantes Institute this month, emerging writer Natasha Smith talks about her life in Spain, Andalusian culture, and studying under Jeanette Winterson Read more »| 10 Jul 2013 -
Book Reviews
Taipei by Tao Lin
TaiPei is an unflinching and hate-filled account of a group of people with a commitment to nothing greater than themselves, written in a purposefully mundane... Read more »| 04 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Trollsong: Ljodahått
This group take their name from a verse form in Old Norse poetry. ‘Ljodahått’ can be roughly translated as ‘magic song’ or even... Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Events
Illicit Ink and Graphic Scotland: Tales from the Strip
1. So, who are you guys? We started out as a bunch of graduates from Napier University’s creative writing course, wanting to do something very differe... Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Songs in the Key of Fife
Well don't be! The Fence Collective, a loose grouping of musicians based around the Kingdom of Fife, are one of the most inspiring and heartening collectives... Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Unbloced: John Lemke & Poppy Ackroyd with Writers' Bloc
The collective of wordsmiths known as Writers' Bloc are moving into new territory for their show at Jura Unbound this year. We caught up with them to find ou... Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Adam Thirlwell: Found in Translation
In which Adam Thirlwell explains how he got 61 writers to push 12 stories through 18 languages Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Open Rhodes: Dan Rhodes in Interview
Dan Rhodes chats with us about mainstream acceptance, mellowing with age, and what to expect from his Jura Unbound event Read more »| 02 Jul 2013 -
Festivals
Super-Powered: Comics and Graphic Novels at Jura Unbound
The debate about the legitimacy of comics as an art form is over. As Literary Death Match and Illicit Ink prepare comics-themed events for Jura Unbound, we celebrate the rise and rise of sequential art Read more »| 02 Jul 2013