THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Peter Marshall, a native of the Orkney Islands, has since 2006 been Professor of History at the University of Warwick, and is a leading expert in the history of the Reformation and its impact in the British Isles and beyond. He is a two times winner of the Harold J. Grimm Prize for Reformation History, and has been shortlisted for the Longman/History Today Book of the Year Award. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Wolfson History Prize for his book Heretics and Believers. He is a frequent reviewer for the TLS, Literary Review, Tablet and other periodicals, and a regular lecturer to school and community groups. Peter is married with three daughters, and lives in Leamington Spa.

Adam Oyebanji is an SF/Crime novelist whose work blends thrilling plots with thought-provoking ideas, often exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the occasional whodunnit. His work has been praised for its originality, rich world-building, and sharp storytelling.  Born in the United Kingdom but having spent much of his time in the United States and West Africa, Adam draws on a global perspective shaped by a career in law and a lifelong passion for speculative fiction and murder mysteries.  He is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, the British Science Fiction Association, and the Crime Writers’ Association.

When not writing, Adam works as a lawyer specializing in counter-terrorist financing. A profession that has taken him to places significantly stranger than fiction.

Nina Allan was born in London and grew up in the south east of England. Her first published piece of fiction appeared in a magazine called Dark Horizons in 2002. Since then, her stories have featured in numerous magazines and anthologies including The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Best Horror of the Year and The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime.

She has a lifelong love of speculative fiction, including science fiction, the gothic, weird fiction and good old fashioned ghost stories. In her work she likes to test the boundaries of genre: playing with philosophical ideas, savouring language, and experimenting with form. Ideas around landscape and sense of place, memory and personal identity form important strands in all her novels and stories.

Her first novel was The Race, released in 2016. She has won the British Science Fiction Award, the Novella Award, the Kitschies Red Tentacle and France’s Grand Prix de L’Imaginaire.

She lives and works in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute.

Michael Pedersen is a Scottish poet and author. His acclaimed prose debut, Boy Friends, was published by Faber & Faber in 2022 and was a Sunday Times Critics Choice. He’s unfurled three collections of poetry, the most recent being The Cat Prince & Other Poems (Little Brown, 2023) — the title poem of which was shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry. His debut novel Muckle Flugga was released in 2025.

With work anthologised by the likes of Pan MacMillan and Canongate, Pedersen has collaborated with musicians, film-makers, and visual artists. His writing has appeared in the likes of: The Poetry Review, The Guardian, New Statesman, The Rialto, The Dark Horse, Gutter, The Scotsman, Q Magazine, and more.

Pedersen also co-founded Neu! Reekie! – a prize-winning literary production house that produced cutting edge shows in Scotland and the world over for over ten years. Within this capacity he has produced and curated events for: Edinburgh International Festival; Edinburgh International Book Festival; Hull City of Culture; Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture; BBC Arts; and more. He also co-edited the Neu! Reekie! anthology series, published by Polygon Books, charting ten years of Neu! Reekie! through poetry and music.

He was Writer in Residence at The University of Edinburgh (2023—2025), and is the current Edinburgh Makar.

Emma Cowing is an award-winning journalist and author. She has written for a wide number of publications including The Sunday Times, The Scottish Daily Mail, Guardian Weekend Magazine, Scotland on Sunday and The Scotsman.

Emma is a former Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards, and two-time Interviewer of the Year. She holds an Ochberg Fellowship in Journalism and Trauma at Columbia Journalism School in New York, for her work covering the war in Afghanistan, and its aftermath.

Emma was shortlisted for the 2023 Cheshire Novel Prize, and longlisted for the 2023 Bath Novel Award and Blue Pencil First Novel Award. She lives in Glasgow with her husband Jonathan and their cat, Moses. The Show Woman is her debut novel.

Ghillie BaŞan is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, food anthropologist, storyteller and tourism provider in the Scottish Highlands. She grew up in East Africa, worked as journalist in Istanbul and the Middle East and as a freelance food and travel writer in India, Southeast Asia and North Africa. Her interest in diverse culinary cultures has culminated in over 50 books, many of which have been nominated for, and won, prestigious global awards. Ghillie has been described as ‘one of the finest writers on the Middle East’, she has presented and contributed to a variety of radio programmes, and she produces her own podcast, Spirit & Spice, featuring food and drink stories in Scotland. Spirit & Spice is also the brand name for her Whisky and Food Experiences which attract visitors from all over the world. Ghillie has also given Ted-style talks in Canada and Ireland, she has been a winner of the Highlands and Islands Innovation in Tourism Award and is a recognised food tourism ambassador for Scotland.

Academic, writer and broadcaster Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay) has been appointed as Scotland’s Makar – our national poet. First Minister John Swinney MSP formally welcomed Pàdraig to the role at Edinburgh Central Library on 2 December 2024.

The Makar takes a leadership role in promoting poetry in Scotland and internationally, as well as producing work relating to significant national events.

Dr Mackay was appointed by the First Minister for a three-year term on the recommendation of a panel representing Scotland’s literary sector. He is the fifth person to hold the role since it was established by the Scottish Parliament in 2004, following in the footsteps of Kathleen Jamie, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Edwin Morgan.

Pàdraig is a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Lewis. He is an academic, writer and broadcaster whose work is influenced by the diverse linguistic heritage of his birthplace. With an MA from Glasgow University and a PhD from Trinity College Dublin, Mackay has worked at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University Belfast, and at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, where he was writer in residence. He has also worked as a journalist and television news producer for the BBC. He lectures on literature at the University of St Andrews.

Craig Smith lives in Musselburgh. He’s been many things in his time, but by far the most challenging was washing dishes in a Mexican restaurant (all that baked-on cheese is a nightmare to clean). Nowadays, when not making a living designing websites, he occasionally dusts off his bass guitar and joins one of his old bands on the nostalgia circuit. This led to him waking up hungover and naked with his bandmates in a Tokyo bathhouse at 7am, so it’s not all pipes and slippers (although it was very hard getting out of that bath). He is the proud recipient of two NME singles of the week and four Ks in Kerrang, which he is tempted to get tattooed on his arm but is scared he’d chicken out after three. Craig’s debut novel, The Mile, was written feverishly, fuelled by the pressing nature of the independence debate. Despite this, it was critically acclaimed. His new book, The River, is longer.

Hannah Kaner is a Northumbrian writer living in Scotland. She works as a senior digital consultant in Edinburgh, delivering digital healthcare, tools, and services for the public sector. She has a first class degree in English from Pembroke College, Cambridge, and a Masters of Science with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. She is inspired by world mythologies, angry women, speculative fiction, and the stories we tell ourselves about being human.

Hannah is the author of the #1 bestselling Fallen Gods trilogy, beginning with Godkiller.​

She has been shortlisted for the Hugos, Locus, British Book Awards and British Fantasy Awards, as well as Longlisted for the Glass Bell award.

David Torrance is a constitutional specialist at the House of Commons Library and a widely published historian of Scottish and UK politics. He has written unauthorised biographies of SNP politicians Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, as well as the biography of David Steel.

He was formerly a freelance writer, broadcaster and journalist, reporting on the Scottish Parliament for STV, and contributing political commentary to a wide range of publications including The Scotsman, The Herald and The Times. He is the author of Standing up for Scotland: Nationalist Unionism and Scottish Party Politics, 1884–2014 (Edinburgh University Press, 2020) and the editor of Ruth Davidson’s Conservatives: The Scottish Tory Party, 2011–19 (Edinburgh University Press, 2020) and Whatever Happened to Tory Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2012).

Eliza Chan is a Scottish-born speculative fiction author who writes about East Asian mythology, British folklore and reclaiming the dragon lady. Her Sunday Times bestselling debut novel Fathomfolk — inspired by mythology, East and Southeast Asian cities and diaspora feels — was published by Orbit in 2024. The sequel Tideborn will be published in 2025. Harbour of Hungry Ghosts, a historical fantasy set in mid-Opium War era Hong Kong, was announced for 2026. Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Awards and featured in The Dark, Podcastle, Fantasy Magazine and The Best of British Fantasy.

She has been a medical school drop-out, a kilt shop assistant, an English teacher and a speech and language therapist, but currently she spends her time tabletop gaming, cosplaying, crafting and toddler wrangling. She lives in Manchester with her family and a sizeable collection of dragons, Totoros and weapons (real, replica and plushie).

Gareth Brown’s debut novel – The Book of Doors – was first published in the UK (Bantam) and USA (William Morrow) in February 2024. It became an instant Sunday Times Bestseller and also hit the USA Today bestseller list. Foreign language rights for The Book of Doors have also been sold to over twenty other territories including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, South Korea and Brazil. The book was an Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2024 and was also a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards for Readers’ Favourite Fantasy and for Readers Favourite Debut Novel in 2024. 

Gareth’s second novel – The Society of Unknowable Objects – will be published in the UK and the US in summer 2025. 
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Gareth spent many years working in the UK Civil Service, but is currently the Director of Screening for NHS Scotland. When not working or writing Gareth loves travel, barbecues, playing bass guitar and watching snooker. He also enjoys falling asleep in front of the television like an old man. 
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Gareth lives with his wife and two Skye terriers near Edinburgh in Scotland.

Ali Millar is an author and journalist. Born in Edinburgh and raised in the Scottish Borders, she now lives in London.

Ali Millar was born in Edinburgh in 1980 and raised in the Scottish Borders as a Jehovah’s Witness. Her debut memoir, THE LAST DAYS: a memoir of faith, desire and freedom was published by Penguin Random House in 2022. Heralded as ‘a dam burst of a book marking the arrival of a major literary talent’, THE LAST DAYS was a Guardian Book of the Year, a Bookseller Editor’s Choice and a Scotsman One to Watch. Released to widespread critical acclaim across five continents, THE LAST DAYS tells the story of life inside the Jehovah’s Witnesses and was called a ‘real life handmaid’s tale’.

2024 saw the release of her debut novel, AVA ANNA ADA (White Rabbit Books/W&N), described by the Guardian as a ‘bleeding, sweating story’.

As journalist, her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Stylist, The Sunday Times and Caught by the River. She has been profiled by The Sunday Times, The Sunday Post and appeared on the BBC World Service, NBC National Australia, Times Radio, and Talk TV. She will appear on a Channel 4 documentary with Rebekah Vardy, recently recorded in the winter of ’22. She has read and appeared at festivals and events including Edinburgh International Book Festival, Wigtown Book Festival and Camp Good Life, as well as across digital platforms on podcast, blogs and Youtube channels.

Additionally, as broadcast journalist she has interviewed numerous authors including Rachel Cusk, Amy Liptrot, Etgar Keret and Marina Warner. As event chair she has interviewed at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Camp Good Life and The Social.

A strong proponent for freedom of speech, she is part of Scottish PEN’s women’s committee.

She has an MA with distinction in Creative Writing from Edinburgh Napier University where she graduated with the class medal. She has a background in textiles and design, with a BSc (Hons) 1st class in Textiles. Ali Millar lives in Hastings with her husband and four children.

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Marion grew up in the City of Dundee, now home to the magnificent V&A Museum.  Always a keen writer, she has had point-of-view pieces published in the Dundee Courier and short stories in My Weekly magazine.  She won first prize in the Family Circle Magazine Short Story for Children Competition in 1987.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Marion worked as a lecturer, candle-maker and hotel lounge pianist, a job which provided rich material for her novels.

In 2018 Marion was long-listed for the Sunstory Award and the Scottish Arts Council Short Story Award and in 2019 was short-listed for Dundee Rep’s Stripped programme.

More recently, Marion has turned her hand to crime fiction and in 2020 was shortlisted for the prestigious Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year award with her novel See Them Run, the first in the DI Clare Mackay crime series.

Now a full-time writer, Marion lives in North-east Fife, overlooking the River Tay. She is the author of the bestselling DI Clare Mackay series, which has sold over half a million copies.

D V Bishop is the author of more than twenty published novels, an award-winning screenwriter, and a TV dramatist. His crime fiction debut City of Vengeance won the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland 2018 and was published by Pan Macmillan in a two-book deal. In 2017 he was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship by Creative Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust. In 2020 his Doctor Who audiobook The Elysian Blade won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for best dramatic presentation. His historical crime novel City of Vengeance (2021) won the NZ Booklovers Award for Best Novel (2022), while The Darkest Sin (2022) won the CWA Historical Dagger Award.

D V Bishop also helped found the innovative MA Creative Writing programme at Edinburgh Napier in 2009. David is a founder member of the Creative Writing Studies Organisation, and a member of the Society of Authors (Great Britain), the New Zealand Society of Authors, the Crime Writers’ Association and the Historical Writers’ Association.

Abir Mukherjee is the Times bestselling author of the Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in Raj-era India which have sold over half a million copies worldwide and been translated into 16 languages. His books have won numerous awards including the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, the British Book Awards Crime & Thriller Novel of the Year, the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing and the Amazon Publishing Readers Award for E-book for the Year.

Alongside fellow author, Vaseem Khan, he also hosts the popular Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast, where every fortnight, joined by special guests from the media and literature, he takes a wry look at the world of books, writing, and the creative arts, tackling everything from bestsellers to pop culture.

Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons.

Raised in Edinburgh, Marianne Brown spent many years working as a journalist in Southeast Asia and later in Britain as the editor of an environmental magazine. She now works for a community-owned  energy cooperative based in Bristol. She lives in Devon and can often be found running on the moor or gardening with her partner and daughter. The Shetland Way is her first book.

Charles Stross is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. The author of seven Hugo-nominated novels and winner of three Hugo awards for best novella, two of which are part of the Laundry Files series, Stross’s works have been translated into over twelve languages. As the owner of degrees in pharmacy and computer science, he graduated as the world’s only academically qualified cyberpunk writer just as cyberpunk died. Today he describes his job as telling lies for money and tormenting his imaginary friends.

James Yorkston is a singer-songwriter and author from the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Since signing to Domino Records in 2001, James has released a steady flow of highly acclaimed, multi-instrument, acoustic based albums. James’ 2021 album The Wide, Wide River was called ‘another fascinating, curious contribution to the Scottish musician’s constantly eddying catalogue’ by the Guardian, ‘a beautiful experience’ by Clash and ‘another career highlight’ by the Scotsman. In 2014 Yorkston began playing with with Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, a trio embracing jazz, traditional folk, krautrock, the poetry of Ivor Cutler and Indian classical music. Their album Navarasa – Nine Emotions was named the Guardian’s ‘Folk Album of the Year’ in 2020. In 2011 James’ debut book It’s Lovely to be Here – The Touring Diaries of a Scottish Gent was published by The Domino Press / Faber, and in 2016 Freight Press published James’ first novel 3 Craws. His second novel, The Book of the Gaels, was published by Oldcastle Books in 2021. James also runs the music and poetry night ‘Tae Sup wi’ a Fifer’, and co-hosts the podcast 46-30, dedicated to ‘Quality Music of No Fixed Abode’.

A. Rae Dunlap studied film and Victorian literature at Northwestern University and spends her days as a trailer editor at Disney, bringing to life the magic of the world’s most influential storytellers for audiences everywhere. She lives with her husband in a small mountain town in California.