THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

THE SECOND THRILLING NOVEL IN VAL MCDERMID’S NEW SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SERIESIt’s 1989 and Allie Burns is back.Older and maybe wiser, she’s running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, chafing at losing her role in investigative journalism and at the descent into the gutter of the UK tabloid media.But there’s plenty to keep her occupied. The year begins with the memorial service to the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, but Allie has barely filed her copy when she stumbles over a story about HIV/AIDS that will shock her into a major change of direction.The world of newspapers is undergoing a revolution, there’s skulduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When kidnap and murder are added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties.Praise for 1979’McDermid is at her considerable best’ GUARDIAN’Irresistible’ PATRICIA CORNWELL’A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre’ PETER JAMES’Outstanding’ SPECTATOR’Another masterpiece’ DAVID BALDACCI’Sensational. One of Britain’s most accomplished writers’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

NOVELISTA is a friendly, straight-talking writing guide for people who want to write a novel but don’t know how to begin. It asks all the important questions and gives a host of reassuring answers that demonstrate that anyone can write a novel – even you!To begin with, what the hell is a novel?It’s basically a tiny world, where characters are born, live, and (sometimes) die. To write one all you need is a notebook and a pen – but along the way you’ll want to learn about good writing habits, planning, mastering descriptions and dialogue and how to pull it all together. This book will guide you through the process and orient you towards the goal of publication.From absolute beginner to novelista, this book will change the way you write and think about writing.

Claiming the warriorFor one night of pleasure!When Glynnis had to make a noble marriage, Iain Mackenzie Cameron’s illegitimacy stood in her way. She married another-but now she’s returned to the clan a widow, and Iain is an assured warrior, the chieftain’s heir. Glynnis would make him a more than suitable bride-except for her inability to produce heirs. Iain must marry elsewhere…but only after she claims one precious impassioned night with him!

Claiming the warriorFor one night of pleasure!When Glynnis had to make a noble marriage, Iain Mackenzie Cameron’s illegitimacy stood in her way. She married another-but now she’s returned to the clan a widow, and Iain is an assured warrior, the chieftain’s heir. Glynnis would make him a more than suitable bride-except for her inability to produce heirs. Iain must marry elsewhere…but only after she claims one precious impassioned night with him!

his newly delineated guide describes some of the best scrambles and easy rock climbs in the North-West Highlandsof Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and Rum. With 200 routes stretching from Sutherland in the north to Glenfinnan in thesouth, and from Uist in the west to Caithness in the east, its scope and range offer scrambling options across all levels androck types. Keen hillwalkers can build their confidence on straightforward itineraries with a bit of exposure, and there’s plenty to whet the appetites of those who already have some experience and want to explore new territory on sustained, technical journeys requiring greater commitment. From the elegant bands of Lewisian gneiss that comprise much of the Outer Hebrides and the northern hinterland of Ben Stack and Foinaven to Torridon’s terraced sandstone cliffs and the pinnacled ridges of An Teallach, there are many hidden gems to discover. You’ll also find updates of well-established and much-loved classics, including the Forcan Ridge, Stac Pollaidh and the Rum Cuillin. Presented in our new contemporary style, Highland ScramblesNorth includes high-resolution photo diagrams and beautifully rendered maps for greater clarity and accessibility. With venue and route information accompanied by advice on conditions, this guidebook has everything you need for a superb day out inthe Scottish mountains

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon’s political partnership changed the face of Scotland, bringing the country to within 200,000 votes of independence in 2014 and holding sway at Holyrood for more than a decade. Since the referendum, Scottish nationalism has been a movement on the up, but the relationship between the former First Minister and his protegee and successor has broken down.Break-Up tells the inside story of how an alliance that goes back thirty years was ripped apart amid shocking claims of sexual assault, driving a wedge through the once unbreakable unity of the Scottish National Party.With unrivalled access to both camps and the women who made the allegations, and with rigorously fair-minded reporting, journalists David Clegg and Kieran Andrews go behind the headlines to uncover the truth about this extraordinary episode, in a piece of political history that reads like a thriller.This is a jaw-dropping tale of inappropriate behaviour in the highest reaches of power, of lies, distrust and alleged conspiracy, with profound implications not only for Salmond and Sturgeon themselves but for Scotland’s governing party and the wider independence campaign.At its heart, it is also a story about how women who voiced concerns about the behaviour of the most powerful man in the country were used as political pawns – and about what that means for the #MeToo movement.

The Circular Archetype in Microcosm is the culmination of seven years research into the Carved Stone Balls of Late Neolithic Scotland. It is the first study of these enigmatic artefacts since that undertaken by Dorothy Marshall in 1977 and includes all currently known examples in both museums and private hands, described and analysed in considerable detail. For the first time, visual geological characterisation has been undertaken on approximately a third of carved stone balls, which has enabled a more detailed analysis of their potential origin and the landscapes in which they were found. The book offers a revised classification/typology of these artefacts which, following careful analysis, suggests that it is possible to determine individual craftspeople with a wide range of skills. It suggests that carved stone balls were used as unique and distinctive gestalts that represented the ideology of the core area of Aberdeenshire and enabled disparate groups to recognise one another.

A new friend helps Meg to realise that appearances aren’t always what they seem in this exciting new addition to Tanya Landman’s delightful horse-riding series.When Meg and Merlin go to the local horse show they enter the Handy Pony class – a fun test of how well horse and rider work together. Meg is looking forward to it until stuck-up Sam Houseman – a girl from school – rides into the ring. Meg’s day seems ruined. But then she discovers that people, like ponies, can sometimes be very surprising …

Aesop’s Fables are a fundamental building-block of world literature and 2022, Scotland’s Year of Stories, is the perfect time to publish a collection of these wise, funny and thought-provoking tales from around 2,500 years ago.The fables are firmly rooted in the natural world and feature animals as their main characters, but the life lessons they illustrate are human ones and timeless in their relevance. Young readers at home and at school will love to read or hear these 21 tales, presented in a variety of Scots dialects by leading Scottish authors. The familiarity of fables such as ‘The Lion and the Mouse’, ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ and, ‘The Dog in the Manger’ will help new Scots readers to learn and enjoy Scots words as they read.This is a beautifully illustrated, full-colour hardback and a companion volume to The Itchy Coo Book o Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales in Scots and The Itchy Coo Book o Grimms’ Fairy Tales in Scots.Featuring glowing illustrations by Emma Chichester Clark, and translated from Michael Morpurgo’s lively retellings, these timeless fables are now shared in Scots for the first time.

Delve into the world of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his Glasgow School of Art-trained contemporaries who forged a unique and distinct vision in both art and architecture at the end of the Victorian era.The Glasgow Style is the name given to the work of a group of young designers and architects working in Glasgow from 1890-1914. At its centre were four young friends who had trained at Glasgow School of Art; two architects and two artists – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair, Margaret Macdonald and Frances Macdonald – who were simply known by their friends and contemporaries as ‘The Four’.Their work was a personal vision in the new international style of the 1890s, Art Nouveau, and is perhaps best known for Mackintosh’s architecture and furniture. But at the root of this new style was a graphic language which all four shared.Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Art of The Four presents the most coherent story to date of this important group, concentrating on the entirety of their artistic imagery and output, far beyond the best known work of the 1890s, and charting the constantly changing relationships between the artists and their work.

The Modern Craft is an eclectic and radical collection of essays on witchcraft practice and the ethics of magic, which gives that much-needed modern context to timeless wisdom. It offers a fascinating snapshot of contemporary occult practice viewed through an intersectional lens. Essay topics include:the ethics of decolonizationmeditations on what it means to honour Mother Earth during the Anthropocenethe reclamation of agency for working-class and queer witches through practical spellworka gender-fluid perspective on breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolisma day in the life of a disabled Pagan Irish practitionerInspiring and electrifying glimpses from the brink of the contemporary Craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter who they are, can find positivity and the force for change in the subversive unknown.Contributors include: Claire Askew, Lisa Marie Basile, Stella Hervey Birrell, Jane Claire Bradley, Madelyn Burnhope, Lilith Dorsey, AW Earl, Harry Josephine Giles, Simone Kotva, Iona Lee, Briana Pegado, Megan Rudden, Sabrina Scott, Em Still and Alice Tarbuck.

In 2021, supported by Creative Scotland, the Re·creation project invited anyone in Scotland and the UK to write poems, develop their craft, and build a community through workshops, round-table feedback and 1-to-1 mentorship.

The project took its inspiration from Audre Lorde, and its title from her poem of the same name, placing roots in play, refreshment, recovery, restoration and creativity. The Re·creation anthology contains new work from nearly 30 writers of the LGBT+ community across the UK, including Joelle Taylor, Mary Jean Chan, Nat Raha, Harry Josephine Giles, Patience Agbabi, Christopher Whyte, Dean Atta, Jay Gao, and Andrew McMillan.

Polaris is the fourth collection from award-winning Gaelic- and English-language poet Marcas Mac an Tuairneir. Named for the North Star, the collection builds on intersecting notions of ‘northness’ and linguistic and cultural identities – ‘Polaris’ means ‘languages’ in the gay cryptolect Polari. This ground-breaking new body of work harvests from a cross-section of folk narratives, historical accounts and current affairs, spanning the length and breadth of these islands – the Atlantic Archipelago.

Interrogating Unionist, Nationalist and regional models and tropes, the is literature of record, problematising mainstream narratives and seeking to uncover and foreground lost, unheard of, or otherwise marginalised voices. In this, the poetry is heavily indebted to feminist and post-colonial thought.

Inverting the current trend of publishing Gaelic poetry with the poet’s own translations, verso recto, Polaris includes reimaginings and reworkings of Marcas’ original works in many of the native minoritised languages of these islands: Scots, Irish, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Jersey French, contributed by some of the their respective literatures’ finest poets and translators. Alongside them also feature translations into some of the languages of Europe, which also find a home here, as well as selected works in Polari, contributed by the poet himself.

Cynthia’s mother is dying. Often.

Each time she is called from Scotland to her mother’s deathbed in San Rafael, Cynthia recalls hitchhiking to Mexico, living in a squat overseas, trainhopping with her brother, and all the other things she never told her mother.

Wonderfully witty and refreshingly candid, Wah! is an unflinching look at life in all its uncertain and messy glory.

Callum and the Other is the sequel to the critically acclaimed debut Callum and the Mountain (2019).

Change has come to the village of Skerrils, and fourteen-year-old Callum is struggling to adjust. Important people have moved on; others have arrived.

Even the Mountain, once the scene of an epic adventure for Callum and his friends, has vanished in the October mist. But its power cannot stay hidden for long, for in that mist lurks a terrifying new presence that wishes to destroy all that Callum has ever fought for.

This presence is known only as ‘The Other’, and it will take alliances old and new to reconnect Callum with past magic if he is to stop it before everything is lost.

Since the referendum, Scottish independence has been captured by conservative forces. Scotland After Britain argues for fidelity to the true meaning of the word independence. It should mean not only a break from the failing British state, but also from the prison of free trade and militarism that has delivered successive crises. Most of all, independence must honestly address the huge injustices of income, wealth and power that continue to define Scottish society, by restoring agency to working class communities and voters.Scotland After Britain shines a spotlight on pro-independence politics since Brexit and the pandemic. The Scottish national question has emerged as the biggest fracture in the British state after Brexit. The independence movement emerged from mass public disenchantment at the status quo, yet the SNP continues governing as if that disenchantment never happened, and the party leadership appears increasingly ambivalent about the risks of demanding independence. Most of all, the British state remains hostile to allowing a second referendum, while the SNP leadership has been unwilling to sanction protest beyond the ballot box.Where do we go from here? Scotland After Britain argues Brexit could force the movement to engage in a reckoning with the true stakes of independence, a process that will inevitably require a breach with the SNP’s establishment vision.

At 8am the first shots are fired.At 1pm, the police establish the gunman has a hostage.By 5pm, a siege is underway.At 9pm, DI Helen Birch walks, alone and unarmed, into an abandoned Borders farmhouse to negotiate with the killer.One day. One woman. One chance to get everyone out alive.The outstanding new novel from the highly acclaimed author of All the Hidden Truths and What You Pay For – both shortlisted for the CWA Golden Dagger.

When you look at a painting, what do you really see?When eighteenth-century poet Alison Cockburn accepts a light-hearted challenge from her good friend Katherine Hume to live as a man, in order to infiltrate the infamous Edinburgh Skating Club, little do they both realise how her new identity will shape their futures. Together they navigate their way through the sights, sounds and faces of Enlightenment Edinburgh, from Old Town to New Town and from joyous friendship to a deep affection.In twenty-first-century Edinburgh, art historian Claire Sharp receives a mysterious request: to settle once and for all the true provenance of the iconic painting The Skating Minister. But when she and friend Jen Brodie dig deeper, they discover the incredible truth behind the painting and two extraordinary women Enlightenment Edinburgh forgot.

Revenge sometimes causes people to act blindly through anger, rather than reason. The characters in this devilishly delightful book are pushed to the point of no return and seek retribution. We meet an author taking part in a game show who will go to great lengths to show off his intelligence, but quickly realises that he can’t – and doesn’t – know everything. Opposing neighbours find out that the best way to deal with a noisy disturbance is not to bury the hatchet. On the island of Mull, it takes an outsider to make the locals realise that they need to take matters into their own hands to maintain the community’s reputation, and in ‘The Principles of Soap’ the value of friendship overcomes adversity and opportunistic nepotism.In each of these four tales, revenge is a dish best served cold. Tantalising and amusing, these stories show off a darker side, but carry with them the author’s trademark warmth and humour.