THE BEST OF SCOTTISH BOOKS

Brought to you by Penguin.

The government told a story about me before I was born.

Jenni Fagan was property of the state before birth. She drew her first breath in care and by the age of seven, she had lived in fourteen different homes and had changed name multiple times.

Twenty years after her first attempt to write this powerful memoir, Jenni is finally ready to share her account. Ootlin is a journey through the broken UK care system – it is one of displacement and exclusion, but also of the power of storytelling. It is about the very human act of making meaning from adversity.

‘Beautiful, deep, dangerous, transfixing . . . it will burn a home in your heart, it has in mine. Read every word of every page. Turn them carefully. Jenni Fagan is made of fire and spirit. From start to finish I could not put it down. Close the door. Sit down now. Read Ootlin. Read’ LEMN SISSAY

‘A phenomenal memoir. I am in awe. It takes exceptional strength to survive the events described in this book and courage, skill and magic to write a life story, especially when this type of story is often marginalised’ AMY LIPTROT

‘Essential reading, life changing, I couldn’t stop reading once I started . . . Unbelievably brave. Beautiful , earth shattering and unforgettable. A truly rare talent’ SAMANTHA MORTON

©2023 Jenni Fagan (P)

2023 Penguin Audio

The highly-anticipated second instalment in the CRIME trilogy, now a hit TV Series

Justice can be a blunt instrument

“Men like him usually tell the story.

In business.

Politics.

Media.

But not this time: I repeat, he is not writing this story.”

Ritchie Gulliver MP is dead. Castrated and left to bleed in an empty Leith warehouse.

Vicious, racist and corrupt, many thought he had it coming. But nobody could have predicted this.

After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he’s offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty – those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance.

As Detective Ray Lennox unravels the truth, and the list of brutal attacks grows, he must put his personal feelings aside. But one question refuses to go away…Who are the real victims here?

Scotland’s economic capacity to prosper independently of Britain has become a key political issue, dominating the independence referendum of 2014 and continuing to influence British politics since. But, as this book shows, the Scottish economy, is not merely a statistical object – it is also a political, sociological and cultural idea which has been imagined and constructed.

The book explores the history of how Scotland has been framed in statistical and policy terms which are laden with conflicts over meaning, ranging from class struggles and struggles against “external control” to the ongoing debate over national independence. Using Scotland as a case study for examining the political meaning of “the economy”, the book also considers the origins of efforts to measure the Scottish economy in the British nationalist terms of “regional policy”. It then considers the influence, in turn, of North Sea oil, globalisation/Europeanisation, class dealignment and neoliberal “enterprise” ideology in changing the meanings attached to the Scottish economy. These form necessary conditions for the debate on national independence, where the nature and the future of the Scottish economy remains the central controversy. By examining the economic ideas of a self-proclaimed “cosmopolitan” nationalist movement, the study will offer deeper insights into how nationalists are adapting to the crisis of globalisation.

This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on Scottish independence as well as economic sociology, nationalism, critical geography and political economy more broadly.

In 1690, the Church of Scotland rejected episcopal authority and settled as Presbyterian. The adjacent Presbyteries of Stirling and Dunblane covered an area that included both lowland and highland communities, speaking both English and Gaelic and supporting both the new government and the old thus forming a representative picture of the nation as a whole.

This book examines the ways in which the two Presbyteries operated administratively, theologically and geographically under the new regime. By surveying and analysing surviving church records from 1687 to 1710 at Presbytery and parish level, Andrew T. N. Muirhead shows how the two Presbyteries related to civil authorities, how they dealt with problematic discipline cases referred by the Kirk Sessions, their involvement in the Union negotiations and their overall functioning as human, as well as religious, institution in seventeenth-century Scotland. The resulting study advances our understanding of the profound impact that Presbyteries had on those involved with them in any capacity.

Is it possible for books to dream? For books to dream within books? Is there a literary subterranea that would facilitate ingress and exit points through these dreams?

These are some of the questions posed by David Keenan’s masterly fifth novel, Monument Maker, an epic romance of eternal summer and a descent, into history, into the horrors of the past; a novel with a sweep and range that runs from the siege of Khartoum and the conquest of Africa in the 19th century through the Second World War and up to the present day, where the memory of a single summer, and a love affair that took place across the cathedrals of Ile de France, unravels, as a secret initiatory cult is uncovered that has its roots in macabre experiments in cryptozoology in pre-war Europe.

MONUMENT MAKER straddles genres while fully embracing none of them, a book within a book within a book that runs from hallucinatory historical epics through future-visioned histories of the world narrated by a horribly disfigured British soldier made prophetic by depths of suffering; books that interact with Keenan’s earlier novels, including a return to the mythical post-punk Airdrie landscape of his now classic debut, THIS IS MEMORIAL DEVICE; whole histories of art and religion; books that are glorious choral appendices; bibliographies; imagined films; tape recorded interviews; building to a jubilant accumulation of registers, voices and rhythms that is truly Choral.

Written over the course of 10 years, MONUMENT MAKER represents the apex of Keenan’s project to create books that contain uncanny life and feel like living organisms. It is a meditation on art and religion, and on what it means to make monument; this great longing for something eternal, something that could fix moments in time, forever.

‘For all these years I’ve told stories. Sometimes these days I also tell them on the radio. I’ve met some amazing people and their stories need told too. The first time Deacon Blue ever played Wembley Arena I started to introduce a song only to hear, “Get on with it” shouted from Row Z. We proceeded with the song, but I often thought I’d quite like to finish that story.’

In 1986, Ricky Ross started a full-time career in music, which has lasted for over 35 years. His earlier working life was spent in youth work and teaching in his home city of Dundee, and his adopted home of Glasgow. It was in these two cities where he spent his formative years learning how to write and play songs.

Having always written about the people and places who’ve made an impact on his life, it’s no surprise that this is how he has approached Walking Back Home, his first ever memoir, which takes the reader on a journey from Ricky’s childhood to the rollercoaster of leading his band to top of the charts and their break-up, his solo career and Deacon Blue’s recent renaissance.

New Writing Scotland is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland today. Every year we publish the very best from emerging and established writers, and list many of the leading literary lights of Scotland among our contributors.

Analyses Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson against the background of Anglo-American print culture and oral performance

Develops a new analytical framework for the study of nineteenth-century transatlantic writing that combines literary studies, book history and cultural sociology

Reframes canonical works through unfamiliar texts and contexts

Draws on a rich body of archival sources and historical periodical publications

Offers an in-depth account of nineteenth-century Anglo-American print culture and the transatlantic lecture system

Examining the transatlantic writings and professional careers of Thomas Carlyle and Ralph Waldo Emerson, this book explores the impact of literary, cultural, political and legal manifestations of authority on nineteenth-century British and American writing, publishing and lecturing. Drawing on primary texts in conjunction with a rich body of archival sources, this study retraces Romantic debates about race and nationhood, analyses the relationship between cultural nationalism and literary historiography and sheds light on Carlyle’s and Emerson’s professional identities as publishing authors and lecturing celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic.

A pioneering study of women poets exploring the four laureate roles of the United Kingdom and Ireland

Includes case studies of Gillian Clarke, Carol Ann Duffy, Liz Lochhead and Paula Meehan

Re-values the authority of poetry by women

Considers how poetry can be both nation-building and promote cultural internationalism

Explores the treatment of poetry in the school curriculum

The concurrent tenures of Gillian Clarke as National Poet of Wales, Carol Ann Duffy as UK Poet Laureate, Liz Lochhead as Scots Makar, and Paula Meehan as Ireland Professor of Poetry, defied historic rifts between women, poetry and nation. This book explores the extraordinary changes these women fought to achieve as each made her way from marginalised ‘poetess’ of the 1970s to laureate at the heart of cultural establishment in the 21st century. It looks at how they revitalised these public offices, and explores their interventions in contemporary geopolitics and national self-understanding. It considers how they shaped their roles by engaging with poetic icons of the past, by linking poetry and education, and by joining poetry with politics.

Meet some of Scotland’s most spectacular women in this inspiring collection of biographies written for young people. From authors to athletes, scientists to singers, queens to campaigners, this diverse collection of women have influenced the world in incredible ways.

Read the eye-opening life stories of many amazing Scottish women you know, and many you won’t believe you hadn’t heard of:– Feel the rhythm with ground-breaking deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie– Rock the runway with model Eunice Olumide– Command the country with iconic monarch Mary, Queen of Scots– Pen a literary gem with poet and author Jackie Kay– Campaign for change with schoolgirl activist Roza Salih– Step on set with actor Karen Gillan– Race to the finish line with para-athlete Kayleigh Haggo– Discover a new planet with scientist Mary Somerville

Scottish author and former journalist Louise Baillie presents empowering stories of persistence, achievement, ingenuity and innovation while bestselling Scottish illustrator Eilidh Muldoon captures the essence of each extraordinary woman with her vibrant and dynamic illustrations.

This fascinating and uplifting celebration of iconic women from Scotland’s past and present is essential reading for children aged seven and up and a perfect gift for the spectacular Scottish women of the future.

An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended ‘the Blitz’ to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain’s defences and civilians responded.

The Blitz – the German ‘blitzkrieg’ of Britain’s industrial and port cities – was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain’s military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war.

Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of “life under the bombs” or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe’s biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the ‘Battle of the Beams’ that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare.

Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK’s air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims.

Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world’s first true strategic air offensive failed.

An island of magic and mayhem floating above the flooded Earth, Bastion has long been the last country left in the world. Then one day best friends Kurt (an eight-foot mushroom with a fear of heights) and Flicker (a tiny, tough-talking gemstone faerie) stand on the edge of the land and see the impossible: a plane from nowhere is heading straight for them.

Kurt and Flicker join forces with a brave gang of misfits — including wood-nymph twins (one bounty hunter, one bookworm) and a gruff, shapeshifting wolf — to rescue the pilot and face a dangerous enemy. Can the Cloudlanders save their floating island from crashing into the Endless Sea and the terrifying tentacles of a massive monster?

Cloudlanders is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud fantasy adventure with a unique cast of characters, tonnes of heart, and gasp-inducing moments. Fans of Ben Miller, Tom Fletcher and Terry Pratchett will love this quirky and sharply written debut novel from Kelpies Prize winner, Christopher Mackie.

The essential teenage guide to tackling anxiety, from award-winning well-being expert Nicola Morgan, author of the bestselling Blame My Brain.

Anxiety is on many teenager’s minds – it’s the word they use most often when they talk about their mental health. Award-winning author and teenage brain expert Nicola Morgan is here to help, with this practical guide to help young people understand their anxiety and cope with the challenges of modern life. Based on the latest science, No Worries is packed with advice to help teenagers master the best tricks and hacks to stay firmly in control of worries and embrace calm. From understanding how anxiety works, to building strategies to calm the body and mind, this essential guide equips young people with the tools to tackle their worries and live brilliantly.

The essential teenage guide to tackling anxiety, from award-winning well-being expert Nicola Morgan, author of the bestselling Blame My Brain.

Anxiety is on many teenager’s minds – it’s the word they use most often when they talk about their mental health. Award-winning author and teenage brain expert Nicola Morgan is here to help, with this practical guide to help young people understand their anxiety and cope with the challenges of modern life. Based on the latest science, No Worries is packed with advice to help teenagers master the best tricks and hacks to stay firmly in control of worries and embrace calm. From understanding how anxiety works, to building strategies to calm the body and mind, this essential guide equips young people with the tools to tackle their worries and live brilliantly.

“The greatest playwright Scotland never had.” – Mark Fisher, The Guardian

Michel Tremblay is considered the most important playwright in Quebec theatre history. His ground-breaking work for theatre presents Montreal’s working class speaking the city’s vernacular French. Tremblay’s plays and novels create a family saga where many characters appear in more than one work.

Bill Findlay, a Scot, and Martin Bowman, a Montrealer of Scottish descent, translated eight Tremblay plays into Scots. The energy, versatility, and range of the Scots language capture the essence of Tremblay’s drama. These critically acclaimed translations, produced professionally in Scotland from 1989 to 2003, constitute an important body of work in modern Scottish theatre.

Three of this volume’s translations premiered in Edinburgh: The House among the Stars and Solemn Mass for a Full Moon in Summer at the Traverse and If Only… at the Royal Lyceum. Albertine, in Five Times premiered at Glasgow’s Tron, touring to eight Scottish cities. In them, Tremblay – without diminishing the intensity of his dissection of family life – considers possible acceptance and reconciliation in the face of the difficulties and challenges confronting his characters.

Besides playtexts, both volumes of Michel Tremblay: Plays in Scots contain a foreword and introductions to each volume as well as to each play, including historical background material.

“The greatest playwright Scotland never had.” – Mark Fisher, The Guardian

Michel Tremblay is considered the most important playwright in Quebec theatre history. His ground-breaking work for theatre presents Montreal’s working class speaking the city’s vernacular French. Tremblay’s plays and novels create a family saga where many characters appear in more than one work.

Bill Findlay, a Scot, and Martin Bowman, a Montrealer of Scottish descent, translated eight Tremblay plays into Scots. The energy, versatility, and range of the Scots language capture the essence of Tremblay’s drama. These critically acclaimed translations, produced professionally in Scotland from 1989 to 2003, constitute an important body of work in modern Scottish theatre.

This volume’s four translations premiered at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre, during Michael Boyd’s tenure as artistic director. They include three of Tremblay’s early masterpieces: The Guid Sisters, Hosanna, and Forever Yours, Marie-Lou. The fourth play, The Real Wurld?, shares Tremblay’s devastating critique of family life. These plays confront topics such as domestic and sexual abuse. These are strong plays, as relevant today as when first produced.

Besides playtexts, both volumes of Michel Tremblay: Plays in Scots contain a foreword and introductions to each volume as well as to each play, including historical background material.

A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with former miners and their families Forty years ago, Arthur Scargill led the National Union of Mineworkers on one of the largest strikes in British history. A deep sense of pride existed within Britain’s mining communities who thought of themselves as the backbone of the nation’s economy. But they were vilified by Margaret Thatcher’s government and eventually broken: deprived of their jobs, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives. In this groundbreaking new history, Robert Gildea interviews those miners and their families who fought to defend themselves. Exploring mining communities from South Wales to the Midlands, Yorkshire, County Durham, and Fife, Gildea shows how the miners and their families organized to protect themselves, and how a network of activists mobilized to support them. Amid the recent wave of industrial action in the United Kingdom, Backbone of the Nation highlights anew the importance of labor organization – and intimately records the triumphs, losses, and resilience of these mining communities.

Lottie is apple picking when a large, angry, fire-breathing dragon appears, wanting to eat her for breakfast! As the townsfolk rush to hide from the beast within their high walls only Lottie wonders why the dragon is so fierce: could it just be lonely?

The Mayor doesn’t listen and calls on St Michael to slay the dragon. Can brave Lottie convince the great knight of her plan to save both the town and the dragon?

This is a charming story about courage, defying expectations and looking beneath the surface which is perfect for sharing with younger children during Michaelmas, and all year round. The beautiful illustrations by Sandra Klaassen, creator of the much-loved picture books Uan the Little Lamb and Peg the Little Sheepdog, are lively, soft and enchanting.

A cultural history of artisans and hand skills against the background of technical and commercial modernisation in Scotland

Shortlisted for Saltire Society Scottish Research Book of the Year 2022

Draws on personal, business, institutional and official records as well as newspaper reports and visual illustrations

Examples cover the whole of Scotland and all areas of craftwork and handmade goods

Considers the changing cultural value accorded to handmade goods for craftworkers and their customers

This book examines individuals, families and communities of craftworkers and their changing experience in town and country. Based on case studies drawn from personal, business, institutional and official records, as well as newspaper reports and visual illustrations, it looks at workplace dynamics and handmade wares shaped by personal consumption, rather than industrial production.

Stana Nenadic examines the ‘things’ that were made and the values they embodied at a time when most Scots were still engaged in hand making either for income or pleasure despite Scotland’s emergence as a great industrial powerhouse.

The most personal book yet from the acclaimed author of As the Women Lay Dreaming and In a Veil of Mist

Even as he grew up on the edge of Lewis, the vastness of Russia never felt too distant for Donald S Murray. Its great literary traditions were often discussed in his home village, while the political unrest and religious fervour that marked its past and present were often reflected in his life on the island.

Inspired by the Russian canon, the songs, verse and stories contained in Red Star Over Hebrides draw upon the experiences of that youth, shifting continually between myth and history, the absurd and moving, the satirical and everyday. Its extraordinary and diverse narratives underline the truth of its opening line: ‘I can see these islands mirror Russia.’