We don’t mind admitting that BooksfromScotland have been on tenterhooks all year for the publication of Lucy Ellmann’s new novel, Ducks, Newburyport. The more we heard about it, the more we were intrigued. So we’re so thrilled it’s now on the bookshelves, and even more thrilled that  Lucy Ellmann agreed to speak to Lee Randall about her thoughts on the writing life, and particularly on the conflict between the private world of creating and the public world of promotion.

 

Ducks, Newburyport By Lucy Ellmann Published by Galley Beggars Press

 

Ducks, Newburyport is full of love and grief. Its 1020 pages of stream-of-consciousness plunge in and out of the lives of a middle-aged American woman and a mountain lion. I’d just finished it when Lucy Ellmann emailed to say she’d prefer to let the book speak for itself and talk instead about the custom of sending writers to public readings and book festivals.

Fine—but I predicted we were destined to disagree. Book events are my natural habitat. I programme the Granite Noir festival, on behalf of Aberdeen Performing Arts, and frequently chair book events.

Lee Randall: I was struck by the strength of your feeling that festivals and other events don’t serve writers. Why not?

Lucy Ellmann: For one thing, writers need money. If you entice writers away from their desks, at least use it as an opportunity to shove money at them. It would also be good to give them a chance to talk to each other more. I don’t think most festivals provide for that enough, except maybe in the green room, by accident.

Randall: What would constitute a useful dialogue?

Ellmann: A conference for only writers, where you have time to talk to each other about books and the book business, and how it’s all gone to pot. The collapse of the ...

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Scotland’s excellent crime writing community have been knocking it out the park in 2019, so if you’re really having trouble deciding what book to take to the beach, the hills, the tent, the caravan, or the swanky hotel (if you’re pushing the boat out), then look no further than this dazzling dozen . . .

 

Breakers by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)

Doug Johnstone’s latest novel has been generating the kind of reviews every writer dreams of, has been longlisted for the McIllvanney Prize, and comes recommended from the likes of Mark Billingham, James Oswald and Ian Rankin – we’re not going to argue with those plaudits!

The novel follows the troubled seventeen-year-old Tyler, who lives in one of Edinburgh’s most deprived areas, is caring for his sister and his drug-addict mum, and is bull...

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Alistair Braidwood Reviews: The Sound of the Hours by Karen Campbell

‘Shipped to Italy to help liberate the country from German occupation, and make sure that Mussolini and his acolytes remain out of power, Frank finds himself in a strange land where his uniform create …

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The Partisan Heart

‘He failed to notice the figure leaning on the wall just outside the bar who pulled the collar of his heavy jacket tight around his neck, threw a darting glance to his right and his left and then fell …

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The Bookshop on the Shore: A Q & A with Jenny Colgan

‘Nina ran a mobile bookshop in the Highlands of Scotland. This was about to become temporarily tricky given that she had also fallen in love with a very attractive farmer, and it had been a particular …

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Finer Things

‘”I thought you were interesting, that’s all. That is—” There was a liberating, thrilling quality about telling the truth. Careful, she thought, once you start, you might not be able to stop. “You str …

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David Robinson Reviews: Books on Pilgrimages

‘We set out only to come back again, and every departure involves a return until we make the pilgrimage that awaits each and every one of us as we depart from this world.’

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A Proper Person to be Detained: A Q & A with Catherine Czerkawska

‘I’ve always been fascinated by the possibility of giving voices to those who have been ignored throughout history, especially the women.’

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The Best in Young Adult Fiction in 2019, So Far . . .

‘Sometimes oor Sonny’s no the brightest. He’s lucky he’s got me tae keep him right. I tap my temple and Sonny does the same. It’s oor wee code tae let the other yin ken we’re on the same wavelength.’

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Finn the Little Seal

‘The little seal looked at the great waves as they crashed on the rocks. The big sea is far too big for me, he thought.’

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Alice Piotrowska Reviews: The Wind That Lays Waste

‘The tensions between them grow just as the thunderstorm brews on the horizon, and we’re all waiting for it to come and clear the air – which it does, in a surprising and emotional climax.’

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Bitter Leaves

‘Singapore is a city of glass and light but it isn’t friendly to us. The Ma’ams stare us down like lions and work their maids too hard.’

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Inference

‘A ripple of fear travels the length of my spine as I try to assess just how scared I should be of this man who has me here at his mercy. So far, he hasn’t done anything to hurt me, physically. He has …

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