Author Availability 2015 by Birlinn Limited

Birlinn Limited

Including Polygon, Arena Sport and John Donald   Authors available for events and festivals in 2015

C O N TAC T

Jan Rutherford

Publicity and Marketing Director       Birlinn Ltd                                          10 Newington Road                            West Newington House                   Edinburgh EH9 1QS                                                    Tel: 0131 337 9724 Mob: 077 1047 4308                              E:mail: jan.ppw@janrutherford.co.uk

CONTENTS

LATE 2014 & SPRING 2015 FEATURED

Alexander McCall Smith Alistair Moffat Sara Sheridan

NON-FICTION

Charles MacLean Nikki Welch Ian Buxton Carla Lamont Sue Lawrence Nichola Fletcher Claire Macdonald Andrew Duff Struan Stevenson Ian Fraser Patricia R. Andrew Roger Hutchinson Ian Crofton David Spaven Alan McKirdy Max Benitz Christopher Fleet Daniel MacCannell

www.birlinn.co.uk

FICTION

Christopher Jory Jan-Phillip Sendker Ian Garbutt Denzil Meyrick Gillian Galbraith Rosemary Goring Christopher Rush Shirley McKay Michael F. Russell

2-3 4-5 6-7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

CONTENTS LATE 2014 & SPRING 2015 SPORT

36 37

John Deering Stephen Jones and Nick Cain

Tom Doyle

39 40 41 42 43 44

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53

MUSIC

POETRY

Liz Lochhead Michael Pedersen Ron Butlin Tom Pow Kevin MacNeil Andrew Greig

GEMS FROM 2014

Alyssa Popiel Michael Fry Laurie Campbell & Anna Levin Kenneth Cox James Robertson & Jill Calder The Great Tapestry of Scotland Gavin McCrone Stuart Clark Jake Wallis Simons

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ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH Creator of Precious Ramotswe and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, which has sold 25 million copies in English and been translated into 46 languages. April 2015: Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party (stand-alone novel) (pbk) July 2015: Precious and the Zebra Necklace August 2015: The Revolving Door of Life: Scotland Street 10 November 2015: Stories of Love

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the world Happy to do: In-discussion or solo events; festivals large and small. Alexander is a hugely experienced performer, with more than 50 appearances a year before audiences ranging from small rural knitting groups to a packed Sydney opera house 2015/16 – limited availability

Also available: The Forever Girl (stand-alone novel) (hbk); Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party (stand-alone novel) (hbk); Precious and the Mystery of Meerkat Hill (pbk); Precious and the Mystery of the Missing Lion (pbk); Precious and the Monkeys (pbk); The Corduroy Mansions series; The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series; the Isabel Dalhousie series; the 44 Scotland Street series; the von Igelfeld series; plus stand-alone novels such as Trains & Lovers: The Heart’s Journey.   An hour in the company of Alexander McCall Smith is an hour of sheer delight! Who is Alexander McCall Smith? Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and best-loved authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over 20 million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over 45 languages and become bestsellers across the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the von Igelfeld series; and Corduroy Mansions, which started life as a delightful cross-media serial, written on the website of the Telegraph Media Group, winning two   major cross-media awards. Alexander McCall Smith created Precious Ramotswe as a character in a short story in the 1990s. She made her debut in the novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in 1998 and since then that novel (and a further fourteen titles in the series) has sold many millions of copies to fans across the world .

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

About The Revolving Door of Life: A Scotland Street Novel: Catch up with all your favourite faces down in Scotland Street as we follow their daily pursuit of a little happiness. The Revolving Door of Life is the tenth book in this series and revolves around the many colourful characters that come and go at No. 44 Scotland Street. McCall Smith handles the characters with his customary charm and deftness – the stalwart Tory chartered surveyor, the pushy mother, and, perhaps most importantly, the beleaguered Italian-speaking prodigy, Bertie. This is classic McCall Smith – clever, witty and entertaining – and beautifully illustrated. A chance encounter with Armistead Maupin in San Francisco inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write this series of novels based around the fictional No. 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh’s New Town. On his return to Edinburgh he agreed to write a serial novel through the pages of the Scotsman newspaper. These daily episodes were then published in the first of now ten books, 44 Scotland Street. Today, fans around the world follow the series which continues to appear in the Scotsman for four months every year.

www.alexandermccallsmith.com www.facebook.com/alexandermccallsmith @McCall Smith

About Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party: When Fatty’s loving wife, Betty, plans a trip to Ireland for his 40th birthday, things almost immediately start to go wrong: the seats in economy class on the plane are too small; Irish bathroom furniture is not as commodious as he’d have liked, and all the time Fatty must put up with the unthinking cruelty of strangers. In an hilarious and touching portrayal of a kindly and misunderstood soul, McCall Smith has created yet another memorable character who will become an instant favourite to his many fans. About Precious and the Zebra Necklace: When Precious finds out that all schoolfriend Nancy has of her missing parents is a photograph and a necklace, she offers to help. Precious and Nancy find themselves on an exciting adventure that takes them into the remotest parts of Botswana in their search for Nancy’s family. Praise for Alexander McCall Smith: ‘Perfect escapist fiction’ – The Times   ‘Elegant, precise and evocative, McCall Smith tells an exceedingly good story’ –The Herald

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

ALISTAIR MOFFAT August 2015: A History of Scotland (pbk) January 2015: The Reivers (pbk) (reprint) January 2015: The Wall (pbk) (reprint)

Author based: Scottish Borders Willing to travel: Limited availability but happy to consider anything within the UK and beyond Happy to do: Festivals large and small, bookstore events, readers’ groups et al Recent Events: Cheltenham Literature Festival, Scottish Parliament, Bannockburn Live, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Aye Write, National Library of Scotland, Hexham Book Festival, Chalke Valley History Festival 2015: Limited Availability

Also available: Hawick: A History from Earliest Times (2014); Bannockburn: The Battle for Scotland (hbk) (2014); The British: A Genetic Journey (2013); The Great Tapestry of Scotland (2013); The Scots : A Genetic Journey (with Dr Jim Wilson) (2011); Britain’s Last Frontier (2012); The Borders (2010); The Faded Map (2010); Tuscany: A History (2009); The Wall (2009); The Reivers, paperback published January 2008 as a major TV tie-in for a six-part series broadcast in January 2008; The Sea Kingdoms (April 2008). Who is Alistair Moffat? Owner and managing director of Scotland’s DNA (www. scotlandsdna.com) a company which offers DNA testing for those searching for their origins, Alistair is immersed in this new world. Formerly Director of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes for Scottish Television, Alistair Moffat is now a regular BBC Radio 4 and television broadcaster and presenter. His non-fiction books have a huge UK and international following and still he finds time to run the successful Borders Book Festival. He is also Rector of St. Andrew’s University and is working with Alexander McCall Smith on The Great Tapestry of Scotland project.   About A History of Scotland: From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum, historian and author Alistair Moffat explores the history of the Scottish nation. As well as focusing on key moments in the nation’s history such as the Battle of Bannockburn and the Jacobite Risings, Moffat also features other episodes in history that are perhaps less well documented. From prehistoric timber halls to inventions and literature, Moffat’s tale explores the drama of battle, change, loss and invention interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk, the men and women who defined a nation.

www.birlinn.co.uk

About Bannockburn: The Battle for Scotland: As 8,000 Scottish soldiers, most of them spearmen, faced 18,000 English infantrymen, archers and mounted knights on the morning of Sunday 23 June 1314, many would have thought that the result was a foregone conclusion. But after two days’ fighting, the English were routed. The emphatic defeat of much larger English force was the moment that enabled Scotland to remain independent for the next 400 years and pursue a different destiny. This book follows in detail the events of those two days that changed history. In addition to setting the battle within its historical and political context Alistair Moffat captures all the fear, heroism, confusion and desperation of the fighting itself as he describes the tactics and manoeuvres that led to Scottish victory. The result is a very human picture of Bannockburn that recreates the experience not only of the leaders – Edward II and Robert the Bruce – but the ordinary men who fought to the death on both sides. About The British: A Genetic Journey : Hidden inside all of us is the story of our ancestry. Printed on our DNA are the origins of our lineages and the epic journeys people have made across the globe. Based on exciting new research involving the most wide-ranging sampling of DNA ever done in Britain, Alistair Moffat, author of the bestselling The Scots: A Genetic Journey, writes an entirely new history of Britain. Instead of the typical parade of the usual suspects – kings, queens, saints, warriors and the notorious – this is a people’s history, a narrative made from stories only DNA can tell. In this astonishing and revealing history, Moffat offers fascinating insights into who we are, and where we come from.

www.alistairmoffat.co.uk www.britainsdna.com

Praise for Alistair Moffat’s books: ‘A most compelling, thought-provoking and entertaining history’ – Rosemary Goring, The Herald ‘A fascinating picture’ – James Naughtie, Today Programme BBC Radio 4 ‘The fusion of science and the physical history – like an abandoned croft – allows people to trace their Scots ancestry with precision’ – Sunday Herald

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SARA SHERIDAN May 2015 : British Bulldog: Mirabelle Bevan Mystery 4 (hbk) July 2015: British Bulldog (pbk) Also available: England Expects: Mirabelle Bevan Mystery 3 (hbk) (2014); England Expects (pbk) (2014); London Calling: A Mirabelle Bevan Mystery (2012); Brighton Belle: A Mirabelle Bevan Mystery (2013)

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the world Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, schools and libraries, festivals large and small, workshops, creative writing seminars, corporate events Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Harrogate Crime Festival, Bath Book Festival, National Library of Scotland, Freeword Centre, London, Manchester Literature Festival.

Who is Sara Sheridan? Sara Sheridan is an Edinburgh-based historical novelist. She frequently speaks at events across the UK talking about both history and mystery writing including the social history behind her books. Testimonials and a full events list are available. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she has been nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She received a Scottish Library Award for her first novel, and was shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize. An occassional journalist and blogger, Sara has reported for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent and has appeared as a historical expert on ‘being a lady’ on Women’s Hour. She is a regular guest on a variety of BBC Radio Scotland shows. She occassionally blogs for the Guardian, London Review of Books, Scottish Book Trust, and the Huffington Post. She has written articles for a variety of newspapers, from the Scotsman to the Daily Record and BBC History Magazine. Sara spent three years sitting on the Committee of the Society of Authors in Scotland. She is now on the board of the UKwide writers’ collective ‘26’. She is a member of the Historical Writers Association, the Historical Novel Association, the Crime Writers Association and BAFTA. She occassionally mentors for Scottish Book Trust. Sara is comfortable on stage and is experienced in traditional book events. She has worked with a variety of chairpeople and performs well on her own as well as part of a panel. She is an accomplished after-meal speaker and in the last year has spoken at charity, community, and corporate events including afternoon teas, lunches, cocktails and dinners. Her previous novels include Truth or Dare (1998), Ma Polinski’s Pockets (2000), The Pleasure Express (2001), The Secret Mandarin (2009),Secret of the Sands (2011), and I’m Me (2011).

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

About the Mirabelle Bevan Series: Mirabelle Bevan is Miss Marple with an edge, a stylish new crime series set in 1950’s England. About British Bulldog: British Bulldog sees Mirabelle on the trail of an RAF pilot who went missing during the war and mysteriously never came home. Her search takes her to Paris where she discovers an espionage operation smuggling secrets out of Russia. Her investigations also uncover some unwelcome truths about her wartime lover Jack and the true nature of his intelligence work in France. About England Expects: Set during the summer heatwave of 1953, England Expects finds Mirabelle and Vesta investigating the seemingly unrelated murders of a racing journalist and a cleaning woman. Their searches lead them through Brighton Pavilion’s crumbling passageways to the quad of a Cambridge college and finally into the shady underworld of Brighton freemasonry. And, while not on the murder trail, Vesta has to make some difficult decisions about her personal life. About London Calling : 1952, London. When eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore goes missing in a seedy Soho jazz club the prime suspect is young sax player, Lindon Claremont. Lindon hightails it to Brighton to seek the help of his childhood friend, Vesta, who works with ex-Secret Service Mirabelle Bevan. When Lindon is taken into custody the two women dive into London’s underworld of smoky night clubs, fast cars and lethal cocktails to establish the truth.

www.sarasheridan.com www.facebook.com/ sarasheridanwriter @sarasheridan @mirabellebevan

In October 2012 Brighton Belle went to No. 1 in the Amazon Kindle chart. Praise for Brighton Belle: ‘Mirabelle has a dogged tenacity to rival Poirot’ – Sunday Herald ‘I was gripped from start to finish’ – Newbooks Magazine ‘A crime force to be reckoned with’ – Goodreads ‘Unfailingly stylish, undeniably smart’ – Daily Record Praise for London Calling: ‘A beguiling page-turner’ – Good Book Guide ‘We loved the first in this post WW2 series, Brighton Belle, and the second adventure is even better’ – Lovereading

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

NON-FICTION

CHARLES MACLEAN

September 2015: Famous for a Reason: The Story of the Famous Grouse August 2014: Whiskypedia: A Gazetteer of Scotch Whisky (pbk edition)

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Private and corporate tastings around the world, Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Cannes Film Festival. Limited availability

Who is Charles MacLean? Charles MacLean has spent the past 30 years researching, writing and lecturing about Scotch whisky. He is the author of nine books on the subject, including the standard work on whisky brands, Scotch Whisky, and the authoritative Malt Whisky, both of which were short-listed for Glenfiddich Awards. His Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History won Wine & Spirits Book of the Year in the 2004 James Beard Awards and Best Drink Book in the World at the Food Media Awards. He is a consultant to the whisky industry, and to Bonhams International Auctioneers, and sits on the judging panel of the International Wine & Spirits Awards. About Famous for a Reason: From humble beginnings in Perth in the early nineteenth century Matthew Gloag established a thriving whisky business that found favour with the royal household and the Scottish public alike. The family business he established struck gold in 1896 when they created the The Famous Grouse – a blended whisky that became a national favourite. Through innovative and entertaining marketing campaigns it has developed into a much-loved and bestselling brand. Charles MacLean has been granted unique access to the company archives and interviews with surviving family descendants to compile a fascinating story rich in anecdote and social and historical commentary. About Whiskypedia: The flavour of Scotch whisky is as much influenced by history, craft and tradition as it is by science. Whiskypedia explores these influences. Introductory sections provide an historical overview, and an explanation of the contribution made by each stage of the production process. Each entry provides a brief account of the distillery’s history and curiosities, lists the bottlings which are currently available, details how the whisky is made, and explores the flavour and character of each make. Whiskypedia will guide, entertain and inform novices and experts alike. Praise for Whiskypedia: ‘Whisky’s finest guru’ – The Sunday Times

www.birlinn.co.uk

‘Charles MacLean writes like no other expert on the subject. His prose is informed and highly entertaining’ – Independent

NIKKI WELCH November 2014: The Pocket Guide to Wine: Featuring the WineTubeMap© Who is Nikki Welch? Nikki Welch spent ten years selling and marketing wine for a number of wine producers and major supermarkets. She now owns Convivium Wine (www.conviviumwine.co.uk), organises events for the public and for wine companies, trains staff, writes about wine and acts as a consultant for wine businesses, helping them understand what wine drinkers really want. Nikki is the designer of the renowned WineTubeMap©, developed as a solution to the common question, ‘I really like x wine, what else will I like?’ The map removes many of the barriers and stigmas that come with wine. It is intuitive and requires no other wine knowledge. Developed through tastings, grape physiology and research into visual, spatial and experiential learning, each Tube line is a flavour profile, each station a grape, region, appellation or collective group. You’ve got your map – time to explore!

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: BBC Good Food Shows London & Birmingham, wide range of wine-tasting events across Scotland

About The Pocket Guide to Wine: Learning about wine can be a daunting task. With terms like assemblage, batonnage and cuvee; ullage, terroir and vielles vignes, it’s not surprising that many people are put off and simply reach for the nearest bottle of red or white in the supermarket aisle.

@winetubemap www.conviviumwine.com

This is the perfect, concise guide for anyone who loves wine but wants to find out more. Arranged in an easyto-use format in which different types of wine are shown schematically on a map like the London Underground, the reader can see at a glance the salient features of hundreds of different wines and how they relate to each other in terms of taste. A unique and original tool to navigate the complex world of wine, The Pocket Guide to Wine enables wine lovers to find out more about the wines they already like and to make informed choices as they explore further. Includes useful information on: • what to look for in wine and what to avoid • getting the most from wine • getting the best value for money • food matching • wine for different occasions

www.birlinn.co.uk www.birlinn.co.uk

IAN BUXTON August 2015: 101 Gins Who is Ian Buxton? Ian Buxton has been working in and around the whisky industry for about 20 years, but has been drinking professionally for a good deal longer. He began writing regularly for Whisky Magazine shortly after it launched, and now also writes for The Keeper, Country Life, Scotland Magazine, Scottish Field and in Russia for Whisky and Magnum magazines. Ian has published three books: Whisky History, Hints & Tips, a facsimile edition of Aeneas MacDonald’s 1930 classic Whisky and 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die. Author based: Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Sheffield’s Festival of Words, Dundee Literature Festival, Wigtown Book Festival @101Whiskies

About 101 Gins: We’re in the middle of a new Gin Craze. From being the drink of choice of middle-aged, Jaguar-driving golfers and an easy target for stand-up comedians, today it’s harder to find anything hipper on the international bar scene. But how do you choose? Is Edinburgh Gin a style, or just a brand name? Can a rose-flower and cucumber infusion properly be called gin? Can gin be aged in wood or does that just make it a strange tasting young whisky? What tonic to choose, and why? Perhaps it’s safer to stick to the classic brands your parents drank? From Adnams to Zuidam; Beefeater to Bombay and London to Plymouth (and beyond) this new book from best-selling drinks writer Ian Buxton will be the authoritative guide to the new world of gin. It may have taken more than 250 years, but gin has now shaken off its reputation for debauchery and ruin to take its place as one of the hottest of world spirits. Not that a hint of debauchery and ruin does its image any harm . . . Praise for 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die: ‘His writing is down-to-earth, humorous and unpretentious’ – Scottish Life ‘Whiskey expert Ian Buxton does away with connoisseur pomp to deliver this smartly designed little guide to the best brown stuff around’ – Time Out (New York) ‘Rather like a drop or two of water in a dram of single malt, Ian Buxton’s lively guide opens the subject of whisky up and lets it breathe...entertaining, enlightening, opinionated and irreverent’ – The Skinny

www.birlinn.co.uk

CARLA LAMONT November 2014: The Ninth Wave: Love and Food on the Isle of Mull Who is Carla Lamont? Carla Lamont is from Victoria, Canada. She came over to Scotland in 1994 to work in a restaurant on Iona. She met her husband John in the village of Fionnphort, Mull, where they have lived ever since and set up their increasingly acclaimed restaurant in 2009. The Ninth Wave restaurant was 2013 Restaurant of the Year in the Highland & Islands Food & Drink Awards. About The Ninth Wave: Owners of the Ninth Wave Restaurant on the Isle of Mull, Carla and John Lamont, have brought fine dining to one of the most beautiful islands in the Hebrides. Their cooking is based on seasonality â&#x20AC;&#x201C; using the wonderful natural larder of fruit,vegetables, game and seafood at the times of year when they are available and at their best. Lobster, crab, hand-dived scallops and fish are often caught only hours before appearing on the dinner-plate. John, a fisherman himself, will not only catch crab and lobster on his own fishing boat, but will act as waiter and wine steward in the restaurant in the evening.

Author based: Mull Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals

Carla tells the story of how she came to set up the restaurant in a remote corner of Scotland and captures the zest and creativity of its menu in detailed and easy-to-follow recipes. This is a book to treasure and to turn to again and again.

www.birlinn.co.uk www.birlinn.co.uk

SUE LAWRENCE June 2015: The Scottish Berries Bible July 2014: Scottish Baking Who is Sue Lawrence: Sue Lawrence, the ‘Queen of Baking’, is a food writer and journalist who has written many books on cooking and baking, including The Scottish Kitchen (2002), The Sue Lawrence Book of Baking (2004) and Eating In (2011). She won Masterchef in 1991 and regularly features on STV’s The Hour. In December 2013 she appeared on the Christmas Edition of the Great British Bake Off.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent events: Fringe by the Sea, Scottish Baking Awards, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Stirling Book Festival

About The Scottish Berries Bible: The latest in Birlinn’s bestselling Food Bible series combines new and traditional recipes, including Bramble Clafoutis, Strawberry Risotto, Chocolate Raspberry Brownies, Duck with Blackcurrants, Redcurrant and Apple Lattice Pie and Blaeberry Polenta Cake. Sue provides recipes that are easy to cook but reliably produce delicious results. About Scottish Baking: In recent times Britain as a whole can’t get enough of programmes like The Great British Bake-off and The Fabulous Baker Boys, but Scotland has always had a wonderful tradition of baking in both sweet and savoury recipes. Leading cookery writer Sue Lawrence has now combined her two passions, for baking and Scottish cooking, into one definitive book. A compendium of 70 easy-to-follow recipes, it brings together the traditional breads, scones and cakes that have shaped Scotland’s great baking heritage and new contemporary bakes like Sticky Toffee Apple Cake and Coconut Cherry Chocolate Traybake. This is a book that will reach out to anyone who loves to dabble with flour, sugar, and butter. Praise for Sue Lawrence: ‘The queen of home baking . . . Sue Lawrence’s Book of Baking is full of homely, sensible, practical recipes that cover all the winter bases. But just when you think you’ve got this book neatly pigeon-holed, it springs some surprises’ – Time Out ‘If you weren’t already hooked on baking, you will be after this’ - Sainsbury’s Magzine ‘There couldn’t be a book by Sue Lawrence that I wouldn’t want to own and, indeed, I’d be horrified to learn that there were any titles I don’t own. She writes beautifully, is as much chatty historian as cookery writer and her recipes always interest me and make me ravenous’ – Nigella Lawson

www.birlinn.co.uk

NICHOLA FLETCHER May 2015: Venison Bible (pbk) Who is Nichola Fletcher? Nichola Fletcher is widely known for her work with venison and game. She and her husband John started Britain’s first deer farm in 1973, and Nichola has devoted her life since then to helping people to appreciate, understand and cook venison and other game meats. The Fletchers have been nominated for a Slow Food Award, and were joint winners of the Best Food Producer category in the 2006 BBC Food & Farming Awards for their work with venison. She has advised businesses all over the world on venison production and processing. Nichola is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.

Author based: Fife Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent events: Royal Highland Show

She is past Chairman of the British Deer Farmers Association Promotions Committee, and was also a Director of Scottish Farm Venison Ltd. As Deputy Chair of the Food Trust of Scotland she is a champion of the small specialist food producer and a founder member of the Scottish Food Group. She was awarded the 1994 Scottish Food Achievement Award for her work for the Scottish venison industry. Over the years Nichola has given many specialist workshop courses for cookery schools, private tuition sessions, and international lectures. She did the game cooking demonstrations for the CLA Game Fair for many years and has done the Scottish Game Fair demonstrations since it started. She works with the Deer Commission for Scotland on their ‘Best Practice’ events, teaching stalkers how to make the best of their venison.

www.nicholafletcher.com

Her favourite game event however is her Tutored Game Tastings - a unique sensory experience. She is an enthusiast for mounting food extravaganzas and recreations of former glorious food occasions. About The Venison Bible: A new addition to Birlinn’s bestselling Food Bible series, illustrated with Bob Dewar’s delightfully quirky cartoons. Nichola Fletcher combines new and traditional recipes for venison.

www.birlinn.co.uk www.birlinn.co.uk

CLAIRE MACDONALD October 2015: Scottish Game Also Available: Lifting the Lid: A Life at Kinloch Lodge, Skye (2014); The Scottish Food Bible (2014); The Scottish Salmon Bible (2013); The Claire MacDonald Cookbook (2012); Entertaining Solo (2012); Simply Seasonal (2012); Fish (2012)

Author based: Skye Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small. Recent events: Royal Highland Show, Borders Book Festival, Boswell Book Festival, Skye Book Festival

Who is Claire Macdonald? Claire Macdonald is one of the best known figures in the culinary world today. A hugely successful and critically acclaimed cookery writer for over thirty years, she has garnered numerous awards and has appeared regularly on TV and at cookery demonstrations and courses all over the globe. In addition to all this, for forty years she ran the award-winning and internationally renowned Kinloch House Lodge on Skye. Cited as one of the world’s top 25 small hotels in Condé Nast Traveller magazine, Kinloch’s restaurant is one of only 16 restaurants in Scotland to have been awarded a coveted Michelin star. About Scottish Game : In this book Claire Macdonald de-mystifies game cooking, with a wide and varied selection of recipes for pheasant, wild duck, partridge and snipe, woodcock, venison, hare, wild boar and wild salmon. In addition to tips on roasting, she also includes useful information on what combines well with different types of game – lentils, beans, root vegetables, dark green vegetables and mushrooms – and sauces and jellies that make excellent accompaniments. She also shows how game can be combined – game pie, for example, can be composed of pheasant, grouse, a leg of hare or a partridge. Similar recipes include game pudding with a lemon and thyme suet crust, game stock, game soup, salami of game, game terrine, game with an oatmeal crumble, potted game with walnuts, and game shepherd’s pie. About Lifting the Lid : In this book Claire looks back over four eventful decades to tell the story of how she, her husband, clan chief Godfrey Macdonald of Macdonald, and their family built up Kinloch from insignificant beginnings in a remote but spectacularly beautiful corner of Skye to the great culinary institution it is today. Full of anecdote and humour, it also reveals how hard it was to achieve their dream. Praise for Claire Macdonald : ‘She radiates a love of cooking and ... a love for eating’ – Homes and Gardens ‘Claire Macdonald is one of the country’s most respected cooks’ – Sunday Post

www.birlinn.co.uk

ANDREW DUFF May 2015: Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom Who is Andrew Duff? Andrew Duff is a freelance journalist based in London and Scotland who writes on India and related subjects. In the UK his work has appeared in The Times, The Financial Times and the Sunday Telegraph, and in India in the Times of India and the India Quarterly. He travels frequently in India and East Asia. About Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom: This is the true story of Sikkim, a tiny Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas that survived the end of the British Empire in India only to be annexed by India in 1975.

Author based: London and Scotland Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small

It tells the remarkable story of Thondup, the last King of Sikkim, and his American wife Hope Cooke, thrust unwittingly into the spotlight as they sought support for Sikkim’s independence after their ‘fairytale’ wedding in 1963. But as tensions between India and China spilled over into war in the Himalayas, Sikkim became a pawn in the Cold War ideological battle that played out in Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Rumours circulated that Hope was a CIA spy. Meanwhile a shadowy Scottish adventuress, the Kazini of Chakung, married to Sikkim’s leading political figure, coordinated opposition to the Palace. As the geopolitical tectonic plates of the Himalayas ground together forming the political landscape that exists today, Sikkim never stood a chance. On the eve of declaring an Emergency in India, Indira Gandhi brazenly annexed the country. Thondup died a broken man in 1982; Hope returned to New York; Sikkim began a new phase as India’s 2nd state.

www.andrewduff.net www.sikkimrequiem.com

Based on interviews, archive research as well as a retracing of a journey the author’s grandfather made in 1922, this is a thrilling, romantic and informative glimpse of life in Shangri La.

www.birlinn.co.uk www.birlinn.co.uk

STRUAN STEVENSON June 2015: Self-Sacrifice: Life with the Mojahedin February 2013: So Much Wind: The Myth of Green Energy August 2012: Stalin’s Legacy: The Soviet War on Nature

Author based: Ayrshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Skye Book Festival, Spirit of Moray Book Festival, Wigtown Book Festival

Who is Struan Stevenson? Struan Stevenson represented Scotland in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014. He was President of the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development Intergroup and Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq. In 2010 he was appointed by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation Europe (OSCE) as a Personal Representative (Roving Ambassador) of the Chairman in Office (Kazakhstan) responsible for Ecology and Environment with a particular focus on Central Asia. His book, Stalin’s Legacy, was published in August 2012 and So Much Wind in February 2013.

About Sacrifice: The People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI) is an Iranian opposition movement in exile and the key component of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Regarded as a terrorist organization in the EU until 2009, and in the USA and Canada until 2012, it renounced violence in 2001. Whilst its leaders are based in Paris, some 3,500 are currently held in Camp Liberty, near Baghdad Airport, in appalling conditions. In this book, former MEP Struan Stevenson tells how he became an active collaborator and supporter of the PMOI, visiting Baghdad and Erbil on several occasions and meeting political and religious leaders, despite being warned to sever links with the organization by the UK government and MI5, and facing constant threats and smear campaigns from the Iranian mullahs. He exposes the brutality of the clerical regime in Iran and their execution of over 130,000 PMOI supporters, interspersing his own story with short interviews with PMOI political prisoners who were tortured and held in inhumane conditions. His excoriating conclusion lays the blame for the escalating crisis in the Middle East firmly at the door of failed UN, EU and US policies. Praise for So Much Wind: ‘Thought-provoking’ – Scottish Field

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IAN FRASER October 2015: Shredded: Inside RBS, the Bank That Broke Britain (updated pbk edition) June 2014: Shredded: Inside RBS, the Bank That Broke Britain Who is Ian Fraser? Ian Fraser is an award-winning journalist, commentator and broadcaster whose work has been published by among others the Economist, Financial Times, The Sunday Times, Independent on Sunday, Guardian, Observer, Mail on Sunday, Herald, Sunday Herald, Thomson Reuters, Huffington Post, economia and QFINANCE. He has taught at the University of Stirling, and his BBC documentary, RBS: The Bank That Ran Out of Money, was short-listed for a Bafta. He is a graduate of St Andrews University and lives in Scotland. About Shredded: At its zenith, the Royal Bank of Scotland was the world’s biggest bank. It had assets of $3 trillion, employed over 200,000 people, had branches on every high street and was admired and trusted by millions of borrowers and investors. Now the mere mention of its name causes anger and resentment, and its former CEO, Fred Goodwin, is reviled as one of the architects of the worst financial crisis since 1929.

Author based: London and Scotland Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival, National Library of Scotland www.ianfraser.org @ian_fraser

In Shredded, Ian Fraser lifts the lid on the catastrophic mistakes that led the bank to the brink of collapse, scrutinizing the role played by RBS’s directors who failed to check Goodwin’s hubris, the colleagues who were overawed by his despotic leadership style, the politicians who created a regulatory free-for-all in which banks went virtually unsupervised, and the investors who egged Goodwin on. As more and more toxic details emerge about the bank’s pre- and post-bailout misconduct, which stretches from the ruination of numerous small businesses in the UK and Ireland to the criminal fiddling of Yen Libor, and from the alleged manipulation of global foreign-exchange markets to the wholesale ‘mis-selling’ of US mortgage bonds, Ian Fraser examines what the future holds for RBS and whether it can ever regain the public’s trust. Praise for Shredded: ‘Shredded is a definitive and unflinching 435-page account of exactly what went wrong . . . a compelling book for Scotland, for finance and for the political and business world’ – Bill Jamieson, Scotsman ‘‘Shredded is a monumental book, well written, impeccably researched and hard to put down at any point’ -- Financial Times

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PATRICIA R. ANDREW November 2014: A Chasm in Time: Scottish War Art and Artists in the Twentieth Century (hbk) Who is Patricia R. Andrew? Dr Patricia R. Andrew FSA FSA Scot AMA FRSA is a freelance museum consultant, researcher and lecturer who has published widely in academic journals, and has also contributed to co-authored books and written numerous exhibition catalogues.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Lauriston Castle, National Galleries of Scotland, People’s Palace, Edinburgh Central Library, Pitlochry Winter Words

About A Chasm in Time: This book examines Scottish artists and their experience of war, and Scotland at war as recorded and interpreted by artists, with reproductions of over 200 works of art. Patricia Andrew looks at the context in which artists undertook their work, how it was received, and the influence the experience had on their careers. Although the book concentrates on the First and Second World wars, it begins as the century opens with the ongoing war in South Africa, and ends with recent conflicts which are still continuing today. Themes discussed include developments in photography, poster design, and camouflage. The artists include those who were conscientious objectors, or peacetime meditators on war. The concluding chapter examines how Scotland has commemorated and remembered the sacrifices made during a century of conflict. Artists include: William Skeoch Cumming, F.C.B. Cadell, Sir John Lavery, Muirhead Bone (Britain’s first official war artist), Norah Neilson Gray, Franc P. Martin, William Gillies, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J.D. Fergusson, James McBey, D.Y. Cameron, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Keith Henderson, Robert Sivell, Hugh Adam Crawford, Eduardo Paolozzi, Benno Schotz, Earl Haig, Ian Eadie, Ian Fleming, Robert Henderson Blyth, Ian Hamilton Finlay, William Gear, John Kirkwood and Neil Dallas Brown. The book also features the work of the ‘friendly invasions’ of artists to Scotland during the two World Wars: the many Poles, Australians and Canadians, and English artists such as Charles Pears, Ronald Searle, Stanley Spencer and Eric Ravilious.

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ROGER HUTCHINSON October 2014: St Kilda: A People’s History (hbk) Also available: The Silent Weaver (pbk) (2011); The Toon (pbk) (2010); Father Allan (pbk) (2010); Walking to America (hbk) (2009); Calum’s Road (pbk) (2008); Calum’s Road (hbk) (2006); The Soap Man (pbk) (2005); The Soap Man (hbk) (2003); Camanachd! (pbk) (2004) Who is Roger Hutchinson? Roger Hutchinson is an award-winning author and journalist. After working as an editor in London, in 1977 he joined the West Highland Free Press in Skye. Since then he has published thirteen books, including Polly: the True Story behind Whisky Galore. He is still a columnist for the WHFP, and has written for BBC Radio, the Scotsman, the Guardian, the Herald and The Literary Review. His book The Soap Man (Birlinn 2003) was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year (2004) and the bestselling Calum’s Road (2007) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize. About St Kilda: St Kilda is the most romantic and most romanticised group of islands in Europe. Soaring out of the North Atlantic Ocean like Atlantis come back to life, the islands have captured our imagination for hundreds of years. Their inhabitants, Scottish Gaels who lived off the land, the sea and by birdcatching on high and precipitous cliffs, were long considered to be the Noble Savages of the British Isles, living in a state of natural grace.

Author based: Raasay Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Islay Book Festival, Ullapool Book Festival, Wigtown Book Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival

St Kilda: A People’s History explores and portrays the real life of the St Kildans from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Roger Hutchinson, a bestselling author with 40 years’ experience of Hebridean islands, digs deep into the archives to paint a vivid picture of the life and death, work and play of a small, proud and self-sufficient people. Praise for Calum’s Road: ‘wonderful, elegant and serious’ – The Telegraph ‘This is an extraordinarily fine book, and one of the most important books to have come out of the Highlands and Islands in recent yearst’ – West Highland Free Press

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IAN CROFTON May 2015: A History of Scotland without the Boring Bits Also available: Walking the Border: A Journey Between Scotland and England (2014); A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable Who is Ian Crofton? Ian Crofton was born in Edinburgh and worked for Collins in Glasgow before moving to London, where he has been a freelance writer and editor for 25 years. Previous books include Brewer’s Dictionary of Curious Titles; Brewer’s Britain and Ireland (with John Ayto); Brewer’s Cabinet of Curiosities; A Dictionary of Art Quotations; History without the Boring Bits; Science without the Boring Bits; and A Dictionary of Scottish Quotations.

Author based: London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals @iancrofton

About The History of Scotland Without the Boring Bits: As an antidote to more sober accounts of Scotland’s history, Ian Crofon offers a colourful chronology of the eccentric, the infamous, the bawdy, the horrific and the hilarious people and events that have spattered across the pages of our nation’s story. From the Royal High School riot to Marocco the Wonder Horse, from the War of the One-Eyed Woman to the MP cleared of stealing his ex-mistress’s knickers, A History of Scotland Without the Boring Bits includes a host of littleknown tales that you won’t find in more conventional works of history, including the chatelaine who struck a general over the head with a leg of mutton, the cow that gave birth to fourteen puppies, the clan chief who ripped out the throat of his enemy with his teeth, the surgeon who was so fast with the saw that he inadvertently took off his patient’s testicles as well as his leg, and the mathematician who calculated that the Christian religion would finally disappear in the year 3153. About Walking the Border: In this book Ian Crofton makes a journey on foot from Gretna Green in the southwest to Berwick in the northeast, following as close as possible the Anglo-Scottish border as it has been fixed since the union of the crowns in 1603. Much of the line of the border runs through a wild, overwhelmingly unvisited no man’s land – the sort of trackless waste perfect for keeping two belligerent peoples apart? During the course of his journey Ian Crofton considers a number of questions, such as how ‘natural’ are borderlines? Sometimes they follow physical barriers, sometimes an arbitrary line on a map, the compromise made by some committee of distant diplomats.

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DAVID SPAVEN September 2015: The Scottish Railway Atlas (hbk). This will be published as the Borders railway line opens. Who is David Spaven? David Spaven was born and brought up in Edinburgh, and has lived and worked in Inverness, London and Glasgow. He spent his whole working life in the rail industry and is the author of a number of acclaimed railways books, including Mapping the Railways (HarperCollins, 2011) and Britain’s Scenic Railways (HarperCollins, 2012). About The Scottish Railway Atlas: The rich diversity of Scotland’s railway network has never before been the subject of a specialist atlas. This book showcases 100 topographical and railway maps, telling the story of the country’s railways from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Researched and written by David Spaven – who co-wrote the best-selling Mapping the Railways on the history of Britain’s rail network – this beautiful atlas allows the reader to understand the bigger story of the effects of the railways on the landscape and the impact of Scotland’s distinctive geography on the pattern of railway development over a period of nearly 200 years.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore and external events and festivals large and small Recent Events: Borders Book Festival

The unique map selection is supported by an informative commentary of key cartographic, geographic and historical features. This sumptuous atlas will appeal not just to railway enthusiasts and those who appreciate the beauty of maps, but also to readers fascinated by the role of railways in Scotland’s modern developments

www.deltix.co.uk

Praise for Britain’s Scenic Railways: “The authors, Julian Holland and David Spaven are clearly old hands at exploring the country’s railways – and it shows.” BBC Country File Praise for Waverley Route: ‘Extremely well-researched, and elegantly written’ – Keith Aitken, Daily Express ‘Marvellous’ -- David Parker, Scottish Borders Council

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ALAN MCKIRDY June 2015: Set in Stone (pbk) Also available: Land of Mountain and Flood (pbk) (2009); Land of Mountain and Flood (hbk) (2007) Who is Alan McKirdy? Alan McKirdy has worked in conservation for almost thirty years. He has edited or written many popular books on geology and has contributed to a number of TV and radio programmes.

Author based: Perthshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, MV Festival

About Set in Stone: The land that was to become Scotland has travelled across the globe over the last 3,000 million years. During these travels, there were many continental collisions, creating mountain belts as high as the present-day Himalayas. The Highlands of Scotland were formed in this way. Our climate too has changed dramatically over the last 3 billion years from the deep freeze of the Ice Age to the scorching heat of the desert. And within a relatively short time – geologically speaking, we will plunge back into another ice age. Alan McKirdy traces Scotland’s amazing geological journey, explaining for the non-specialist reader why the landscape looks the way it does today. He also explores how Scots and those working in Scotland have played a seminal role in the development of the science of geology. About Land of Mountain and Flood: Scotland is justly famed for its magnificent scenery mountains, lochs, islands, wild rocky places and sandy beaches. The sheer diversity of Scotland’s rocks and landforms are the physical reminders of a fascinating journey through time. They reveal that the land that makes up Scotland today has travelled the world and has not always even belonged to one single continental landmass. Continents formed and split apart, ancient volcanoes erupted vast quantities of lava and Ice Age glaciers shaped the landscape. Containing a huge amount of detailed information presented in clear, comprehensible language and enhanced throughtout with specially commissioned illustrations, diagrams and photographs, this is an essential book for anyone interested in the world around them. Praise for Land of Mountain and Flood: ‘Big and beautifully illustrated, this book is rigorous yet lucid, and written with patriotic pride - a work of more than scientific importance, *****’ – Scotsman

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‘This book is a must for anyone who has spent time in Scotland’s great outdoors wondering at the landscape’ – Scottish Wildlife

MAX BENITZ August 2015: Corunna: A Retreat Also available: Six Months without Sundays: The Scots Guards in Afghanistan   Who is Max Benitz? Max Benitz was a child actor, appearing most notably in the box-office success Master and Commander. Following his studies for a degree at Edinburgh University, Max spent several months with the Scots Guards in Afghanistan, resulting in his debut book, Six Months Without Sundays. About Corunna: A Retreat : The Peninsular War, 1807–1814, began in near disaster for Britain, with France battling Spain, Britain and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula. Lieutenant General Sir John Moore lost nearly a quarter of his men during the retreat to Corunna and was killed as the army reached safety. Eyewitnesses and historians have disagreed about the campaign ever since. Moore, the son of a Glasgow doctor, was at odds with the Tory administration of the time; partisan accounts have variously stated that he rescued an army placed in an impossible situation or charged him with being the architect of its ruin. What is undisputed is the atrocious conduct of many British troops as they passed through the towns and villages of Leon and Galicia in the winter of 18089. Drunkenness, theft and arson became the army’s emblems. Were they poorly led or did this volunteer army, effectively, choose to riot in response to the course of the campaign? To attempt to answer these and many other questions, author Max Benitz walked the route of the retreat in the winter of 2013-14. His forthcoming book seeks to tell the story of this controversial episode in British military history and place it in its appropriate cultural and political context.

Author based: London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival Queen Victoria School, Dunblane; Dundee Literary Festival

Praise for Six Months Without Sundays : ‘Subtle and unusually well-written ... an account of a battalion’s largely unreported war’ –Tom Coghlan, The Times ‘Fascinating ... Benitz writes well and has an empathy for the fighting men of his generation that some older chroniclers have occasionally struggled to replicate. A worthwhile addition to the growing canon of Afghan war literature’ – Scottish Field ‘Well structured, meticulously researched, and offers an on the ground view of the campaign that is both dramatic and enlightening’ – The Scotsman

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CHRISTOPHER FLEET October 2014: Edinburgh: Mapping the City Also available: Scotland: Mapping the Nation (hbk) (2011) Who is Christopher Fleet? Chris Fleet is Senior Map Curator at the National Library of Scotland. In 2010 he was awarded both the Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and its Bartholomew Globe for excellence in the assembly, delivery and application of geographical information through cartography, GIS and related techniques. Chris Fleet was one of the co-authors of Scotland: Mapping a Nation published by Birlinn.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Spirit of Moray Book Festival, Imprint Festival, British Science Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival, National Library of Scotland

About Edinburgh: Mapping the City: Maps can tell much about the story of a place that traditional histories fail to communicate. This is particularly true of Edinburgh, one of the most visually stunning cities in Europe and a place rich in historical and cultural associations. This lavishly illustrated book features 80 maps of Edinburgh which have been selected for the particular stories they reveal about different political, commercial and social aspects. Together, they present a fascinating insight into how Edinburgh has changed and developed over the last 500 years, and will appeal to all those with an interest in Edinburgh and Scottish history, as well as other audiences – those interested in urban history, architectural history, town planning and the history of cartography. About Scotland: Mapping the Nation: Whilst documents and other written material are obvious resources that help shape our view of the past, maps too can say much about a nation’s history. This is the first book to take maps seriously as a form of history, from the earliest representations of Scotland by Ptolemy in the second century AD to the most recent form of Scotland’s mapping and geographical representation in GIS, satellite imagery and SATNAV. Compiled by three experts who have spent their lives working with maps, Scotland: Mapping the Nation offers a fascinating and thought-provoking perspective on Scottish history. Praise for Scotland: Mapping the Nation: ‘Some books are simply so magnificent in their scope and execution you know they are destined to become classics from the moment you open the cover and begin to turn the pages. Scotland: Mapping the Nation is one of those books’ – Undiscovered Scotland

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DANIEL MACCANNELL March 2015: Understanding Scottish Buildings (pbk) October 2014: Edinburgh: Mapping the City Also available: Lost Banff and Buchan (pbk) Who is Daniel MacCannell? Daniel MacCannell, a graduate of Aberdeen University and UCLA Film School, is a widely published writer who has received the Jack Nicholson prize and has been nominated for the Fotokem Maverick Award for his fictional work. He edited the highly acclaimed The Lost City: Old Aberdeen, also published by Birlinn. His latest books are, Lost Deeside and Lost Banff and Buchan. About Understanding Scottish Buildings: Scotland has a huge and diverse amount of built heritage. Yet most writing about this fascinating subject is overly technical â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an alphabet soup of L-plans, Z-plans and bartizans. Understanding Scottish Buildings is a unique, informative and refreshing companion to Scottish architecture that dispenses with jargon to enable us to appreciate Scottish buildings with regard to their ages, styles, influences, and functions, as well as the messages that their builders, owners and occupants intended them to convey. Readers will be able to answer for themselves a whole host of questions about function, style, age and building techniques that will make a visit to any historic Scottish building a rewarding and enriching experience.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstores and external events, festivals large and small Recent Events: Spirit of Moray Book Festival

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FICTION

CHRISTOPHER JORY April 2015: The Art of Waiting (hbk) Who is Christopher Jory? Christopher Jory was born in 1968 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He spent his early childhood in Barbados, Venezuela and finally Oxfordshire. He did a degree in English Literature and Philosophy at Leicester University and then worked as an English teacher for the British Council and other organisations in Italy, Spain, Crete, Brazil and Venezuela. He is currently a Publisher at Cambridge University Press. His first book, Lost in the Flames (Troubadour, 2011), was a moving account of RAF Bomber Command airmen and their families. About The Art of Waiting: Russia, 1943. A girl from Leningrad, a soldier from Venice, standing together on the edge of wilderness. She approaches him, a shadow of a man, trapped behind wire, an enemy in her land. She takes something from her pocket, slips her hand through the wire, and catches her skin on one of the barbs. Up comes a tiny sphere of blood. ‘Have this,’ she says, and the wind carries her voice away across the steppe. The man takes the gift – a small crust of bread, a little piece of hope – and its memory will keep him alive on his long journey home. And when home again, which way will he tip, which sentiment will be strongest? His quiet love for the girl who saved his life, and for Isabella, and for the re-emerging sense of self that the war had put in the ground and buried? Or his unfulfilled desire for vengeance, to right the wrong that was done to him years before, to see to it that Fausto Pozzi finally pays the price for the terrible thing that he has done?

Author based: Oxfordshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Chipping Campden Literature Festival

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

JAN-PHILIPP SENDKER June 2015: Whispering Shadows (pbk) March 2014: A Well-Tempered Heart March 2013 : The Art of Hearing Heartbeats Who is Jan-Philipp Sendker? Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. He lives in Berlin with his family. In 2000 he published Cracks in the Great Wall, a non-fiction book about China. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was his first novel and is already a bestseller in several European countries and the USA, selling over 400,000 copies in Germany alone. A film is in pre-production. Author based: Berlin Willing to travel: Anywhere in the world Happy to do: Bookstores and external events, festivals large and small. Recent Events: Extensive US and European tours www.artofhearingheartbeats.com www.facebook.com/artofhearingheartbeats

About Whispering Shadows: Paul Leibovitz was once an ambitious advisor, dedicated father, and loving husband. But after living for nearly thirty years in Hong Kong, personal tragedy strikes and Paul’s marriage unravels in the fallout. When he makes a fleeting connection with Elizabeth, a distressed American woman on the verge of collapse, his life is thrown into turmoil. Less than twenty-four hours later, Elizabeth’s son is found dead in Shenzhen, and Paul, invigorated by a newfound purpose, sets out to investigate the murder on his own. As Paul, Elizabeth, and a detective friend descend deeper into the Shenzhen underworld they discover dark secrets hidden beneath China’s booming new wealth. In a country where rich businessmen with expensive degrees can corrupt the judicial system, the potential for evil abounds. About A Well-Tempered Heart : Almost ten years have passed since Julia Win came back from Burma, her father’s native country. Though she is a successful Manhattan lawyer, her private life is at a crossroads. One day, in the middle of an important business meeting, she hears a stranger’s voice in her head. In the following days, her crisis only deepens. Not only does the female voice refuse to disappear, but it starts to ask questions Julia has been trying to avoid. Interwoven with Julia’s story is that of a Burmese woman named Nu Nu who finds her world turned upside down when Burma goes to war and calls on her two young sons to be child soldiers. This spirited novel explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain: the human heart. Praise for Whispering Shadows : ‘An absorbing mystery set in a Hong Kong tourists only glimpse— the dark underside of a money-making beehive trying to find its place in a cynically corrupt new China. Vivid and knowing‘ – Joseph Kanon, New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Berlin

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IAN GARBUTT March 2015: Wasp (hbk) Who is Ian Garbutt? Ian Garbutt has worked in journalism and publishing. He was awarded a Scottish Arts Council New Writerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bursary and attended Edinburgh Napier University. Historical novels are his speciality, and he has published two historical novels for Piatkus under the pseudonym of Melanie Gifford. About Wasp: For a gentleman seeking more prestigious company amidst the bawdy houses of an eighteenth-century city, the House of Masques provides the perfect no-touch escorts. Girls, highly educated and socially trained, are geisha-like status symbols for politicians, bankers and royalty alike. Into this world comes Bethany Harris, a disgraced governess who has been rescued from a madhouse and transformed into the Masque named Wasp. She soon discovers that everyone in the House has a past, and personal horrors, coupled with dark ambition, are leading to a crisis that threatens to destroy the House of Masques and everyone in it.

Author based: Auchterarder Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

DENZIL MEYRICK May 2015: Whisky from Small Glasses July 2015: Dark Suits and Sad Songs Also available: The Last Witness (pbk) (2014) Who is Denzil Meyrick? Denzil Meyrick was educated in Argyll then, after studying politics, joined Strathclyde Police, serving in Glasgow. After being injured and developing back problems, he entered the business world, and has operated in many diverse roles, including director of a large engineering company and distillery manager, as well as owning a number of his own companies, such as a public bar and sales and marketing company. Denzil has also worked as a freelance journalist in both print and on radio. His first novel, Whisky from Small Glasses, was published by Ringwood in 2012. Author based: West Dunbartonshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Spirit of Moray Book Festival

About Dark Suits and Sad Songs: When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It’s clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging on by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley’s world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it’s about survival. About The Last Witness: James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, James Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction. But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. Praise forWhisky from Small Glasses: ‘Touches of dark humour, multi-layered and compelling’ – Daily Record ‘Soon to be mentioned in the same breath as authors such as Alex Gray, Denise Mina and Stuart Macbride . . . very impressive’ – Ian Baillie, Lennox Herald ‘Tartan noir continues to flourish . . . just the right amount of authenticity . . . gritty writing . . . most memorable’ – Herald

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GILLIAN GALBRAITH April 2015: The Good Priest (pbk) September 2015: Troubled Waters (pbk) Also available: The Good Priest (hbk) (2014); Troubled Waters (2014); The Road to Hell (2013); No Sorrow to Die (2011); Dying of the Light (2009); Where the Shadow Falls (2008); and Blood in the Water (2007). Who is Gillian Galbraith? Until 2006, Gillian was an Advocate at the Scottish bar specialising in medical negligence cases. She has also written on legal matters for the Times. Following the publication of Blood in the Water she became a full-time writer. Gillian is an accomplished book festival performer, having appeared on many occasions at the Edinburgh International Book festival, amongst other venues.   About The Good Priest: A Father Vincent Ross Mystery In the house of a Roman Catholic bishop a man lies in a pool of blood. Out in the bishop’s diocese the quiet life of parish priest Father Vincent Ross is about to be thrown into turmoil by a terrifying revelation. There are ugly scandals being hidden by the church he has served for so long, and a murderer is on the prowl. The police and the authorities are groping in the dark, but Father Ross has been given special information that he cannot disclose to anyone. It dawns on him that he and he alone can unravel the mystery and bring the nightmare of violence to an end. He must put his personal safety, his reputation and finally his life on the line.

Author based: Kinross, Perthshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Aye Write Festival, Bloody Scotland, libraries, local festivals

About Troubled Waters: An Alice Rice Mystery A young, disabled girl is lost on a winter’s night in Leith, unable to help herself or find her way home. Someone is combing the streets, frantically searching for her. Within hours of her disappearance, a body is washed up on Beamer Rock, a tiny island in the Forth. No sooner has Detective Inspector Alice Rice managed to discover the identity of that body than another one is washed up in Belhaven Bay. What is the connection between the two bodies? Can Alice solve the puzzle before another life is taken? In this novel, the sixth in the Alice Rice series, appearances belie reality, and truths and falsehoods gradually merge, becoming indistinguishable. Praise for the Alice Rice myteries : ‘This is a vivid and exciting story. There is not a dull page in it’ – Alexander McCall Smith ‘The Edinburgh underworld may have emitted a collective sigh of relief at the departure of Inspector Rebus, but just as they thought it was safe to reclaim the streets of Auld Reekie it seems that a fresh avenger of evil, DS Alice Rice, has come of age’ – Scottish Field

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ROSEMARY GORING May 2015: Dacre’s War (pbk) Also available: After Flodden (pbk) (2014); After Flodden (hbk) (2013)

Author based: Edinburgh and Glasgow Willing to travel: Anywhere in the world Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent Events: Aye Write, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Borders Book Festival, National Library of Scotland, bookstore events. @RosemaryGoring

Who is Rosemary Goring? Rosemary Goring read Economics and Social History at St Andrews University. She started her career in publishing as in-house editor for Chambers Biographical Dictionary and has since edited and written for many reference books, among them the Larousse Dictionaries of Writers and Literary Characters. She is also the author of the best-selling Scotland: The Autobiography (reissued by Penguin Feb 2014). She was Literary Editor of Scotland on Sunday for several years before taking up the Literary Editor role at The Herald and Sunday Herald. About Dacre’s War: Dacre’s War is an ambitious work of historical fiction offering a portrait of a turbulent and confused period of history through the story of the young woman at the heart of the storm. It was originally published to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden, where a decisive victory for the English army over the Scots King James IV altered the path of history that would eventually lead both parties to union. With this, her first work of fiction, Goring combines a subtle but luminous prose style with impeccable research. The daily life of the period is described in fascinating detail and her style is sure to captivate fans of Rose Tremain and Hilary Mantel. Praise for After Flodden: ‘A swashbuckling tale in the best tradition of adventure fiction . . . charged with melancholy and menace’ – Times ‘A fast-paced adventure story that will delight fans of the genre’ – The Lady ‘An epic adventure on a grand scale . . . By combining fact with fiction, the author has skilfully merged the thrill of conspiracy with a touch of romance . . . The sights, sounds and smells of sixteenth century Scotland are impressively reproduced’ – Newbooks

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CHRISTOPHER RUSH August 2015: Penelope’s Web Also available: Will (pbk) (2014) Who is Christopher Rush? Christopher Rush was born in St Monans and taught literature for thirty years in Edinburgh. His books include A Twelvemonth and a Day and the highly acclaimed To Travel Hopefully. A Twelvemonth and a Day served as inspiration for the film Venus Peter, released in 1989. The story was also reworked by Rush in a simplified version in 1992 as a children’s picture book, Venus Peter Saves the Whale, illustrated by Mairi Hedderwick, which won the Friends of the Earth 1993 Earthworm Award for the book published that year that would most help children to enjoy and care for the Earth About Penelope’s Web: Odysseus returns to Ithaca after nearly twenty years, half of it spent as a soldier and the other half as a soldier of fortune. During his absence his wife Penelope remained faithful, despite Odysseus being missing and presumed dead, but when her husband suddenly reappears he confronts those who have been trying to seduce his wife and kills them all. The perspectives of Odysseus and Penelope question one another, as do their distinctly contrasting voices, the lines between them often blurring as the reader is led deeper into the question of what constitutes reality and truth. Odysseus’ account of his long journey home (his womanising, uncertainties and ambivalence about home) contrasts with Penelope’s web version, into which she weaves an idealised account of that reality, and one much more flattering to her and to her (apparently) faithful and heroic husband. the situations and phrases of his own plays.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: National Library of Scotland

Praise for Will: ‘Startlingly poetic … excellent’ – The Spectator ‘This fictional autobiography does more than eulogize … Burgess is the only other novelist to pass this test’ – Times Literary Supplement ‘A brilliantly witty and imaginative piece of writing – Classic FM

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

SHIRLEY MCKAY September 2015: Queen and Country (pbk) February 2015: Friend & Foe: A Hew Cullen Mystery (pbk) Also available: Friend & Foe: A Hew Cullen Mystery (2014); Time & Tide (2011); Fate & Fortune (2010); and Hue & Cry (2009).

Author based: Fife Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Bloody Scotland, Inverness Book Festival, Skye Book Festival, Newcastle Festival, various bookstores.

Who is Shirley McKay? Shirley McKay was born in Tynemouth but now lives with her family in Fife. At the age of fifteen she won the Young Observer playwriting competition, her play being performed at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. She went on to study English and Linguistics at the University of St Andrews before attending Durham University for postgraduate study in Romantic and seventeenth-century prose. She was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger. Shirley works as a freelance proofreader.   About Friend & Foe: St Andrews, 1583. The young king James VI is confined at Falkland Palace, plotting his escape. Dissension rages between Kirk and Crown, the king and his ‘lord enterprisers’, and between the separate factions of the church. In St Andrews Castle, a bishop in decline plays out his darkest fantasies, while Hew and his friend Giles investigate the true source of his sickness, uncovering corruption at its heart. The death of a young soldier, implicating Hew’s sister and Giles’s wife Meg, leads Hew to an astonishing discovery, and towards his blackest hour, his fortunes inextricable from those of James himself. About Time & Tide: In the swell of a storm, a ship is wrecked in St Andrews harbour. A young Flemish sailor, the last man aboard, collapses and dies at the inn. The cargo of the ship appears a welcome windfall but soon brings devastation to the town as petty squabbling turns to rage and tragedy. Hew traces the ship to its source in Ghent, where he uncovers a strange secret. Unwilling to allow the law to take its course, he returns once more to the bitter role of advocate, to find his deepest principles are tested to the core. Praise for the Shirley McKay: ‘A gripping mystery that holds the reader to the very last page, and a marvellous portrait of St Andrews in the sixteenth century ‘ – John Burnside ‘Intoxicating mix of dramatic crime and repressed passion’ – New Books

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

MICHAEL F. RUSSELL June 2015: Lie of the Land Who is Michael F. Russell? Michael F. Russell grew up on the Isle of Barra before leaving to study Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Journalism Studies at the University of Strathclyde. He is deputy editor at the West Highland Free Press and writes occasionally for the Sunday Herald. His writing has appeared in Gutter, Northwords Now and Fractured West. He lives on Skye with his partner and two children. About Lie of the Land: For investigative journalist Carl Shewan, the Scottish coastal village of Inverlair is a picturesque cage. Imprisoned in this remote refuge by a technological catastrophe for which he feels partly responsible, Carl struggles to adapt to impending fatherhood and to a harsh new existence in an ancient landscape, until a childless gamekeeper offers him an alternative to guilt and alienation. Set in the near future, Lie of the Land examines the claustrophobia of small-town life and questions how far the state will go to preserve an orderly society, one in which ubiquitous surveillance has reduced human life to a virtual experience.

Author based: Skye Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

SPORT

JOHN DEERING May 2015: Lost: The Frank Vandenbrouke Story September 2014: How to be a Cyclist: An A –Z of Life on Two Wheels

Author based Middlesex/London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small.

Who is John Deering? John Deering’s first book was a study of his time with the chaotic but charismatic Linda McCartney Cycling Team and went on to be voted 5th-best cycling book of all time. He has supplied many features to publications such as Procycling, the Official Tour de France Guide and Ride Cycling Review, and contributed regularly to Eurosport’s cycling coverage. He is the author of Bradley Wiggins: Tour de Force, published by Arena Sport. About Lost: The Frank Vandenbrouke Story: Frank Vandenbroucke is the great lost talent of world road cycling. Born in Mouscron in Belgium in 1974, he went on to race for three of the biggest professional teams on the world circuit – Lotto, Mapei and Cofidis, and became the darling of the cycling press for his daring approach to winning races. Between 1993 and 1999 he won a slew of races, including the Liege–Bastogne–Liege (known amongst the cycling fraternity as the hardest race in the world), Het Volk, Paris–Nice, Paris– Brussels and stages of the Tour of Spain. The Tour de France was in his sights. But his personal life was another story; he became addicted to cocaine and succumbed to pressures within his teams to take EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs until he effectively ended his career in 2004, aged only 30. Five years later, he was dead. In this extraordinary biography, John Deering pieces together the chaos of VDB’s story, painting a captivating portrait of the outrageous highs and the tragic lows of one of cycling’s greatest lost talents. About How to be a Cyclist : The essential manual and source of wisdom for those who would-be kings of the road. Many pitfalls await the unwary middle-aged-man-in-Lycra, but fear not, for the Guide is here to steer you through choppy waters. No more passing out halfway up a hill. No more ridicule in the work place. No more hurty knee. And no more sock crimes. Pearls of wisdom are scattered throughout this book like rose petals before a princess on her wedding day. For instance, who could deny that life is too short to drink bad coffee? That a noisy bike is marginally more annoying than a whiney toddler? Or that style should ever be sacrificed for speed? How to be a Cyclist features stunning, inspirational photography by Phil Ashley.

www.arenasportbooks.co.uk

STEPHEN JONES & NICK CAIN November 2014: Behind the Rose: Playing Rugby for England (hbk) Who is Stephen Jones? Stephen Jones is a multi award-winning The Sunday Times rugby correspondent and world-renowned rugby expert. He is the author of several books on the sport, including Endless Winter: Inside Story of the Rugby Revolution which won the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. Who is Nick Cain? Nick Cain is a rugby columnist for The Sunday Times and chief writer for The Rugby Paper. He edited Rugby World magazine for nine years, and is the co-author of The Lions Diary with Jeremy Guscott and Rugby Union for Dummies. About Behind the Rose : This is a complete history of the England rugby union team – told by the players themselves. Based on a combination of painstaking research into the early years of the England team through exclusive interviews with a vast array of Test match stars from before the Second World War to the present day, world-renowned rugby writers Stephen Jones and Nick Cain delve to the very heart of the English international rugby union experience, painting a unique and utterly compelling picture of the game in the only words that can truly do so: the players’ own.

Author based Middlesex/London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small.

This is the definitive story of English Test match rugby – a story etched in blood, sweat and tears; a story of great joy and heart-breaking sorrow; a story of sacrifice, agony, endeavour and triumph. Behind the Rose lifts the lid on what it is to play for England – the trials and tribulations behind the scenes, the glory, the drama and the honour on the field, and the heart-warming tales of friendship and humour off it. Absorbing and illuminating, this is a must-have for all supporters who have ever dreamed of walking the hallowed corridors of Twickenham as a Test match player, preparing themselves for battle in the changing rooms and then marching out to that field of dreams with the deafening roar of the crowd in their ears and the red rose emblazoned on their chest. Praise for Behind the Lions : ‘Utterly compelling’ - Planet Rugby ‘Comfortably the most interesting and entertaining history of the Lions’ - Irish Times

www.arenasportbooks.co.uk

MUSIC

TOM DOYLE

September 2014: Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s (pbk)

Author based: London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Wood Green Literary Festival

Who is Tom Doyle? Tom Doyle is an acclaimed music journalist, author and long-standing contributing editor to Q, whose work has also appeared in Mojo, the Guardian, Marie Claire, Elle, The Times and Sound on Sound. Over the years he has been responsible for key magazine-cover profiles of Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Kate Bush, Elton John, R.E.M. and U2, amongst many others. He is the author of The Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie (Bloomsbury 1998, Polygon 2011) which has attained the status of a classic rock biography since its original publication. About Man on the Run: The most famous living rock musician on the planet, Paul McCartney is now regarded as a slightly cosy figure, an (inter)national treasure. Back in the 1970s, however, McCartney cut a very different figure. He was, literally, a man on the run. Desperately trying to escape the shadow of the Beatles, he became an outlaw hippy millionaire, hiding out on his Scottish farmhouse in Kintyre before travelling the world with makeshift bands and barefoot children. It was a time of numerous drug busts and brilliant, banned and occasionally baffling records. For McCartney, it was an edgy, liberating and sometimes frightening period of his life that has largely been forgotten. Man on the Run paints an illuminating picture: from McCartney’s nervous breakdown following the Beatles’ split through his apparent victimisation by the authorities to the rude awakening of his imprisonment for marijuana possession in Japan in 1980 and the shocking wake-up call of John Lennon’s murder. Ultimately, it poses the question: if you were one quarter of the Beatles, could you really outrun your past? Praise for Man on the Run: The go-to guy if you want to coax confessions from a superstar, Doyle writes without agenda. ****’ – Mojo

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‘Starting with the painful disintegration of the Beatles, Doyle examines the next decade in McCartney’s unimaginably odd existence, from his post-hippy farm idyll with wife Linda to the turbulent highs and lows of Wings . . . most compelling is the book’s portrait of a man in a position that doesn’t come with a guidebook, playing it by ear. ****’ – Q

POETRY LIZ LOCHHEAD

SCOTLAND’S MAKAR (POET LAUREATE) Available: A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead (2011); The Colour of Black and White (2005); Dreaming Frankenstein and Collected Poems (2003); True Confessions and New Cliches (2003) Who is Liz Lochhead? Scottish poet and playwright Liz Lochhead was born in Motherwell in 1947. She is a Fellow of Glasgow School of Art, an Honorary Doctor of Letters of Glasgow University, a Fellow of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and of Glasgow Institute of Art, and is an Honorary President of the Scottish Poetry Library. Her poetry collections include Dreaming Frankenstein (Polygon, 1984), True Confessions and New Clichés (Polygon, 1985), Bagpipe Muzak (Penguin, 1991), and The Colour of Black and White: Poems 1984– 2003 (Polygon, 2003). Her plays include Tartuffe (Polygon, 1986), Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off (Penguin, 1989) and the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award-winning Medea (Nick Hern Books, 2000). Liz Lochhead lives in Glasgow.

Author based Glasgow Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival; Hay Festival; international festivals

About A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead : A stunning new collection of selected works from one of Scotland’s most loved writers. During her career Liz Lochhead has been described variously as a poet, feminist playwright, translator and broadcaster but has said that ‘when somebody asks me what I do I usually say writer. The most precious thing to me is to be a poet. If I were a playwright, I’d like to be a poet in the theatre.’ Liz Lochhead has a large and devoted following and delights audiences whereever she goes. Praise for Liz Lochhead: ‘Human relationships, especially as seen from a woman’s point of view, are central: attraction, pain, acceptance, loss, triumphs and deceptions, habits and surprises; always made immediate through a storyteller’s concrete detail of place or voice or object or colour remembered or imagined’ – Edwin Morgan ‘Dreaming Frankenstein is a rare thing: a book of poems which sparkles’ – The Scotsman

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MICHAEL PEDERSEN July 2013: Play With Me

Author based Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small. Recent events: Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Stanza Poetry Festival.

Who is Michael Pederson? Michael Pedersen is a poet, playwright and animateur with an electric reputation on the performance circuit and a prolific precedent of collaborations, having teamed up with some of the UK’s top musicians, filmmakers and artists. He is widely published in magazines, journals, anthologies and e-zines; his inaugural chapbook Part-Truths (Koo Press) was a Callum MacDonald Memorial Award finalist; its sequel The Basic Algebra of Buttering Bread (Windfall Books) received flocks of reviewer plaudits. He is co-founder and circus master at Neu! Reekie! – now one of the country’s most formidable literary nights, and DIY record labels, and a key creative within Dream Tower Productions. He’s also the lyricist for cult band Jesus, Baby! and has written short plays for various troupes including the National Theatre of Scotland. Having travelled the world and taught in Cambodia for a year, Pedersen writes verse that gives a vivid idea of what it is to be young, socially aware and irrepressibly optimistic in the melting pot of the twenty-first century. About Play With Me : From NHS overdose clinics to overrun gardens, talking Cambodian treehouses to the teenage perversion of a young Scot on a French Exchange, Pedersen’s poetry is a rich and fantastical feast of flavours, landscape and language. On the menu is everything from ice oysters and chateaubriand to pickled onions and Buckfast-soaked bread sticks. Like the man himself, these poems will tingle toes and raise eyebrows in equal measures. Praise for Michael Pedersen : ‘Michael’s poems are so physical you can almost touch the images in them. Fabulously sensual and alive. I adore poetry like this’ – Stephen Fry ‘If you like poetry that is cool, smart, hilarious and quirky and can just suddenly rip your heart out, Michael Pedersen is your man’ – Irvine Welsh

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

RON BUTLIN EDINBURGH’S MAKAR 2008–2014 August 2015: The Magicians of Scotland (pbk) Also available: The Magicians of Edinburgh (2012) Who is Ron Butlin? Ron Butlin is a poet, playwright, novelist, short story writer and opera librettist whose works have been broadcast in the UK and abroad and have been translated into many languages. His volumes of poetry include the award-winning Ragtime in Unfamiliar Bars (Secker & Warburg, 1985) and Histories of Desire (Bloodaxe, 1995). His New and Selected Poems was published by Barzan in 2005. His novels include The Sound of My Voice (winner of the Prix Mille Pages 2004 and Prix Lucioles 2005, both for Best Foreign Novel), Night Visits and most recently Belonging. He was appointed Edinburgh Makar in May 2008. About The Magicians of Scotland : The Magicians of Scotland will build upon the success of The Magicians of Edinburgh (reprinted five times) and on that book’s critical acclaim. In his role as Edinburgh Makar, Ron Butlin will give this collection an Edinburgh emphasis while seeking to celebrate and interrogate Scotland and its people at a crucial turning point in our country’s history. Just as The Magicians of Edinburgh’s themes ranged from Sir Walter Scott to the new Parliament, from Greyfriar’s Bobby to the trams, the themes of the new collection will include Scotland’s past, present and future, its landscape and people, its myths and politics – from Bannockburn, Flodden to Faslane, the Loch Ness Monster, wind farms, Hutton to Higgs, Bonnie Prince Charlie to Donald Trump. It will be accessible, serious and entertaining.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small, schools and libraries Recent Event: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Borders Book Festival

Praise for Ron Butlin : ‘Butlin is the best, the most productive Scottish poet of his generation’ – Douglas Dunn Praise for The Magicians of Edinburgh: ‘Edinburgh poems in the fullest sense. A consistently successful collection’ – Edinburgh Review

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

TOM POW June 2014: A Wild Adventure (hbk) August 2014: Concerning the Atlas of Scotland (pbk) Also available: When the Rains Come (2012); In Another World: Among Europe’s Dying Villages (2012); In the Becoming (2009)

Author based: Dumfries Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, schools, festivals large and small, bespoke events, libraries etc Recent events: Wigtown Book Festival, Dundee Literature Festival, Boswell Book Festival, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh International Book Festival Borders Book Festival

Who is Tom Pow? Tom Pow was born in Edinburgh in 1950 and studied at the University of St Andrews. He taught in Edinburgh, London and Madrid before settling in Dumfries where he taught for many years at Dumfries Academy. He then took up the post of Head of Creative and Cultural Studies at the University of Glasgow Crichton Campus, Dumfries, where he is now Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Storytelling. Tom’s last two poetry collections were shortlisted for Scottish Books of the Year. About A Wild Adventure: Tom Pow’s beautiful, powerful poems examine the remarkable life of Thomas Watling. Convicted of forging Bank of Scotland one-guinea notes Dumfries-born Warling was sentenced to fourteen years in the recently founded colony of Botany Bay in Australia. The first professional artist to arrive in the colony, Watling was seconded to Surgeon General (and amateur naturalist) John White. His paintings of birds, animals and the landscape became some of the principal records of the earliest days of Australia. He was eventually pardoned and left Australia, eventually returning home to Dumfries. He died there, most likely in 1814. About Concerning the Atlas of Scotland: Tom Pow spent six months as writer in residence at the National Library of Scotland Map Library in Edinburgh. He was so inspired by the collection that they hold and by the stories that they tell that he wrote a collection of poetry based on that experience. Published by Polygon but with input from the National Library and illustrated with details from the collection, this beautiful and quite haunting collection will be welcomed by map lovers as well as poetry lovers. Praise for Tom Pow: ‘A subtle, lyrical poet’ – The Scotsman Praise for In Another World : ‘Through essays, photos, stories and poems, Pow eloquently charts the decline of Europe’s rural life’ – Financial Times ‘[A] limber, engaging and enervated quest’ – The Scotsman

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

KEVIN MACNEIL March 2015: Shore to Shore Also available: A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde (pbk) (2011); These Islands, We Sing (hbk) (2011) Who is Kevin MacNeil? Kevin MacNeil was born and raised in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Novelist, poet, playwright, editor, aphorist and lyricist, his books include A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde, The Stornoway Way, Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides and Be Wise, Be Otherwise. He was the editor of These Islands, We Sing. About Shore to Shore: This book is a diverse selection of previously unpublished and specially commissioned poems from big names and new voices: Angus Peter Campbell, Aonghas MacNeacail, Rody Gorman, Iain S Mac a’ Phearsain, Mona NicLeoid, Anna Frater, Babs NicGriogair and Peter Mackay. This collection will also include specially commissioned essays from: Michael Newton; Marie (‘Mairi Og’) Koroleva; Michael Klevenhaus; Skyeman and James Oliver. Interspersed with aphorisms and soundbites about Gaelic language and culture, with photography both past and present. The book is solidly rooted in challenging perceived notions of who Gaels are and were.

Author based: London Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore and external events, festivals large and small. Recent events: Literary Death Match (London), Edinburgh International Book Festival

About A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde: After a bike crash in a foggy Edinburgh, troubled young actor Robert Lewis wakes to find that life has changed for the darker. And the weirder. He’s still a deceitful egoist but now life seems to be deceiving and manipulating him. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong. He’s losing control of his love life, his starring role in a new adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde, and, quite possibly, his mind. A Method Actor’s Guide to Jekyll and Hyde is a dark, maniacal thriller that explores many kinds of duality - individual, social and cultural, and is a heartfelt tale about the search for belonging and the nature of love and desire. It’s also bloody funny.

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

ANDREW GREIG February 2013: Found at Sea Also available: Getting Higher: The Complete Mountain Poems (2011)

Author based Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small. Recent events: Stanza Poetry Festival, Spring Festival (Aberdeen), National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Dundee Literary Festival.

Who is Andrew Greig? Andrew Greig was born in Bannockburn in 1951 and raised in the Fife town of Anstruther. His novel, In Another Light, won the Saltire Society prize in 2004. He has also had success with mountaineering titles, including Summit Fever and the mountain poetry collections Men on Ice and Surviving Passages. In 1996 The Return of John Macnab was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Award. Greig is a former Glasgow University Writing Fellow and SAC Scottish/Canadian Exchange Fellow. About Found at Sea : Andrew Greig recounts in poetic sequence the tale of his open dinghy voyage from Stromness in Scapa Flow and an overnight stay on Cava (an island formerly inhabited for over twenty years by two unusual women) in poetic sequence. In sailing small boats in scary open waters Andrew Greig found a new activity and a new metaphor for life. Written in six weeks, Found at Sea is a ‘very wee epic’ about sailing, male friendship and a voyage. Praise for Getting Higher: ‘This book affords a great opportunity for anyone who wants to see an accomplished Scottish poet at his best’ – The Herald Praise for Found at Sea: ‘One of the best things I’ve read so far this year has been Found at Sea, a new book of poems by Andrew Greig’ – The Scotsman ‘Andre Greig treats the epic, with its archetypal traditional trajectory of voyage and return, with touching lyric sensitivity’ – The Times Literary Supplement ‘At times both funny and moving . . . a wonderful piece of accessible verse’ – Yachting Monthly ‘A bold attempt at imbuing epic scope and adventure into a book-length sequence’ – Guardian www.andrew-greig.weebly.com

www.polygonbooks.co.uk

GEMS FROM 2014 ALYSSA POPIEL

August 2015: A Capital View: The Art of Edinburgh – A Hundred Artworks from the City Collection (pbk) May 2014: A Capital View: The Art of Edinburgh – A Hundred Artworks from the City Collection (hbk)

Who is Alyssa Popiel? Alyssa Popiel grew up on Corstorphine Hill, Edinburgh. In her mother’s antique shop she discovered strange objects, books of old and listened to many a tale and song. After studying History of Art (MA Hons) at Edinburgh University, she worked as an arts researcher for BBC Scotland. She now works as a freelance researcher.  About A Capital View: Edinburgh boasts one of the largest and most diverse collections of art of any city in Britain. In this book, Alyssa Poppiel features a hundred artworks from the city collection, from the Enlightenment to the present day, which feature Edinburgh and its surroundings. All are accompanied by extended captions which set the context and provide a huge amount of lively historical and anecdotal material. Artists include: John Slezer, Paul Sandby, Henry Raeburn, Alexander Nasmyth, Walter Geikie, David Roberts, Sam Bough, John Bell, James Paterson, Francis Cadell, William Crozier, Stanley Cursiter, Jessie M. King, Anne Redpath, John Bellany.

Authors Based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstores and external events, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, National Library of Scotland, City Art Centre Edinburgh

Praise for A Capital View: ‘A beautifully produced book’ – Scotsman ‘Popiel brings a hugely creative mind to this project . . . she deftly captures the immense aesthetic beauty of Edinburgh’ – Scottish Field

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MICHAEL FRY October 2014: A Higher World: Scotland 1707-1815 (hbk) Also available: A New Race of Men: Scotland 1815-1914 (2013); The Union: England, Scotland and the Treaty of 1707 (2006) Who is Michael Fry? Michael Fry was educated at the universities of Oxford and Hamburg. He is the author of The Scottish Empire (2001), How the Scots Made America (2003) and Wild Scots: Four Hundred Years of Highland History (2005). He has also written numerous articles on modern Scottish history and several political pamphlets. He has contributed to most major Scottish and British newspapers and has been a weekly columnist for the Scotsman, The Herald and the Sunday Times. Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, festivals large and small Recent events:  National Library of Scotland, Aye Write Festival.

About A Higher World : In his journey from the Union of 1707 to its centenary and beyond, Fry takes in vivid scenes from all over the country, ranges up and down the social scale from peeresses to prostitutes, from lairds to lunatics, and covers every major aspect of national life from agriculture to philosophy. Most other Scottish histories published in recent times concentrate on social and economic history, but Fry insists that any true understanding of the nation, in the past as in the present, needs to pay at least as much attention to politics and culture. About A New Race of Men: Michael Fry goes well beyond the conventional analyses of the economy and society to which previous histories have confined themselves. Here the central thread of the story is not steady assimilation to the norms of the United Kingdom but the survival of distinct forms of Scottishness that both derived from an independent past and laid the foundations for the reassertion of nationality in the present time. The emphasis is therefore not on those aspects in which Scotland became more like the rest of Britain - though these are acknowledged and described - rather on the ways in which Scotland remained different. Above all,however, Michael Fry points to the condition of Scottish culture, in both its triumphs and its failings, as the key to understanding what made the nation falter in some respects yet in others to survive and at length prosper once again. Praise for A New Race of Men : ‘[A] well-researched, enjoyable and fascinating read’ – Scottish Field ‘Fry is lively, provocative and pleasure to read’ – Scotsman

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‘A great introduction to the pioneering legacy of the Scottish Victorian era ... bringing the theatre of Scottish history to life with an incredible eye to detail’ – The Lady

LAURIE CAMPBELL AND ANNA LEVIN July 2014: Otters: Return to the River Who is Laurie Campbell? Laurie Campbell is one of Scotland’s leading natural history and landscape photographers. His award-winning photographs regularly feature in magazines, books and exhibitions. In addition to a number of books, Laurie writes regularly for Outdoor Photography (UK) magazine and has appeared in the television programmes Wildshots and The Photoshow. To date he has won 23 awards (including 3 Category Winners) in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. Who is Anna Levin? Anna Levin is a writer and editor with a special interest in people’s connections with the natural world. She works for a range of magazines, newspapers and environmental organisations and her collaborations with Laurie Campbell have featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine, the Scotsman and Wild Travel Magazine. Her publications include guides to the marine mammals of the Hebrides and guidebooks for the Scottish Seabird Centre and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. About Otters: Return to the River: This book is a celebration of the return of the otter to our rivers and freshwater wetlands after a drastic decline in the last century. For more than two decades, award-winning photographer Laurie Campbell has documented these lithe, elusive predators on the River Tweed and its tributaries near his Berwickshire home. The resulting photographs create an intimate portrait of their lives through the changing seasons, including their riverside habitat and the other wildlife that shares it.

Author based: Berwickshire (Campbell) West Lothian (Levin) Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival wwww.lauriecampbell.com

Writer Anna Levin sets this work in the context of Laurie’s own life’s story as she accompanies him to the riverbank. Her notebooks offer a vivid glimpse of the photographer at work and of the otters that enchant them both.

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KENNETH COX June 2014: Scotland for Gardeners: The Guide to Scottish Gardens, Nurseries and Garden Centres NEW EDITION Also available: Fruit & Vegetables for Scotland (2013)

Author based: Glendoick, near Perth Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Audio-visual presentations. Kenneth can bring the beauty, splendour, and historic interest of the Scottish garden to life in a hugely impactful way. Audiences delight in his presentations and repeat visits are always in demand. Such events are not book readings, and much, much more than slide shows. What Ken offers is encyclopaedic knowledge and entertainment – expect a full house. www.glendoick.com

Who is Kenneth Cox? Kenneth Cox is the son and grandson of renowned plantsmen and is himself a nurseryman, gardener and garden centre owner at Glendoick, near Perth, Scotland. As a planthunter, he has led many expeditions to unexplored parts of Tibet and India and discovered new rhododendron species. He has introduced several new plant species to the UK and has made many successful rhododendron and azalea hybrids. See the Glendoick website www.glendoick.com for more details. About Scotland for Gardeners: Ken Cox presents a compact colour guide of the largest survey of Scottish gardens ever mounted and the first such guidebook to all that Scotland can offer garden and plant lovers. The book includes descriptions of virtually all Scotland’s gardens which are open to the public, and recommends when to visit and what to look out for. Also covered are specialist nurseries, garden centres, wildflower walks, shows, public parks and more. This new edition includes new gardens recently opened to the public. Praise for Scotland for Gardeners: ‘‘A pleasure to read and use ’ – BBC Gardeners Illustrated ‘A horticultural compendium second to none’ – Scottish Field

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JAMES ROBERTSON AND JILL CALDER May 2014: Robert the Bruce Who is James Robertson? James Robertson is one of Scotland’s most significant modern writers, whose novels include Joseph Black (winner of the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year 2003/2004), The Testament of Gideon Mack (longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2006), And the Land Lay Still, and his most recent work, The Professor of Truth (2013). Who is Jill Calder? Jill Calder has been working as an illustrator since 1993. She is also a calligrapher, digital artist and lecturer with a love of drawing, ideas, colour, ink, typography, book-binding and sketchbooks. Her clients include Visa, The New Yorker, Adobe, Penguin, Siemens, Kellogs and a snail farm in the West Highlands of Scotland.

Author based: Fife (Jill Calder) Fife (James Robertson) Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent Events: Bannockburn Live, Edinburgh International Book Festival, National Library of Scotland, Hay Literary Festival.

About Robert the Bruce: In this exciting and visually stunning book, the most talented Scottish novelist of his generation teams up with Jill Calder, whose bold and colourful illustrations are a perfect complement to one of the most dramatic tales in Scottish history. In addition to the big set pieces from the Bruce story – not least of course the Battle of Bannockburn, and the other famous elements such as the murder of the Red Comyn and Bruce and the Spider – the book is full of accurate historical detail and imaginative touches which offer a fresh and vital perspective on one of the great heroes of Scottish history. Praise for Robert the Bruce: ‘A gloriously illustrated picture-book version, with expertly concise text by one of Scotland’s finest novelists’ – The Herald edward immediately demanded acts of homage and vows of fealty from balliol. He wanted to show that the scots must defer to the english crown.

Elizabeth de Burgh, daughter of the Earl of Ulster, one of Edward’s staunchest allies. The next year, with Bruce neutralised, Edward launched a ferocious assault, laying waste to towns and countryside across Scotland. The Red Comyn and his allies were forced to surrender and swear allegiance to the English king. Finally, it appeared, Scotland was under Edward’s total control.

this was part of his plan to control all of the island of britain so that he could concentrate his attention on gaining territory and power in France. over the next few years, he conquered Wales, and further humiliated King John of scotland by summoning him before the english Parliament and overturning his decisions. He also demanded scottish military and financial support for his wars in France.

In 1305, after years as a fugitive, William Wallace was captured and brought to London for trial. He refused to admit to a charge of treason because, he asserted, the English king had never been his lawful and natural lord. Nevertheless he was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered.

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THE GREAT TAPESTRY OF SCOTLAND The Great Tapestry of Scotland (2013) by Alistair Moffat, foreword by Alexander McCall Smith The Great Tapestry of Scotland: The Making of a Masterpiece (2013) by Alistair Moffar with Susan Mansfield, foreword by Alexander McCall Smith

Available speakers: Alistair Moffat (Melrose) Andrew Crummy (Cockenzie) Dorie Wilkie (Dalkeith) Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, schools and libraries, festivals large and small Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Wigtown Spring Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival www.scotlandstapestry.com @GreatTapestrySc

About The Great Tapestry of Scotland: The brainchild of bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, historian Alistair Moffat and artist Andrew Crummy, the Great Tapestry of Scotland is an outstanding celebration of thousands of years of Scottish history and achievement, from the end of the last Ice Age to Dolly the Sheep. Like the Bayeux tapestry, the Great Tapestry of Scotland has been created on embroidered cloth. This book tells the story of this unique undertaking – one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland – and reproduces in full colour a selection of the panels from the completed tapestry, together with descriptive and explanatory material. Both titles were published to coincide with the completion of the tapestry in September 2013. See www.scotlandstapestry. Who is Alistair Moffat? Alistair Moffat is a former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television. He now runs the Borders and Lennoxlove book festivals and is currently Rector of St Andrews University. He has written numerous books, including Tuscany, The Faded Map, The Sea Kingdoms, The Borders and The Scots: A Genetic Journey, all of which are published by Birlinn. Who is Andrew Crummy? Andrew Crummy has worked for New Musical Express, The Observer magazine, Design Week, Creative Review and Time Out magazine. He has developed multiple large-scale, collaborative artworks in public and community settings across the world, and has been involved in a huge range of book publications, multimedia events, festivals and educational programmes. Who is Dorie Wilkie? Dorie Wilkie was the stitch co-ordinator for The Great Tapestry of Scotland. Supported by a team of key helpers, she recruited, guided and inspired over 1,000 volunteers from every corner of Scotland. ‘The most ambitious attempt to capture the past in needle and thread since the Bayeux Tapestry ... The result is not just visually stunning but intensely moving and occasionally very funny’ – The Times

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GAVIN MCCRONE March 2014: Scottish Independence: Weighing Up the Economics NEW EDITION Who is Gavin McCrone? Gavin McCrone has studied, written and lectured about the Scottish economy over a period of many years. For over two decades he was Chief Economic Adviser to successive Secretaries of State for Scotland. He was successively head of two Scottish Government Departments – the Industry Department for Scotland and the Scottish Development Department. About Scottish Independence : Weighing up the Economics: In autumn 2014 those living in Scotland will face the most important political decision of a lifetime. Whether Scotland becomes an independent state once again, as it was before 1707, or remains within the United Kingdom will have profound consequences for everyone in Britain. There are many issues involved in this important choice, but a key part of the debate centres around the question of whether Scotland would prosper more or less after independence. How well off are we? Would we have a faster or slower growing economy if we were independent? What currency would we use – the pound, the euro or a new currency of our own? What should our energy policy be? There are those who would like to see a more egalitarian society, like Scandinavia, with a reduction in poverty and deprivation; would we be likely to achieve that? Would we continue to be in the European Union but with Scotland becoming a member in its own right? Is that right for Scotland and what problems might that involve? In this impartial, clearly expressed and thought-provoking book, economist Gavin McCrone addresses these, and many other, questions which are of vital importance in the run up to the referendum.

Author based: Edinburgh Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bespoke events, bookstore events and festivals Recent events: Edinburgh International Book Festival, Aye Write

Praise for Gavin McCrone: ‘Professor McCrone is an acclaimed economist’ – The Sunday Mail ‘There are plenty of books seeking to establish whether an independent Scotland would be economically viable, or even better off than now. Among the best is Gavin McCrone’s Scottish Independence: Weighing up the Economics, which takes a hardheaded look at everything from tax policy and oil revenues to pensions and social spending’ – Telegraph

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STUART CLARK April 2014: The Day Without Yesterday (pbk) Also Available: The Day Without Yesterday (hbk) (2013); The Sensorium of God (2012); The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth (2011); The Sun Kings (2007) An evening in the company of Stuart Clark is not one to be forgotten quickly. An expert in the field of astronomy and a natural storyteller, he has now created three works of historical fiction set in and around the key ages of exploration of the skies. His is a voice you’ll recognise instantly as a contributor and presenter from many television and BBC radio programmes. Author based: Hertfordshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK and beyond Happy to do: Bookstore and external events, literary festivals and science festivals Recent events: British Science Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Hay Festival, International Astronomy Show, Astrofest, Royal Shakespeare Company. www.stuartclark.com @DrStuClark

Who is Stuart Clark? Stuart Clark is a widely read astronomy journalist whose career is devoted to presenting the complex world of astronomy to the general public. Stuart holds a first class honours degree and a PhD in astrophysics. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a former Vice Chair of the Association of British Science Writers and is the cosmology consultant for both the Guardian and New Scientist. In 2000 the Independent placed him alongside Stephen Hawking and the Astronomer Royal, Professor Sir Martin Rees, as one of the ‘stars’ of British astrophysics teaching. He recently won the 2013 European Astronomy Journalism Prize. About The Day Without Yesterday : Europe is marching blindly into the First World War and Berlin is in a storm of nationalist marches and army recruitment. Albert Einstein anticipates the carnage to come when his university colleagues begin work on poison gas to ‘shorten the war’. He is also struggling with the collapse of his marriage in the wake of an illicit affair. Increasingly isolated, Einstein finds his academic work sidelined with few people entertaining his outlandish new way of understanding the universe. Meanwhile, in the trenches of the Western Front, a devoutly religious young Belgian, Georges Lemaître, vows to become both a physicist and a Catholic priest if he survives. When the war ends, Einstein makes his breakthrough and is thrust into the international limelight. Lemaître confronts him with a startling concept: that buried in the maths of the theory of relativity is a beginning of space and time, a moment when the universe came into existence – a day without yesterday.   Praise for The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth Trilogy: ‘Sit under the stars and wonder, not just at their eternal beauty and mystery, but at the courage of the men who risked their lives so we could understand them’ – Daily Mail

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‘The Sensorium of God is a blend of historical fiction and astronomy that most people with an interest in science will wish to obtain. Five stars’ – Sir Patrick Moore

JAKE WALLIS SIMONS April 2014: Jam Also available: The Pure (2012); The English German Girl (2011); The Exiled Times of a Tibetan Jew (2005) Who is Jake Wallis Simons? Jake Wallis Simons is a Sunday Telegraph features writer and columnist. He is the author of three novels including the award-winning The English German Girl (2011). About Jam: As darkness falls on the M25, the flow of traffic comes to a halt. Time passes. More time passes. Then more. Drivers switch off their engines, then get out of their cars. And so the story begins. In this bold, state-of-the-nation novel, Jake Wallis Simons brings together characters from all walks of life and explores what happens when lives collide on the M25. About The Pure: Disaffected ex-Mossad agent Uzi works as a security guard and low-level drug dealer in London. Uzi gets the chance to expose the ruthlessness of his former employers by giving the details of a top-secret assassination operation to WikiLeaks – a story so damaging to the Israeli government that an opposition party is prepared to pay to ensure WikiLeaks gets the scoop. But once it’s out there, Uzi will be a marked man. About The English German Girl: In 1930s Berlin, choked by the tightening of Hitler’s fist, the Klein family are gradually losing everything that is precious to them. Their fifteen-year-old daughter, Rosa, slips out of Germany on a Kindertransport train to begin a new life in England. Charged with the task of securing a safe passage for her family, she vows that she will not rest until they are safe. But as war breaks out and she loses contact with her parents, Rosa finds herself wondering if there are some vows that can’t be kept.

Author based: Hampshire Willing to travel: Anywhere in the UK Happy to do: Bookstores and external events, festivals large and small. Recent events: Felixstowe Book Festival, Jewish Book Week, Kings Lynn Literary Festival, New Books Readers’ Day www.jakewallissimons.com @jakeWSimons

Praise for Jake Wallis Simons : ‘Here is a new young voice in British fiction – entertaining, provocative and original. Jake Wallis Simons will surely prove a name to remember’ – Beryl Bainbridge, Independent

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Photograph by David Robinson www.claonaite-photography.co.uk