There are plenty of ‘Books Of The Year’ lists around this time competing for your time and attention, but we like to think that Scots...

Successful long-running series have a fine balancing act to pull off. Each book should work as a standalone read, with a plot which has a...

For the latest SWH! podcast Ali spoke to writer and journalist Olga Wojtas about her novels Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar...

For those lucky enough to read Olga Wojtas’ 2018 novel Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar there are few, if any, novels more...

For our Best Books of 2019 podcast Ali was once again joined by Publishing Scotland’s Vikki Reilly to have a chat about their year in...

Sometimes you start a book which defies your expectations to such an extent that the only thing to do is recalibrate and start again....

You wait ages for a good trilogy to come along then, appropriately, three turn up at once – or almost at once. In the last month or so...

Claire MacLeary For the latest podcast Ali spoke to writer Claire MacLeary about her trilogy of Aberdeen set crime novels, Cross Purpose,...

One of the defining characteristics of most successful crime series is to have protagonists who readers look forward to spending time...

For our Review of the year in Scottish writing and all things bookish Ali was once again joined by Booky Vikki herself, Publishing...

As regulars to SWH! will know, crime-writer Douglas Skelton is one of our favourite novelists. He has been a guest on our podcast, and...

It’s a well-worn argument, but the lack of Scottish history taught in schools has undoubtedly had a negative affect on the Scottish...

For the latest podcast Ali met up with the American novelist Andy Davidson before his event at The Edinburgh International Book Festival....

Perhaps more than any other medium fiction is able to transport you to other times and places – placing you in the company of strangers...

One of the finest crime fiction debuts of recent years was Claire MacLeary’s Cross Purpose (right). Published in 2017 on the Contraband...

This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the writer Muriel Spark. You may have noticed – you MUST have noticed – but if you...

It’s a novel full of surprises, and which takes you in unexpected directions. After a few chapters I had it pegged as an urban fantasy...

Graeme Macrae Burnet. The primary reason was to discuss his latest novel, The Accident On The A35, but the conversation turns to the work...

How do you follow a cultural touchstone – something which captures a moment, stands aside from what’s around it, and which moves from the...

Glasgow and violence – writers have played no small part in making sure the two are seen as closely related. The 1935 novel No Mean City...