Books HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
James Robertson The popular Fife author delivers some chat about his most recent novel, And the Land Lay Still, in which a series of photographs triggers a multi-layered reflection on Scotland since the war. William Patrick Library, Glasgow, Thu 23 Jun.
Scottish PEN Event This Scottish Writers’ Centre event features Dorothy Grace Elder, Nobel Peace Prizewinner Liu Xiaobo and Zoe Wicomb of the Writers in Prison Committee. Partick Library, Glasgow, Thu 23 Jun. John Byrne In an event entitled Beyond Tutti Frutti, the legendary author and polymath talks about his rich career in various fields of the creative arts. University of Dundee, Thu 23 Jun.
Grant Morrison The history of the comic superhero is spliced with a memoir from the Glaswegian behind the likes of Arkham Asylum and The Invisibles. See feature, page 28. Jonathan Cape.
These Islands, We Sing The launch of a new anthology of poems by writers connected to the Scottish islands, including Sorley Maclean, Aonghas MacNeacail and Jen Hadfield (pictured). Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, Tue 28 Jun. Alan Bissett With the follow-up to his punchy Boyracers on the way in late summer, the bold and multi-talented Falkirkian gets a chance to flex his performance muscles. See profile, page 46. The Forest Café, Edinburgh, Tue 28 Jun.
Clydebuilt A collection of Glasgow’s leading poets give some debut performances of works specially commissioned to celebrate 25 years of the Glasgow Jazz Festival. City Halls, Glasgow, Wed 29 Jun.
Robert Crawford The biographer, poet and academic’s latest book is entitled The Beginning of the End of the World: St Andrews, Scandal and the Birth of Photography. Intriguing, eh? Blackwells, Edinburgh, Wed 29 Jun.
Frank Quitely One of the aforementioned John Hegarty The charming and wildly successful ad
Morrison’s comic collaborators – on New X-Men and All-Star Superman – shows up for a signing and Q&A session. Plan B Books, Glasgow, Sat 2 Jul. man gives us a sneak insight into the machinations of the business behind making a 60-second commercial. See review, page 44. Thames & Hudson.
list.co.uk/books
FirstWrites INTRODUCING DEBUT AUTHORS
Our debut author Q&As continue with REBECCA MAKKAI, whose first book is about an odd couple embarking on an improvised road trip
Give us five words to describe The Borrower Librarian, boy, kidnap each other. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now Novelist and poet David Huddle is a quiet but fabulous writer, and he does adolescent longing better than anyone I know.
What was the first book you read? I taught myself to read when I was three by comparing the letters in my Mother Goose book with the rhymes I had memorised.
Which book makes you cry? I’ve only cried at one book, but I’m too embarrassed to tell you which. It wasn’t terribly intellectual. I will admit, though, to crying when I’ve read books aloud to my elementary class. We read a biography of Gandhi once, and it was very difficult to read the part where Gandhi was killed, because they were waiting for a happy ending.
Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? Sometimes I wish I could go back through time to meet Proust, just so I could give him my asthma inhaler. The poor guy.
What plans do you have for book number two? I’m about 100 pages in. It’s tentatively called The Happensack, the story of a haunted family and a haunted house, told in reverse. The first section is set in 1999, the second in 1955, and the third in 1929, with an epilogue in 1900. It’s set on the north shore of Chicago, where I live, and I’m absolutely in love with the whole thing right now. (Interview by Brian Donaldson) ■ The Borrower is published by William Heinemann on Thu 7 Jul.
23 Jun–21 Jul 2011 THE LIST 43