Books HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS

Ron Butlin The Edinburgh Makar and author behind the influential The Sound of My Voice (described by Irvine Welsh as ‘one of the greatest pieces of fiction to come out of Britain in the 80s’) chats about how he writes across some very different literary disciplines. See preview, page 50. CCA, Glasgow, Thu 5 Jan.

Ewan Morrison The author of Swung and creator of the Tales from the Mall project gets a few things off his chest in a debate entitled ‘The End of Books?’ See preview, page 50. CCA, Glasgow, Thu 19 Jan. Shore Poets The country’s ‘leading platform for live poetry’ scores something of a coup (keep an eye on shorepoets.org.uk for venue confirmation) with special guest Liz Lochhead. Venue tbc, Sun 29 Jan.

Edmund White With Jack Holmes and His Friend, the Ohio-born writer is in tip-top form for a tale about relationship dramas in the second half of the 20th century. See review, page 48. Bloomsbury.

Supper with Burns As part of Burnsfest, this triple- nighter features storytellers Linda Bandelier and David Campbell (pictured) plus the usual feast of haggis, neeps, tatties and whisky. See feature, page 42. The Tass, Edinburgh, Mon 23–Wed 25 Jan. Winter Words Festival Chris Bonington, Alex Gray, Neil Oliver (pictured), Sue Lawrence, Dennis Canavan, Tom Devine and Mairi Hedderwick are among the names appearing at the Pitlochry- based fest whose emphasis this year is on historical writing. Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Fri 27 Jan–Sun 5 Feb.

The Alternative 26 A youth- oriented workshop which goes hand in hand with this project’s idea of marrying 26 unique treasures with a piece of creative writing. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Sat 21 Jan.

StAnza Programme Launch A sneak preview of the guests attending this year’s edition of the poetic festival in St Andrews. See caption, page 49. National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Wed 1 Feb.

Stuart MacBride The author takes a break from the Logan McRae series to deliver a disturbing standalone thriller, Birthdays for the Dead. See review, page 48. Blackwells, Edinburgh, Thu 2 Feb. HarperCollins.

Alan Moore & Jacen Burrows With Neonomicon, the venerable Mr Moore takes time out from his spat with Frank Miller to unleash a comic which channels the weird tales of HP Lovecraft. See review, page 49. Avatar.

list.co.uk/books

FirstWrites INTRODUCING DEBUT AUTHORS

LUCY WOOD takes on this issue’s debut author Q&A. Her first book is a set of short stories about hopes, regrets and memories featuring straying husbands, lonely drivers, growing pains and wishing trees

Give us five words to describe Diving Belles?

Short stories reimagining Cornish folklore. Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? I think everyone should read George Mackay Brown’s fiction and poetry, for his evocation of place.

What was the first book you read? I remember Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg vividly. What was the last book you read? I’ve been re-reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. It’s one of my favourites.

Which book makes you cry? There’s a bit in The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers that makes me cry, but I don’t want to give it away for people who haven’t read it! Which book makes you laugh? Lorrie Moore’s Self-Help. She creates a wonderful mixture of sadness and absurdity.

Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? I wish Virginia Woolf had lived longer, so that she might have been able to write more books.

What one thing would you change about the publishing world? I don’t really have enough experience of the publishing world to be able to suggest any changes. Ask me again in ten years! What plans do you have for book number two? I’m working on a novel set by a river, told through three different voices. (Interview by Brian Donaldson) Diving Belles is published by Bloomsbury on Thu 19 Jan.

5 Jan–2 Feb 2012 THE LIST 47