BOOKS | Events Monday 22
Glasgow FREE Scots/English Writing Group CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7–9pm. A twice monthly group offering critique of its members’ submitted works. Ages 16+. Edinburgh FREE Auld Reekie Readers The City Café, 19 Blair Street, 220 0125. 6pm. See Mon 15. FREE Edinburgh Creative Writers’ Club Monboddo Bar, Point Hotel, 34 Bread Street, 221 5555. 7–9.30pm. See Mon 15.
Tuesday 23
Glasgow FREE SWC Christmas Party CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. A Christmas party with plenty of poetry. There’s open recitals from the floor, plus work from Chris Young, Liam McCormick, Calum Rodger and music from Indigo Cell.
Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh All-Comers Writers Club Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street, 555 7019. 7–10pm. See Tue 16.
Wednesday 24 Edinburgh New Edinburgh Writers Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street, 529 5616. 6–8pm. £0.50. See Wed 17.
Sunday 28
Glasgow ✽ Rally & Broad Stereo, 20–28 Renfield Lane, 07989 508436.
2.30–5pm. £5.Hosted by Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum. Tonight it’s ‘The Hangover Special’, with nic-e melville, Zara Gladman & the Wee Terrors, Leo Glaister, Sam Small and Becci Wallace. See preview, page 67.
Edinburgh FREE Golden Hare Book Group Golden Hare, 68 St Stephen Street, 629 1396. 6.30pm. Get your book on with some fellow bibliophiles at this monthly book group.
Monday 29
Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh Creative Writers’ Club Monboddo Bar, Point Hotel, 34 Bread Street, 221 5555. 7–9.30pm. See Mon 15.
Tuesday 30 Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh All-Comers Writers Club Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street, 555 7019. 7–10pm. See Tue 16.
Thursday 1
Edinburgh ✽ FREE Scot:Lands Times vary. Various venues,
edinburghshogmanay.org Celebrate New Year in the Old Town, with this series of events from some of Scotland’s top artists and musicians. There’s plenty of music, art and theatre to go around with Neu! Reekie!, Roddy Hart and Stillmotion on the bill. FREE Soapbox The Pleasance, 60 Pleasance, 650 4673. 7.30–9pm. See Thu 18.
Monday 5
Edinburgh FREE Blackwell’s Book Quiz Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8201. 5.45pm. Test your literary credentials in teams of up to five members. Arrive early to secure a seat. 70 THE LIST 11 Dec 2014–5 Feb 2015
Thursday 15 Edinburgh FREE Soapbox The Pleasance, 60 Pleasance, 650 4673. 7.30–9pm. See Thu 18.
Friday 16
Edinburgh FREE Tess Gerritsen: Die Again Central Library, 7–9 George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 7pm. The writer chats about her chilling new novel, Die Again.
Saturday 17
Edinburgh ✽ Rally & Broad Counting House, West Nicolson Street, 07989 508436. 7.30pm. £5. A literary-flavoured cabaret night, boasting spoken word, ‘live literature’, new music and dancing into the wee small hours. Hosted by Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum. This time it’s ‘What Difference Does It Make?’, with Don Paterson, Leo Condie, Rebecca Green, The Craic Where the Light Gets In, and Carly Brown. See preview, page 67.
Sunday 18 Glasgow Jillian Michaels SECC, Finnieston Quay, 248 3000. 6.30pm. £25–£35.
Monday 19
Glasgow ✽ Peter May: Runaway Mitchell Library, North Street, 298 2999.
1–2pm. Waterstone’s Newton Mearns, Avenue Shopping Centre, 38 Avenue Centre, 616 3933. 7–8.30pm. Peter May discusses his latest standalone novel, Runaway. See preview, left.
Edinburgh FREE Blackwell’s Book Group Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8218. 6pm. Reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Stirling Andrew Greig: Fair Helen Smith Art Gallery & Museum, Dumbarton Road, 01786 471917. 7.30–9pm. £5 (members £3). The author reads from his new Borders-set historical novel, Fair Helen, as well as performing a few poems and singing a few songs.
Tuesday 20
Glasgow In Process Masterclass with Chris Agee CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. £6 (£3). With Chris Agee, the author of two poetry collections, In the New Hampshire Woods and First Light. Edinburgh FREE Susan Tomes: Sleeping in Temples Central Library, 7–9 George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 6.30pm. Susan Tomes chats about her book Sleeping in Temples in this conversation with music historian Robert Philip.
Wednesday 21
Edinburgh FREE The Potter Trail Greyfriar’s Bobby Statue, George IV Bridge, 5pm. See Wed 17.
✽ Christopher Brookmyre: Dead Girl Walking The Caves, Niddry
Street South, 557 8989. 6.30pm. £5. Celebrating the launch of Christopher Brookmyre’s new book, Dead Girl Walking, which sees the much-awaited return of the character Jack Parlabane.
Thursday 22
Edinburgh ✽ FREE Peter May: Runaway Central Library, 7–9 George IV
Bridge, 242 8100. 7–8pm. See Glasgow, Mon 19.
PETER MAY
A writer on STV’s Take the High Road in the 1980s, Peter May’s Lewis trilogy has made him one of Scotland’s most successful crime authors of recent years. In January, he releases Runaway, the story of five 17-year-old boys who run away from Glasgow to London in 1965 – a tale that’s loosely based on his own experiences.
‘Just like Jack [the book’s main character], I got expelled from school, for being a bad boy,’ May chuckles. ‘I went out and got the first job that I could, which was working in the civil service. It was worse than school. One morning I walked out. I got the train back up to my old school and I met my best friend Stephen at the art department, and told him that I was running away to London. We were playing in a band at the time and he said “I’m coming too.” That’s how we ended up sitting in that beat up old van, pursued by Stephen’s dad and my dad. Just like in the book.’
In real life, May and his fellow runaways were forced to return
to Glasgow after running out of money and food – but Runaway’s characters decide to turn back after a much more sinister turn of events: a murder. Fifty years later, the surviving friends retrace their steps to London to find answers, and the book’s chapters alternate between 1965 and 2015. And while the book’s characters have abandoned their musical
career in the intervening five decades, May and Stephen have recently starting making music together again. ‘Last year we got together and we thought “Why don’t we write some songs and record them?”’ he says. ‘The album was released this year and it’s available on iTunes. Funnily enough, it is called Runaway. The title track is about the actual running away that the two of us did. One of the songs is called ‘Bad Wolf’ and the lyrics are about how the Lewis novels were rejected by all the British publishers and rescued by a French publisher. It has been enormous fun to do.’ (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Runaway is published by Quercus on Thu 15 Jan. Peter May will be speaking at the Mitchell Library and Waterstone’s Newton Mearns, Glasgow, Mon 19 Jan and the Central Library, Edinburgh, Thu 22 Jan. See list.co.uk for a longer version of this interview.
Wednesday 7 Edinburgh FREE The Potter Trail Greyfriar’s Bobby Statue, George IV Bridge, 5pm. See Wed 17. FREE John Cairney: The Importance of Being Central Library, 7–9 George IV Bridge, 242 8100. 7pm. Actor John Cairney chats about his book, The Importance of Being.
Sunday 11 Edinburgh FREE Blackwell’s Teenage Book Group Blackwell’s, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8218. 2pm. Regular book group for teens, with separate sessions
for ages 12–14 and those over 14 years old. The group reads everything from classics to contemporary and dystopian to historical, taking suggestions from members. Wednesday 14
Glasgow FREE Weegie Wednesdays CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7.30pm. Monthly forum offering writers, poets, publishers, booksellers, librarians, creative writing students or anyone else with a literary interest the chance to get together. With Alex Gray. FREE The Potter Trail Greyfriar’s Bobby Statue, George IV Bridge. 5pm. See Wed 17.