-
Writing Competition, 2nd Place – ‘Homesickness’ by Katriona Kerr
Emotion, both positive and negative, drives ‘Homesickness’. It’s a fantastic depiction of the love/hate relationship which many of our entrants expressed, but none did it with such fervour and poetry as Katriona managed.
January 7, 2014
-
Writing Competition, 3rd Place – ‘Snowglobes’ by Max Scratchman
Max’s ‘Snowglobes’ is a wonderful summary of a nation, outlining how the landscape and the people unite to provoke the strongest of emotions, and taking a fresh look at Scotland’s ‘stereotypes’, embracing them instead of rejecting them.
January 7, 2014
-
Indelible Ink: The Dear Scotland Writing Competition Winners
As regular readers of this column will know, we recently ran the Dear Scotland, Indelible Ink Writing Competition, with no idea as to who would enter, or what they would send in. The prize was all 50 books which have appeared on these pages, and the only instructions were that pieces had to be under […]
January 7, 2014
-
Indelible Ink: Andrew Crumey’s ‘Pfitz’
In these columns talk has often turned to common themes in modern Scottish literature, but I hope the previous 49 novels, when taken as a whole, show as much diversity as unity, with different voices sometimes dealing with the same topics, but more often realising something completely new. In case this hasn’t come across, this […]
December 2, 2013
-
Dear Scotland Writing Competition: Win 50 of the Greatest Scottish Novels
Next month sees the 50th edition of Indelible Ink, Dear Scotland’s monthly column on the best of Scottish writing. In an act which can only be described as impulsive, Pete Reid, Editor of Dear Scotland has just bought all 50 books featured since the first column was published four years ago. From ‘Morvern Callar’ to […]
November 5, 2013
-
Indelible Ink: Leila Aboulela’s ‘The Translator’
One of the best things about reading books written in and of the country you live in is that they give you new perspectives on the familiar and everyday, making you look again at places and people you had long since taken for granted. In the last few years I have read work by English, […]
November 4, 2013
-
Indelible Ink: Sophie Cooke’s ‘The Glass House’
Sophie Cooke’s 2004 debut novel, ‘The Glass House’, fits comfortably into the fine Scottish literary tradition of portraying dysfunctional families, and uncovering the accompanying secrets and lies. It’s a painful coming of age novel juxtaposed against the beautiful Perthshire countryside, and it’s the terrible reality set against an apparent idyllic life that makes the novel […]
October 10, 2013
-
Indelible Ink: Muriel Spark’s ‘The Driver’s Seat’
It could be argued that Muriel Spark was the greatest Scottish writer of the 20th century, and it’s an argument I would have sympathy for. Even if you only know her for the 1961 novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ you’ll be aware that her writing is dark, playful and often wilfully obtuse. More […]
September 4, 2013
-
Indelible Ink: Des Dillon’s ‘Me and Ma Gal’
Some people have said to me that they just don’t have time to read books these days. Personally, I would say that their priorities are a tad askew, but I do understand that there are many things vying for everyone’s time, and the thought of tackling a 600 page novel can seem like too much […]
August 7, 2013