Victoria Amelina, killed by a Russian bomb in Ukraine on 1 July 2023, has posthumously won the 2025 Orwell Prize for Political Writing for Looking at Women, Looking at War. "An unforgettable picture of the human consequences of war." Kim Darroch, Chair of Judges William Collins Books

Scottish PEN welcomes the decision by the Scottish government to invest money in Edinburgh International Book Festival. This follows last year's commendable move by the Festival to drop #BaillieGifford as its sponsor. Fossil Free Books thenational.scot/news/25266206.…

As BFI says "overlooked" - my debut feature is 25 years old and is ranked in the top 10 British great modern black and white films. Go me. bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great…

🌟 Exciting News!🌟 Edinburgh International Book Festival @florisbooks @discoverkelpies I'll be doing a fun, interactive workshop at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, perfect for kids (aged 3-5), parents, educators or anyone curious about the power of names! Book now: edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/w… 📚

So chuffed to be alongside these fab writers! Come along if you're free!

thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/06/hermit… Have a read at my attempt to promote/ review/ understand the emotionally-charged deep-dive into a topic few could cope with this well. 'Hermit' by Chris McQueer

If you missed Channel 4 airing the doc ‘Gaza: doctors under attack’, last night, watch it here channel4.com/programmes/gaz…

Very grateful to Les Hoggan Photography for interviewing me. If you’re interested in finding out more about Elephant, please listen to his brilliant show tomorrow. 🥰

This week, I am sharing a poem first published by Black Bough Poetry / Barddoniaeth Y Gangen Ddu in the anthology 'Afterfeather'. My poem 'Expectation' comes with a word of warning: the subject matter is #stillbirth. Thank you to host Sandra Noel sandra noel TopTweetTuesday #poetry #poetrycommunity

Just stumbled on this incredible railing by Libor Hurda in Prague. What do you think?

“I got my courage for the way I write stories from first writing poems.” —Grace Paley buff.ly/VcGxOJp

A blazing novella that left me completely useless for the remainder of the day AND sent back to Huysmans’ LA-BAS.

🎙️📚🩸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💕 The latest podcast is a chat with the five shortlisted authors for this year's Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year, who are... Dave Goodman - No longer active here Natalie Jayne Clark Foday Mannah Claire Wilson Richard Strachan Full details here... 👉 scotswhayhae.com/post/the-swh-b…

How gorgeous is this?? My lovely publisher HarperCollinsUK is doing an amazing Collector's Edition of my new novel, The Last Witch, out this October. Available from everywhere, though here's a handy Waterstones pre-order linky link: tinyurl.com/2wmcps52

Liam McIlvanney Waterstones Glasgow UofG CreativeWriting Friends of People's Palace & Winter Gardens ScottishWriters Enjoyed chatting to Liam on the Podcast –very much looking forward to his event at The Mitchell Library, 31 July. The Long Shadow of Scottish Gothic, Aye Write with Dr Valentina Bold Liam McIlvanney Samina Chaudhry Julie Rea mary irvine Aye Write glasgowwestend.co.uk/liam-mcilvanne…

Icelandic women's strike, 1975, when 90% of Icelandic women went on strike to show the undervalued indispensable work of women #WomensArt 🧡

Would you recognise your own son? - How a crime fiction series began with DRIFTNET ow.ly/9DHW306T6tr #AmWriting #CrimeFiction #BloodyScotland #CSI #Mystery #Thriller #LinAnderson #KU

“The goal isn’t to be happy with my voice. What I want is simply to have one.” —Jhumpa Lahiri buff.ly/DPblyK8

Become a minor writer. Give up on the master discourses and the idea of greatness and write the book you can’t resist. Write the ones that obsess and distress you. Read until your eyes sting. Kiss your ghosts. Laugh at yourself. Weep in the shrubs. Keep going. 🥳

Scottish PEN welcomes the news that Palestine Action can challenge the gov's proscription. As Huda Ammori says: "[it] demonstrates the significance of this case for freedoms of speech, expression & assembly & rights to natural justice in our country & the rule of law itself."