I've taught creative writing for years, in universities, writers' centres, libraries and festivals, online and in person, and the people who come to these courses are always wildly different.

I make no secret of the fact that I love this author’s books and adore her gorgeous Scottish settings. So, it always gives me great pleasure to help with the cover reveals for her upcoming books. This one will be published in January 2027. Thanks to Rachel Gilbey of Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to help with this Cover Reveal.

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

May was one of Scotland's most prolific television and crime writers and sold 15 million books around the world.

“Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin . . . Washington Poe has a story to tell. And he needs you to listen. You’ll hear how it started with the robber birds. Crows. Dozens…

I'm thrilled to welcome Paul Linggood to What Cathy Read Next today to talk about his novel The Boy on the Sofa which was published by Broadwater Books on 25th September 2026. The Boy on the Sofa is available to purchase as an ebook or in paperback from Amazon and other retailers. Although I'm 'officially' closed to review requests, Paul's book sounded so compelling I couldn't help agreeing to add it to my review pile.

Welcome back to another #MusicMonday! It’s not about books, but about music, and I’m looking forward to presenting you with a taste of my playlist. It’s the brainchild of Drew from The Tattooed Boo…

Mickey Barnes is an expendable.  His job is to take on the tasks that would usually be considered too dangerous for humans with a high chance of death. Need someone to go into an area of high radia…

September 2026 reading is a wrap! Did you have a favorite September read?

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein is published by Penguin Michael Joseph and is available now. I bought my own copy. It’s billed as being for fans of Yesteryear (by Caro Claire Burke) and Fleabag…

Back in January I shared my thoughts about a wonderful book which I’d received as a Christmas gift from lovely Jacqui – “Souvenir” by Michael Bracewell. The book was basical…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

I always look forward to reading a book in Doug Johnstone’s Skelfs series. Ghost Notes is the seventh in the series and I feel I’ve got to know the Skelf women pretty well by now. That …

Today I’m combining Short Story September with the R.I.P. challenge, reviewing two creepy collections of short stories. Mariana Enríquez’s The Dangers of Smoking in Bed and Kay Chronister’s T…

I’ll write a separate post to summarise my reading activity for September, but I’ve also been involved in so many events and seen so many new things that I wanted to share these with yo…

The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival closed its 15th edition with Director, Bob McDevitt inviting Val McDermid, live on stage, to be guest programmer for 2027. She will be the t…

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Books newsletter: a wrap of the latest news and preview of tomorrow’s pages

Emma Donoghue, author of Room, said she “shed a tear” when she heard that her book would appear on the stamps.

The shortlist for the Booker Prize 2026 has been announced, featuring two previous winners, a previous shortlistee, and three authors new to the prize

All In by Claire Powell, novel set somewhere in Spain / Balearics. What a joy this novel was to read, it is well structured and winds its way to a

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own…

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish, which is now being hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic…

Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl&#8…

The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please …

Today Mandie is taking a look at the CWA Short Story collection, Daggers Drawn. We’ve both had this in our library for a good few years so it’s long overdue some attention. Here’s…

An Unlikely Visitor by Joanna Cannon published June 4th with The Borough Press and is described as 'funny and poignant'.

Left on the Shelf Book Blog Book Reviews Book Information Recommendations Writing Reading Books for Children Books for Adults Books for Teens Fiction

Candlestick Press August 2026 My thanks to the publisher for the copy of this pamphlet  Sewing isn’t just one thing – it can be patchwork, q...

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you choose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off.  You can also share any progress that you have made on your current reads, your progress on…

“Japan, 1936. An old eccentric artist living with seven women has been found dead- in a room locked from the inside. His diaries reveal alchemy, astrology and a complicated plan to kill all s…

Book reviews, snippets of book news, and alerts about books outside the glare of the publicity spotlight.

It’s no secret that Autumn is my favourite season so I was really pleased that the third book in Hodder’s seasonal quartet has been published and it’s about Autumn! I already have…

Synopsis: “Four hours after saying ‘I do,’ he was gone. Twelve years ago, Carrie married Johan on a beach in Thailand. But as the sun set on their perfect day, armed men swarmed the island an…

the setup… Jessica and Zac have been married and living contently for six years. That is until a new neighbor moves in across the street. She can’t explain why Scott Collins immediately fills her w…

An Unlikely Visitor by Joanna Cannon published June 4th with The Borough Press and is described as 'funny and poignant'.

The author of All Them Dogs tells Marjorie Brennan how being longlisted for the Booker Prize has been game-changing but he's trying not to get too distracted by the news

“Reading is one of the great solitary pleasures and writing can be even more solitary, but at a festival neither has to be,” Patrick Holloway