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Mark Baillie

@mbaillie.bsky.social
279 followers 529 following 102 posts

Scottish writer. Debut novel Salvage. Scottish Traveller history, music, books.

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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's great to see this campaign continuing. The govt apology was really just the start of what needs to be a longer process of recognition and justice www.travellerstimes.org.uk/news/2026/09...
travellerstimes.org.uk
‘Listen to the families’: Lorraine Barrie urges politicians to meet Tinker Experiment survivors
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I'm delighted to be part of this year's Pentlands Book Festival, where I'll be reading from and talking about Salvage on Monday 9 Nov, 6pm, at Colinton Library. Hope to see you there. #bookfest #WritingCommunity #booksky
Image of author Mark Baillie for Pentlands Book Festival appearance
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
So you’ve never voted in the Scots Language Awards? My amazing publisher Tippermuir Books is shortlisted twice this year. Voting is open till 13th September... projects.handsupfortrad.scot/scotslanguag...
projects.handsupfortrad.scot
Scots Language Awards unveil ‘affa fine’ shortlist as voting opens.
It is a pleesure tae say the number o nominees for the Scots Leid Awards submitit ower the sindrie categories haes bin jist grand! An it wis wunnerfu tae lairn aboot the fowk, a wheen o names we aa…
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Rough notes for my next book based on 3 themes: identity, guilt, escape. Let's pull them together and see what happens. #writing
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Great piece of research here uncovering distinct DNA of Scottish Travellers 🧐 Really important in light of the dearth of historic public records www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/study-l...
edinburghnews.scotsman.com
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Cracking piece here by @annafazack.bsky.social on the challenges of Cornwall's van dwellers: ’It can flip quickly from being idyllic’: the reality of life for young van dwellers priced out of Cornwall’s housing market www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
’It can flip quickly from being idyllic’: the reality of life for young van dwellers priced out of Cornwall’s housing market
With tourists buying up property and landlords opting for lucrative Airbnb rentals, young Cornish people are turning to old campervans to provide a roof over their heads
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
When you rewrite a scene with the sole aim of making it longer, but manage to give it more drama and depth yet it ends up shorter than the original. Wtf? #writing #WritingCommunity
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Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
I have to say, listening to the Today programme dedicate an entire (context free) section about whether migrants are more likely to be convicted criminals *the morning after* hundreds of non-migrants of my own ethnicity committed a pogrom is blood boiling.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
My grandparents at Musselburgh Fair Day races. The ‘Trot’ was held every August with 3 days of harness racing, stalls and amusements, attracting Travellers from across the country. At its peak (late 1980s) a temporary campsite near the racetrack was hosting 300 caravans.
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Skein Press @skeinpress.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
'This is a tour de force that shows how a resilient Traveller culture has survived despite racism and its quieter cousin, segregation.' Thanks to @katharineq.bsky.social for a wonderfully in-depth review of #ContentiousSpaces Read in full: www.thetablet.co.uk/books/betwee...
thetablet.co.uk
Between two worlds - The Tablet
ROSALEEN MCDONAGH
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Well done to @fft.bsky.social for this great piece of research. 👏 Shame but unsurprising it's not getting wider news coverage
travellerstimes.org.uk
‘They just refuse’: Insurance companies failing to provide cover for Gypsy and Traveller site residents
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
What a mess. Maybe just create a dedicated space in the industry for publishers and writers who want to work this way. Get it out in the open so we can see how they do against real authors. ✊️
theguardian.com
‘Obvious markers of AI’: doubts raised over winner of short story prize
Granta publisher says ‘perhaps we never will know’ true authorship of work that won Commonwealth prize
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
It's going to be the summer solstice in a month, so, Spring, you might want to make an appearance at some point before then. Just saying...
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
No Last Exit to Brooklyn?
theguardian.com
The 100 best novels of all time
The top 100 novels of all time published in English, as voted for by authors, critics and academics worldwide. How many have you read?
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
With so much attention going to the harm to teenagers from social media, so glad someone wrote this article www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
‘I feel like I’m losing her’: the families torn apart by older relatives going far right
It starts with a ‘back in my day’ nostalgic meme – then suddenly your elders are sharing AI-generated ‘boomerslop’ and repeating conspiracy theories …
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
My local bookshop! I remember when it was getting set to open, folk saying it was madness, a bookshop in Portobello wouldn't last. Well... www.heraldscotland.com/news/2602659...
heraldscotland.com
Edinburgh bookshop named among UK’s top literary champions
Edinburgh’s Portobello Bookshop has been named a UK Bookshop Champion for Independent Bookshop Week 2026, recognising its role in promoting…
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I love intense periods of writing. I hate the sore neck that comes with it. If 'writers' neck' isn't a thing, it should be.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
It was great chatting with Jezmina & Paulina for @romanistanpodcast.bsky.social Jez & Paulina do amazing work exploring Romany culture (in all its forms) for their podcast. Check it out podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Romanistan podcast interview with author Mark Baillie
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
New entry in the lexicon of infamous statements: "it's very complete, pretty much."
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Salvage is among a small number of books picked for today's Novel to Screen pitching event at Glasgow Film Festival. Eek. GULP. Fingers & toes crossed!
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Okay so just watch an older version. That's why they're called adaptations, and books with longevity are going to be reframed from time to time. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The BBC’s Lord of the Flies shows why diverse casting doesn’t always work | Darren Chetty
William Golding’s classic tale is about civilisation, ‘savagery’ and empire – can a colour-blind cast do that justice, asks writer and academic Darren Chetty
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Spotted in Waterstones, Princes St. I knew there was a gap in Scottish literature for a novel about Travellers but it's still a thrill seeing Salvage on display alongside books by, like, proper writers 😉
Photo of Scottish books in Edinburgh bookstore
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
The lit mag response from my recent short story submission praised the tone, pace, delicacy of the writing, the editor liked it more than 90% of other submissions and would like to see more of my writing. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was a rejection.
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RobMcInroy @mcinrob.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
As a librarian it does my heart good to see the NLS being used for worthwhile research, and this certainly was worthwhile. Salvage is a memorable novel and highly recommended.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Here's my piece for @natlibscot.bsky.social Discover magazine on dipping into family history research then stumbling nearly 20 years later into writing a novel. Quite the journey...
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
'Let us instead uplift our living and historic writers' - a wonderful deep dive into Romany-Traveller poetry from @jezminavonthiele.bsky.social www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/177...
poetryfoundation.org
Romani Poetics, Oral Tradition, Narrative, and Survival Trades
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
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Zazie Todd PhD @zazietodd.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
"The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is calling for a programme of reparations for Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers subjected to decades of forced assimilation and on-going harm under policies known as the ‘Tinker Experiment’." www.scottishhumanrights.com/news/call-fo...
scottishhumanrights.com
Call for redress as Scottish Human Rights Commission exposes lasting harm to Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers
Call for redress as Scottish Human Rights Commission exposes lasting harm to Scotland’s Gypsy Travellers
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Yep yep yep on No 1, but where's Chuck Berry Live in London and ZZ Top Fandango? www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
theguardian.com
From Dylan to disco, Beyoncé to Bob Marley: the 30 best live albums ever – ranked!
Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive!, one of the bestselling live albums of all time, is turning 50. You won’t find that on this list, however: instead there’s metal, soul, and an ‘indecently exciti...
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
"Salvage is about the will to discover against the odds, to trace back and find something that is missing. To me, this is the essence of special collections; a place where the past is kept alive" More of my #lovelibraries article on @cilipscotland.bsky.social www.cilips.org.uk
cilips.org.uk
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Great article on the illegal sites crisis myth. What makes press bias worse is that there are just as many negative stories about legal sites. You'd think the same newspapers can't be against both, but guess what… www.travellerstimes.org.uk/features/ill...
travellerstimes.org.uk
The 'illegal camps' crisis is a myth: the real scandal is the denial of homes to Gypsies and Travellers
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Catch Dancing Shoes at @traversetheatre.bsky.social before the 20th. Funny, touching, uplifting. A great piece of theatre 👍🕺
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Great to see this article again from Travellers Times tr.ee/T9thILxDN9
tr.ee
Travellers Times | Instagram | Linktree
Magazine & Website made by and created for Gypsy, Roma & Traveller people
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Am I the only one getting a Remains of the Day vibe from this? #booksky #readingcommunity
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Well I can read or listen to an audiobook without checking my phone, but get through a tv series or film? Absolutely hopeless. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Novels I haven’t finished reading are piling up by my bedside. What if that’s a good thing? | Hanna Thomas Uose
Authors are sounding warnings about the length of the modern attention span, but my series of abandonments is a sign of something else, says author Hanna Thomas Uose
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
I'll be at the @publishingscotland.bsky.social Xmas Book Fair on 21 Nov with my awesome publisher @tippermuirbooks.bsky.social plus loads of other great publishers, authors & poets. Come along and check it out.
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Romanistan Podcast @romanistanpodcast.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
We so enjoyed our time with you! Excited to share this episode with everyone! ✨
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
It was a pleasure to chat today with Jez and Paulina from @romanistanpodcast.bsky.social - talking about Romany Traveller representations in publishing, sensitivity around the term Gypsy and, er, my Traveller 'crush' - keep your 👀 peeled for it...
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
👇👇👍
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
👉 I'll be at the Scottish Christmas Book Fair on 21 Nov in Edinburgh with many fine authors and publishers. Come say hello, get a book signed 📚🎅👇
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Not only is it obscene for anyone to earn this much money, it's also dangerous - as Musk is demonstrating.
bbc.co.uk
Elon Musk's $1tn pay deal approved by Tesla shareholders
The richest man in the world will get hundreds of millions of new shares if he hits his targets.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Why the Brunton Hall, an outstanding example of modern architecture designed by Sir William Kininmonth, friend and colleague of Sir Basil Spence, with a theatre designed by Ian Appleton, must be saved. By AHSS’s Jocelyn Cunliffe www.ahss.org.uk/news-events/...
ahss.org.uk
Brunton Halls: A Modern Scottish Masterpiece Under Threat - Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland
In a recent Scotland on Sunday article, AHSS National Conservation Committee Chair Jocelyn Cunliffe calls for the Brunton’s protection and urges East Lothian Council to reconsider.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
GREAT to see Traveller Storytelling in Scotland on the shortlist for the Folklore Society Katherine Briggs award
Folklore Society awards pic
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
When a new member comes to writers’ group, sits through a reading of an allegorical story on how religion is being twisted for authoritarian purposes, then says, ‘I think I might be in the wrong meeting. I'm looking for the horticultural society.’ Absolutely Priceless.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Thoroughly enjoyed @portybookfest.bsky.social yesterday. The Unheard Voices panel showed writing's power to build community, especially during tough times. Brilliant contributions from fellow writers @stephenchristopher.bsky.social & Jim Aitken & chair Debbie Menezes. Thanks to all who came.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Apart from the fact David Tennant and Toby Jones' wigs shouldn't have been sharing the screen together, The Hack is great. Don't see what the bad reviews are about.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
My friend Bob Fell will be talking about a curious episode at Balquhidder at the @scotstorycentre.bsky.social on 28 Oct, with special guest Shamus McPhee. Free tickets so come along. #scotshistory #folklore sisf.online.red61.co.uk/event/913:62...
sisf.online.red61.co.uk
Scottish International Storytelling Festival
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
A great prog at this year’s @portybookfest.bsky.social I’ll be in the Unheard Voices panel, talking about unheard voices in Salvage. First & foremost the Traveller kids taken from their families but also the unheard voices of old generations of my Traveller family, which inspire me to write
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
That felt good.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
An unusual chapter in the history of Jedburgh. Film producers will be tripping over themselves to get the rights for this. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Court orders 'tribe' to be evicted from Scottish woodland
A sheriff orders the three members of a self-styled "African tribe" to be removed from privately-owned land in the Scottish Borders.
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Mark Baillie @mbaillie.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
My awesome publisher @tippermuirbooks.bsky.social has a couple of titles shortlisted in this year's Scots Language Awards. The Lass and The Quine and Complete Works of William Soutar. Vote here!👇👍 projects.handsupfortrad.scot/scotslanguag...
projects.handsupfortrad.scot
Scots Language Awards 2025 shortlist unveiled
Hands Up for Trad are gled tae annoonce that amang the braw nominees includit on the shortleet for a Scots Leid Award 2025, are weel worthy fowk fae Scottish literature, theatre, eddication an busi…
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