We’re delighted to welcome Vik Bennett to The Book Blog: Vik is a new islander, keen gardener, and a debut memoirist whose first book, All My Wild Mothers, came out earlier this year. Her writing has previously received a Northern Debut Award, a Northern Promise Award, the Andrew Waterhouse Award for Poetry, and was longlisted for the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize in 2019. She spoke to us from her new home in South Ronaldsay. – How long have you been an Orcadian? I’ve wanted to move to Orkney since 2007, when I applied for the George Mackay Brown Fellowship, but life had other plans. Then, late ..read more

Please welcome Sarah Thomas to The Book Blog. Sarah is a writer and filmmaker whose films have been screened internationally. Her debut book, The Raven’s Nest, is an account of a half-decade spent living in Iceland’s majestic Westfjords region; it was longlisted for the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize for nature writing and shortlisted for the 2021 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize. Sarah will be visiting Orkney later this month and will be reading at Heilsa Fjold on Sanday on Monday 29th August 2022 at 7:30pm. Sarah’s intimate readings are inspired by the Icelandic tradition of kvöldvaka (‘evening w ..read more

We are delighted to host Harry Josephine Giles on The Book Blog following the launch of Deep Wheel Orcadia—their science-fiction verse-novel written in the Orkney dialect. Josie is a writer and performer from Orkney, living in Leith. Deep Wheel Orcadia was published by Picador in October 2021 and was a Poetry Book Society Winter Selection. Their poetry collections The Games (Out-Spoken Press, 2018) and Tonguit (Freight Books 2015) were shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Saltire Prize and the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award. We spoke to Josie about growing ..read more

We’re thrilled to welcome the author and journalist Samira Shackle to The Book Blog. Samira is a British-Pakistani writer and reporter based in London. Her first book, Karachi Vice, tells the story of five ordinary citizens of Pakistan’s largest city. It won the Portobello Prize and was a BBC Radio 4 book of the week. Let’s get straight to the burning questions: what makes a good bookshop? Part of the joy of bookshops is browsing, so I like those where you feel comfortable taking your time. Since publishing my own book I’ve had a renewed appreciation for all the booksellers who are p ..read more

It’s an honour to host Alison Miller, the poet and current Orkney Scriever, on The Book Blog this month. Alison writes in both Orcadian and English, and has published a coming of age novel (Demo, 2005), short stories, essays and poetry. She is a creative writing workshop facilitator, and has worked as a reader-in-residence at the Scottish Book Trust, as a writer and tutor for Scottish PEN’s ‘Many Voices’ project, and as lead reader for Open Book in Orkney. We spoke about her work with the Orkney language, some favourite Orkney writers, and the writers she most admires. You’ve been named ‘Orkne ..read more

We’re delighted to welcome Shetland poet, filmmaker and musician Roseanne Watt to The Book Blog. Roseanne’s wonderful poetry collection Moder Dy has been a great favourite of ours, and makes powerful use of Shaetlan dialect. Moder Dy was recognised with the prestigious Edwin Morgan Poetry Award for Scottish poets under 30, an Eric Gregory and a Somerset Maugham Award. Roseanne was also named joint winner of the Highland Book Prize 2019. We asked about her reading habits and for book recommendations. Welcome to the blog, Roseanne. What, in your opinion, makes a good bookshop? Those that are dr ..read more

After a brief hiatus, The Book Blog is back! We’re delighted to welcome Kevin Cormack, after attending the launch of his new poetry book Toonie Void in Kirkwall last month. Abersee Press publisher Duncan McLean described it as “arguably the most impressive and important debut by an Orkney poet since [George Mackay Brown’s] The Storm in 1954.” Kevin is a musician, artist and writer who was born and brought up in Kirkwall. He lives in London, where he works in a cafe and runs a small record label, Spillage Fete Records, with two friends. He has released music under a number of different names, i ..read more

We couldn’t be happier to welcome the  T. S Eliot Prize-winning poet Jen Hadfield to The Book Blog. Jen, who spoke to us by email from her home in Shetland, recently selected Stromness Books & Prints as her favourite bookshop for the Christmas edition of Scotland’s national poet Jackie Kay’s popular online show Makar to Makar. Jen’s writing features in the recent Antlers of Water anthology, edited by Kathleen Jamie; her latest collection of poetry, The Stone Age, will be published in March. Follow her on twitter: @hadfield_jen. Welcome, Jen. And thank you for choosing us as your favou ..read more

We’re delighted to welcome to the blog Louise Gray, the award-winning author of The Ethical Carnivore – during the writing of which she ate only animals that she had killed herself as part of a study of the implications of meat-eating. Based between Edinburgh and Torridon, Louise has a background in journalism and previously was environmental correspondent for The Daily Telegraph. Thanks for dropping in. What, in your opinion, makes a good bookshop? The lovely, wonderful, hard-working staff. I don’t think I really understood what a good independent bookshop was until I did my first readin ..read more

Curated by the Makar, the National Poet for Scotland, Jackie Kay, Makar To Makar has showcased a dazzling line-up of established talent and emerging voices. Catch up with episodes here  Started during lockdown, Makar to Makar returns for a Christmas special on Thursday 17 December at 7pm via the National Theatre of Scotland’s you tube channel. Re-named Makar to Cracker, the line-up includes former Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Jen Hadfield (the youngest poet to win the T.S. Eliot Prize) and Imtiaz Dharker, with music provided by Mercury Music Prize-nomi ..read more