Northern Bibliosphere

We went to the wonderful Ullapool Book Festival this year and we wanted to bring you a souvenir from it. So, here are seven special episodes all from the latest edition of the festival.

On our second episode of the series we chat to Graeme Macrae Burnet about his latest novel, Case Study. 

Find out more at graememacraeburnet.com and ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We went to the wonderful Ullapool Book Festival this year and we wanted to bring you a souvenir from it. So, here are seven special episodes all from the latest edition of the festival. 

First on is honorary president Chris Dolan, on what makes Ullapool Book Festival so special. 

Find out more at ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A mini-series in conversation with the finalists of the Highland Book Prize 2021 ahead of the awards ceremony on May 26.

This week we have the pleasure to sit down with Jen Hadfield and talk about her poetry in her latest collection The Stone Age, in which she explores the wild landscape of Shetland and most importantly the consciousness of all things (living and not). 

You can find out more about The Stone Age and read an extract at highlandbookprize.org.uk/2021-shortlist/the-stone-age-by-jen-hadfield

(They are available for all the 2021 shortlisted books!) 

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A mini-series in conversation with the finalists of the Highland Book Prize 2021 ahead of the awards ceremony on May 26.

In this first episode we speak to David Alston, author of Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean. His work explores the links to the slave-trade in the region and how this part of history plays into modern Scotland and the Highlands.

More information about David and his research (as well as a series of self-guided tours around sites and buildings with connections to the slave-trade in Inverness and the Highlands) on davidalston.info. 

Stay tuned to learn more about the event here: highlandbookprize.org.uk.

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hello Bibliophiles of the North! Today's guest is the wonderful Merryn Glover, writer in residence in the Cairngorms with a past as a globe trotter! 

We talk about her work and about latest novel, Of Stone and Sky, which was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2021 and is the story of a disappearance but most importantly of a community and its members throughout the decades. 

In it, she explores the bonds between communities and the land where they live in, the history and the humanity of its characters. 

As a plus, the book is set in the beautiful landscape of the Cairngorms and Strathspey. 

You can find more about her work at www.merrynglover.com and on Twitter at @MerrynGlover.

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license 

This week’s guest is the lovely Leonie Charlton, author of prose and poetry whose first published book, Marram: Memories of Sea and Spider Silk, has just been released in paperback and has been selected at Waterstones as Scottish book of the month for April. 

It was originally published in 2020 and it’s a very profound, gentle and at the same time really intense and emotional journal. We travel across the Outer Hebrides with her, her friend Shuna and their two ponies while dealing with the complex relationship with her late mother. 

You can find more about her work at leoniecharlton.co.uk and on Twitter at @CharltonLeonie.

Here is also a link to the Dark Mountain Projects website.

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Today’s guest is an engineer by trade and an author by passion: we were delighted to have Paul A. Lynn talking about creativity, engineering and history which all feature in his latest book: A Scotsman Returns: Thomas Telford in the Highlands and Islands.

In his work, Lynn retraces a journey across the North of Scotland that Telford one of the most celebrated civil engineers of all time took together with poet Laureate Robert Southey in 1819. Telford’s personal story is retraced in this travelogue that revisits places in the Highlands where he worked over a period of 20 years, taking a fascinating look at the impact his work had on the region.

You can find out more about Paul's work here: whittlespublishing.com/Paul_A__Lynn

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Calling out to all of you passionate about one of the most fascinating periods of Scottish history (and, well, Outlander fans too) as we sit down and chat to Aberdeenshire-based writer and history enthusiast Maggie Craig, the author behind Damn’ Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45. The book is celebrating its 25th anniversary and, together with its companion work, Bare Arsed Banditti: The Men of the ’45, it has just been released in a revamped edition with a brand new cover and a complete reference section. 

Her works include historical novels such as Edinburgh-based Gathering Storm and One Sweet Moment and the Glasgow and Clydebank sagas including The River Flows On and When the Lights Come On Again. Her latest non-fiction work is One Week in April: The Scottish Radical Rising of 1820.

You can find out more about Maggie's work here: maggiecraig.co.uk and on Twitter at @craigmaggie.

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hi everyone and Happy World Book Day!

Welcome to this very special episode of Northern Bibliosphere, which is all about World Book Day! This year marks the 25th anniversary of the initiative and we wanted to explore what's happening in the North of Scotland through the eyes of the people advocating for and sharing the passion for books: our schools, libraries and independent bookshops. 

We spoke to some very inspiring people for this occasion: you'll hear more from Shelagh Toonen, Librarian at Elgin Academy, on how schools can turn World Book Day into an engaging day; we met Senior Network Librarian for High Life Highland, Elizabeth Parker and talked about the vital role that libraries have within their communities and finally we dive with Katharine Douglas, manager at Ullapool Bookshop, on the importance of local independent bookshops. 

You'll find out more about World Book Day on their website at worldbookday.com - it's full of ideas and resources to help promote reading for pleasure among children, as well as insights and research on the topic. 

To find your closest bookshop celebrating World Book Day, visit: https://www.booksaremybag.com/ 

Find out more on the High Life Highland Libraries programme across the Highlands on your local library's Facebook Page or here: https://www.highlifehighland.com/libraries/ 

And more on what's happening across Moray Libraries here: https://www.facebook.com/moraylibraries/

Finally, you can find out more about Ullapool Bookshop here:www.ullapoolbookshop.co.uk

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Welcome to the second episode of Northern Bibliosphere!

Today our guest is former policeman and crime writer Neil Lancaster. 

Neil moved to the Black Isle from England a few years ago after a career as a military policeman and as a detective for the Metropolitan Police, investigating serious crimes in the capital and beyond. In less than four years he has published three crime fiction works following the investigations of DS Tom Novak, and lately started a new, Scottish-based series starting with Dead Man’s Grave. This book was also longlisted for the 2021 William McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Now, he is launching the second book of the Max Craigie series, The Blood Tide, which has just been released as an audiobook and ebook and will be available in Hardback at the end of March.

You can find out more about his work here: neillancastercrime.co.uk and on Twitter at @neillancaster66.

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group? 

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license