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New year, new reading list! January and February are always big reading months for me, as while Scottish winters aren’t great for sunbathing, they are perfect for curling up with coffee and cake and a good novel. I’ve somehow managed to finish 32 books so far this year (?!). I read a lot of non-fiction and graphic novels in particular, so next month I want to get stuck into some longer novels. Here are the best books I’ve read so far this…

This year I read 220 books. As you may be able to tell, I really, really (really) fucking like books. Here is a highly personal, not-very-scientifically-chosen list of my 50 favourites of 2017. Books out in 2017: Best Book That Actually Made Me Have to Put it Down For a Moment and Close My Eyes Because it Was So Perfect: I Am, I Am, I Am, Maggie O’Farrell Best Book I Loved So Much I Wanted to Eat It: A Pocketful of…

Last weekend I spoke at the WriteNow Newcastle conference on how to edit your own writing. I tried to fit a ludicrously ambitious amount of information into a 40-minute workshop, so rather than expecting all the participants to make frantic notes I’m writing it here. I hope this will be of use to any aspiring or beginning writer who wants to learn how to better edit their work. It’s geared towards prose fiction, but is hopefully applicable to many sorts of…

Goodbye, summer! I managed to wear my sunglasses and sandals at least twenty times, which for Scotland isn’t bad going. I also spent a glorious ten days in the south of England with my wife and our dog, swimming and eating and generally forgetting about the rest of the world – and reading, of course. After that I spent six weeks on a residency at Cove Park, a beautiful place with a loch and Highland cows and all the reading…

I’m halfway through a six-week writing retreat on the west coast of Scotland to work on a new book. In the past few years, I’ve spend a lot of time alone – whether on writing retreats, working alone at home, or travelling the UK and Europe for book events and festivals. Books have been my best company in these times, and if you’re also going to be doing some solo travel then books can keep you company too. Whether you…

I’ve read a lot of books this March and April, but I’ll be honest: they’re mostly Point Horror! I’ve been working on a brand new podcast, Teenage Scream, about Point Horror and other 90s teen horror. I’m absolutely loving it, and it will be launching next month so I’ll post links then. I have managed to fit in some other reading too, mostly non-fiction. Here are the best books from March and April: Negotiating With the Dead, Margaret Atwood – I seriously…