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Kirsty Logan

Hello! I’m Kirsty Logan, a writer of novels and short stories. My latest book is Now She is Witch, a medieval witch revenge quest. My other books are Things We Say In The Dark, The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter, and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales.

Latest News

Kirsty Logan

Hello! I’m Kirsty Logan, a writer of novels and short stories. My latest book is Now She is Witch, a medieval witch revenge quest. My other books are Things We Say In The Dark, The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter, and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales.

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Wanted: Islands and Adolescence

5th Jul 2011 in Books

For the past few months I’ve been working on Novel #2, Rust and Stardust, a modern fairy tale about mythical creatures coming of age on a Scottish island.

As research I have been reading masses of Scottish mythology (there are some fascinatingly odd stories about the Hebrides), and now I’m on the hunt for novels about:

  1. Islands
  2. The sea
  3. Females coming of age.

I’ve been hugely inspired by Kirsty Gunn’s Rain and Sarah Moss’s Night Waking, and next on my To Read list I have Karen Russell’s Swamplandia! and Samantha Hunt’s The Seas.

Anything else you can suggest?

9 responses to “Wanted: Islands and Adolescence”

  1. Nine says:

    Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell? First one that came to mind …

  2. Kirsty Logan says:

    Good suggestion, thank you. I’ve added it to my wishlist. I remember loving Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet and Elizabeth Laird’s Hiding Out – kids obviously love survival stories!

  3. Jill Widner says:

    Paul Gallico’s The Snow Goose.

    I watched the film in 1971 at the age of 17 and was transported.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7PXmbcbpKM

  4. Jill Widner says:

    Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak!

  5. Jill Widner says:

    The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor. your 3 categories are my favorite subjects.

  6. Kirsty Logan says:

    Thanks for these recommendations, Jill! They all look brilliant. I had ‘The Snow Goose’ on my shelf (though I’m not sure I’ve read it) so I’ve added that to the Things To Read As Research pile.

  7. Kate Connolly says:

    Females coming of age – it’s got to be The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter for me, if you haven’t read it already!

  8. Kate Connolly says:

    Wait, forget that, I’ve just scrolled down and read the bit from ‘Underskirts’, and I’m now convinced you MUST have read at least some Angela Carter already. Sorry!

  9. I would recommend two off the top of my head, although you may have read them both:

    –Ice Song
    http://www.icesong.com/books.html

    –The Bone People
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bone_People

    Can’t wait to read your novel!

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