Category: Author Spotlight

Mollie Hughes is a world record-breaking sports adventurer, mountaineer, polar explorer and international motivational speaker. In 2017 Mollie broke the world record for becoming the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest and in 2020 became the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole. In December 2020 she was the first woman to become president of Scouts Scotland.

You can find out more about Mollie at her website.

Mollie’s latest book is Blue Scotland. She will take part in our exciting schools programming, as well as leading a wild swimming event on Saturday morning and participating in a Welcoming Nature panel event on Saturday afternoon. At the time of writing, a few tickets are still available for both events via Ticketsource.

In a career spanning over forty-five years, Tracey has worked with children, young adults and older people in Glasgow, the Scottish Borders, Bradford and the Southern Hebrides, first training as a social worker in 1981. Her first daughter, Cora, died in a tragic accident in 1987 when she was fourteen months old. 

The Light Shining in Our Hearts was first written in 1991 for Cora’s two siblings. It gently depicts the presence of a deceased child in a family’s life, encouraging children to remember and honour the loss of a child during the grieving process, and replacing the negative thoughts and feelings associated with death and grief with a beautiful hope and a focus on magical remembrance.

Since the death of Cora, a large part of Tracey’s life has been to encourage discussions about death, loss, and separation. She supported bereaved parents in Glasgow in the 1990s as a member of the peer support group The Compassionate Friends. It was through this work that she came to realise no one is ever truly alone in their bereavement. Ever since, she has made it her mission to support others to find a path of light through the darkness – even in the depths of grief.

Tracey’s will be speaking about her book The Light Shining in Our Hearts, in conversation with Victoria Bennett, on Sunday morning at Bruichladdich Hall.

David Caldwell was brought up in Ayrshire and studied archaeology and Scottish history at Edinburgh University. He was employed from 1973 to 2012 by the National Museums of Scotland in a curatorial role, latterly as Keeper of Archaeology and Keeper of Scotland & Europe. In the 1990s he directed excavations at Finlaggan.

He has published widely on Scottish history and archaeology and has also served as President of the Post-Medieval Archaeology Society, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Chair of Fife Cultural Trust and as a member of the board of the National Trust for Scotland.

David told us, “my book is a labour of love. I felt a very considerable responsibility to process all the data from my excavations at Finlaggan and produce from it an interesting and understandable account. It has taken a large part of my life, fitted in amongst many other commitments but I realised I was the only person in a position to do it.”

He went on, “Why does it matter? I believe that Finlaggan represents an important strand in our past which has not yet received the full recognition it deserves. It was the centre of the Lordship of the Isles, an alternative type of lordship to that in much of the rest of Europe but one which is the source of much of what we now regard as distinguishing us as Scottish.”

David also told us he’s very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of Ronnie Black’s labours in the Dewar Manuscripts.

David will be in conversation with Ronnie Black on Sunday morning 1st September at Bruichladdich hall.

Ronald Black was a lecturer in the Department of Celtic Studies, Edinburgh University, from 1979 to 2001. He is the author of The Campbells of the Ark (John Donald, 2017) and is now director of the Dewar Project.

Ronnie will host a joint event with David Caldwell, author of Islay: The Land of the Lordship and The Archaeology of Finlaggan, Islay (expected this year). Between them they will present two completely different ways of researching history, other than through documents: David’s through archaeology, mine through translation, presentation and analysis of the Gaelic historical stories collected by John Dewar in Islay, Jura and Colonsay in 1869–70.

Ronnie told us “my book (co-edited with Chris Dracup) is the first in a planned series of ten covering not only the whole of Argyll but also Arran, west Dunbartonshire, Perthshire and Lochaber. We describe Dewar’s stories as “the people’s history of the West Highlands, in their own language, from 1306 to 1752”. In fact, the Islay/Jura/Colonsay stories can better be described as covering the period 1586 (the massacre at Mulindry) to 1833 (the founding of Port Wemyss). That means that, in effect, the archaeology of Finlaggan and Dewar’s stories together provide an alternative seam of historical evidence running smoothly from the middle ages to the nineteenth century. I look forward to discussing this with David in the course of the presentation, and to finding points of contact between these two very different kinds of source.”

Ronnie is a native of Glasgow, and told us he has many fond memories of cycling, walking and camping around Argyll in the 1960s. He first visited Jura and Islay in 1964 and Colonsay in 2014.

John Dewar’s Islay, Jura and Colonsay is a unique format, the first of its kind. The stories are presented in Gaelic and English on facing pages, but with many black-and-white and colour illustrations showing pages of manuscript and sites featured in the stories, along with maps, comprehensive historical commentary, a chapter pulling together the evidence on the battles of Tràigh Ghruinneart and Beinn Bhigeir. There’s a full presentation of informants’ biographies, and a detailed gazetteer of the many place-names mentioned by Dewar.

Dewar’s stories are a bottom-up view of history, violent, no holds barred, full of heroes, heroines, villains and villainesses, concentrating firstly on the vicious MacDonald–MacLean feud in Islay, secondly on the vicious MacDonald–MacPhee feud in Colonsay, and thirdly on the takeover of Islay and Jura by the Campbells – genocidal at first, but more progressive thereafter, at least in Islay.

Ronald’s latest book is John Dewar’s Islay, Jura and Colonsay.

Ronnie will be in conversation with David Caldwell on Sunday morning 1st September at Bruichladdich hall – get your tickets today.

Today’s spotlight is Niall O’Gallagher. Niall is the author of three collections of poetry in Gaelic, Beatha Ùr (2013), Suain nan Trì Latha (2016) and Fo Bhlàth (2020) and of Fuaimean Gràidh / The Sounds of Love: Selected Poems (2023). In 2023 he was awarded the Bardic Crown at the National Mod. He lives on the Ayrshire coast with his wife and their two children.

Niall told us “I’ve been to Islay once before, years ago, where I got the chance to read from my translations of Gaelic poetry. The island is beautiful and I’m delighted to have been invited back. I’m looking forward to speaking Gaelic with people in Islay. I speak Irish too and the Islay dialect seems to me to be like a bridge, or even a stepping-stone between the two.”

When asked about his book, Niall told us “Fuaimean Gràidh / The Sounds of Love brings together poems from my first three collections with English translations for the first time. Many of them are love poems of different kinds and most of them rhyme. I’m interested in bringing together forms from Classical Gaelic poetry with European structures like the sonnet. I’ve also written a lot about the city of Glasgow. The translations are by other poets, mostly Peter Mackay and Deborah Moffatt.”

And as for other events? “I’ve just finished reading Andrew O’Hagan’s novel Caledonian Road so I hope my boat gets in on time to go to the event!” We’ll see you there, Niall!

You can find out more about Niall at his website.

Niall’s latest book is The Sounds of Love / Fuaimean Gràidh.

Niall will be in conversation with Taylor Strickland at a special Gaelic event on Saturday afternoon at the Gaelic College, which will be chaired by Iseabail Mactaggart.

In today’s spotlight we meet Victoria Bennett. Victoria is a disabled writer, carer and mother; her writing spans both poetry and non-fiction, and has received several awards, including the Northern Debut Award. The founder of Wild Women Press, she is a firm believer in everyone’s right to write their own story, and has dedicated much of her working life to nurturing spaces where people can do just that.

Her debut memoir, All My Wild Mothers: motherhood, loss and an apothecary garden, is published by Two Roads (2023), and was long listed for the Nan Shepherd Prize. She lives in Orkney with her husband and son. When not juggling writing, care and chronic illness, she can be found where the wild things grow, tending her apothecary garden.

Have you ever been to Islay before? What are you most looking forward to on your visit?

I have not visited Islay before, though I came close recently when visiting the Colonsay Book Festival. I live in Orkney, so this is a bit of an island hop for me. I am really looking forward to participating in the festival and meeting everyone, and also to exploring the beautiful beaches. As a regular sea swimmer over here, I am excited to try out the western waters!

What would you like people coming to the festival to know about you or your book before your session?

All My Wild Mothers was slow grown, like the apothecary garden within it, over a decade of grief and care. It is a story of loss — both the big and smaller, unspoken losses of our lives — but it is also a story very much of love, and of the hope and joy that can grow in broken places, and a celebration of this wild and precious life that we each hold fragile in our hands. At a time when things can feel overwhelming for many, I hope that it can offer a space of comfort and courage — whether you are someone who is grieving, or caring, or just wanting to grow a little wild in your life. 

Is there another author you are looking forward to hearing from during the festival?

It is a great programme and my only worry is how to fit it all in AND get to soak in the inspiring island of Islay. I am really looking forward to sharing events with Mollie Hughes, Alicia Pirmonhamed and Tracey Hunter. As my literary life is rooted in poetry, and bridges the gap into memoir, I am also really looking forward to hearing Nadine Aisha Jassat and Clive Myrie talk about their work. It will be a real treat to hear Linda Nicleoid as well. 

You can find out more about Victoria at her website.

Victoria’s latest book is All My Wild Mothers.

Victoria will lead an event at Gortanvogie Care Home on Saturday morning. She will also take part in the Welcoming Nature panel on Saturday afternoon at the Gaelic College, and will be in conversation with Tracey Hunter on Sunday morning in Bruichladdich Hall.

Taylor Strickland is the author of Dastram/Delirium, winner of the 2023 Saltire Award for Scottish Poetry Book of the Year, and a PBS Translation Choice.

His work has appeared in Poetry Wales, Poetry Northwest, New Statesman, the TLS, Poetry Review, Dark Horse, and elsewhere. He lives in Glasgow with his wife, Lauren, and daughter, Eimhir.

Taylor told us he’s never been to Islay! “A few trips in the past have been planned but all fell through. Aside from being a history buff, with some specific knowledge of the island, and of Gaelic, I have worked off and on in the booze industry, and currently work shifts between Dunkeld Whisky Box in Dunkeld and Good Spirits Co in Glasgow. All of this to say, whisky, in addition to books and heritage, will be an enormous draw – especially Kilchoman and Bruichladdich.”

We asked Taylor what he’d like us to know about him or his book before your session, and he told us “Go easy on me – I am from Florida and we’re not all Florida Man headlines. As for my recent book Dastram/Delirium, it is a primer for the terrific and terrifying talent of Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, Scotland’s best kept literary secret. Here is an 18th-century Gaelic bard re-written into a current transatlantic English, with a dash of Gaelic and Scots retained. Also of note, he was an Argyll local!”

And as for other sessions he’s looking forward to – aside from Niall O’Gallagher, who he will appear alongside, he said “I’m looking forward to the Welcoming Nature panel, and like everyone else, Andrew O’ Hagan.”

You can find out more about Taylor at his website.

Taylor’s latest book is Dastram / Delirium.

Taylor will be in conversation with Niall O’Gallagher at a special Gaelic event on Saturday afternoon at the Gaelic College, which will be chaired by Iseabail Mactaggart. Taylor will also be providing music at Andrew O’Hagan’s Thursday opening event.

A former political journalist, Les Wilson is Creative Director of Caledonia TV, directing and executive producing documentaries on Scottish history, the British monarchy (Scotland’s War, The Enchanted Glass), and many programmes in Scottish Gaelic on literature and arts.

He is co-author (with Seona Robertson) of Scotland’s War and has a novel and several history books to his name: Islay Voices, The Drowned and the Saved: How War Came to the Hebrides (winner of Scotland’s National Book Awards, history) and Putting the Tea in Britain: How Scots Invented our National Drink.

We asked Les to tell us a little more about his latest book, Orwell’s Island. “Being steeped in Orwell, I’m always surprised that even fans of Nineteen Eighty-Four don’t know that its author wrote it in a remote farmhouse on Jura.  And if they do know that, they probably don’t know that Orwell arrived on Jura with a strong anti-Scottish prejudice. My book reveals how and why Orwell came to be on Jura, and how the experience caused him to abandon his almost lifelong ‘Scotophobia’.”

In common with several of our authors this year, Les is looking forward to attending other sessions during the Festival. “There are so many great writers I want to see, but as I’ve just read Andrew O’Hagan’s great new novel Caledonia Road, seeing him being interviewed will be a highlight for me. I’m also greatly looking forward to talking to Sue Lawrence about her novel Lady’s Rock, a terrific tale set partly on Islay!”

Les’s latest book Orwell’s Island can be purchased from the Celtic House.

Les will chair Sue Lawrence’s event on Saturday morning at the Gaelic College. He will also participate in Saturday evening’s Orwell panel event.

Alycia Pirmohamed is the author of the poetry collection Another Way to Split Water (Polygon Books). Her nonfiction debut A Beautiful and Vital Place won the 2023 Nan Shepherd Prize for nature writing and is forthcoming with Canongate.

Alycia currently teaches on the Creative Writing master’s at the University of Cambridge. She is the co-founder of the Scottish BPOC Writers Network and a co-organiser of the Ledbury Poetry Critics, and has been the recipient of several awards including a Pushcart Prize, the CBC Poetry Prize, and the 2020 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award.

You can find out more about Alycia at her website.

Alycia’s latest poetry collection is Another Way to Split Water.

Alycia will take part in the Welcoming Nature panel event at the Gaelic College on Saturday afternoon. She will also lead a Poetry in Nature walk on Sunday morning in partnership with INHT. This special outdoor event is not included in the festival pass, so make sure you get your ticket here.

It is 25 years since multi-award-winning Sunday Times bestseller Chris Brookmyre’s first book was published. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most popular crime writers in the UK. His enthusiasm for hurling himself into extra-curricular activities such as the Scotland v England Writers football, the Caledonian Challenge, Channel 5 Egg Heads, the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers (including appearances at Glastonbury and in Toronto), BBC Question Time and a live celebrity Mastermind with Clive Myrie (specialist subject Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is well known and means he has more to talk about than most.

Chris’ first book, Quite Ugly One Morning, was published in 1996 and later adapted for an ITV drama starring James Nesbitt and Eddie Marsan. He’s written twenty-eight novels since, four with his wife Marisa Haetzman under their pen name Ambrose Parry (Marisa visited Islay Book Festival last year to talk about their latest historical crime novel, Voices of the Dead).

Chris told us “this will be my second trip to Islay, having appeared at the festival back in 2016, when the audience greatly enjoyed correcting all the things I had got wrong in my partially Islay-set novel Dead Girl Walking. On this trip, I am particularly looking forward to hearing Andrew O’Hagan talk about Caledonian Road, and as a huge fan of Parks and Recreation, I quite fancy recreating Ron Swanson’s pilgrimage to the Lagavulin distillery.”

Hope you take your whisky neat, Chris.

You can find out more about Chris at his website.

Chris’s latest book The Cracked Mirror came out just a couple of weeks ago, so we’re some of the first to hear him talking about it!  

Chris will join Denise Mina for a brilliantly unpredictable Friday night event at Islay Book Festival – get your tickets here.