Send us a text This week I'm hearing from two terrific writers whose latest books are perfect for cosy reading over the next few weeks - and beyond... Jenny Colgan is a best-selling author. whose latest - The Secret Christmas Library - follows accidental book detective Mirren, and Jamie, who's desperately trying to do his best on a crumbling family estate in the Highlands... It's a snowed-in, fired-up celebration of family, secrets, ancient novels, dogs, adventures, mysteries, castles -...

Send us a text In this episode I’m delighted to be joined by actor, artist, comedian and Still Game favourite Gavin Mitchell who - among other things - is known and loved as Boabby the Barman… His work includes early roles on stage and behind the scenes at The Citz in Glasgow, via Velvet Soup, Monarch of the Glen, Bill Forsyth’s Being Human, Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut - and various dramas with his kindred spirit John Byrne, including the Tutti Frutti theatre show… We recorded this conversa...

Send us a text In this episode, I’m joined by the brilliant poet Hollie McNish, whose latest collection, Virgin, is out this week. We caught up last night in her dressing room, ahead of a sold-out gig at Glasgow’s Oran Mor, kicking off her Scottish book tour. Virgin is a blazing, bright, riled love letter to the best of us - which is most of us - in the face of man-made constructs, expectations, blame, shame, and abuses of power. It features mashed potatoes, pomegranates, warm baths, po...

Send us a text While I’ve got your ear, just a quick reminder that on the afternoon of Thursday the 9th of October I’ll be in conversation with writer and legend Denise Mina - that’s at The Stand in Glasgow, it’s at half two - and it’d be lovely to see you there. You can get tickets for the price of a coffee via akickupthearts.org… There are also events coming up with Emma Pollock, Irvine Welsh, John Niven, Sanjeev Kohli and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake, Michael Pedersen - and more chats wi...

Send us a text We’re back at Scotland’s Crime Writing Festival, Bloody Scotland, for this episode - which is a whistle-stop blether with three of the many, many excellent writers who’re in my home town of Stirling this weekend… Tariq Ashkanani’s latest wide-screen Americana novel, The Midnight King, hones in on a best-selling writer, a father, a widower, and a friendly man who - guess what - is also a serial killer. It won this year’s McIlvanney Prize for best Scottish Crime book of the...

Send us a text Recorded live at The Stand, Glasgow... Scotland’s Crime Writing Festival, Bloody Scotland, kicks off tomorrow - that’s Friday September 12th, we’ll all be there and hopefully you will too… Ian Rankin’s the guest programmer, I’m chairing Ian and various actors who’ve played Rebus over the years at the Albert Halls tomorrow, and then I’m in conversation with Mark Billingham and Laura Lippman on Saturday, and there are so many terrific events taking place from Friday to Sund...

Send us a text This week, we’re looking back at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, where we had a brilliant run of live guests including Barbara Dickson, Gordon Buchanan, Gavin Mitchell, Horse and Justin Currie - thank you so much for joining us, if you came along… I’ll post those chats, and others, in due course, but this week, we’re hearing from actor and broadcaster Grant Stott, who regalled us with tales about music, showbiz and secretarial studies at The Stand, and he talked about his family ...

Send us a text This week, I’m at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms, for a chat with the goddess - the countess - that is Fay Fife… The Rezillos and Revillos trailblazer - and the only person in the history of the universe to sing Top of the Pops on - yes - Top of the Pops… is playing at the Voodoo Rooms from August 12th to 17th- so we caught up for a coffee, to chat all about it… She’ll be raising the roof with her swaggering country insurgents The Countess of Fife, playing songs from the glorious alb...

Send us a text Recorded at the East Neuk Festival in Fife This week, I’m hearing from one of our most gorgeous, and inventive musicians, who’s a composer, harpist, singer, songwriter and - as it turns out - a pretty fierce conductor too. Esther Swift is at Edinburgh International Book Festival tonight (August 15th) - in a collaboration with Jackie Kay - so we talked about that, and Esther’s glorious album Expectations of a Lifetime… But we met after her superb Zulu Voyage community performanc...

Send us a text This episode was recorded live at the brilliant Portobello Bookshop, in (near!) Edinburgh - thank you so much to Euan and the gang for making us so welcome - as ever - and to everyone at Birlinn. And thanks to the legend Val McDermid - folk singer; football fan; Fun Loving Crime Writer; creator of heroes like Lindsay Gordon, Wire in the Blood’s Carol Jordan and Allie Burns - and a newly-appointed doctor of letters. But we’ll get to that… To celebrate the paperback edition of h...

Send us a text This week, we’re chatting about comedian, writer and director Paul Black's terrific new BBC short film - Govan Fair Queen - which sees nine-year-old Abigail reluctantly roped into entering the annual local pageant by her fired-up granny Linda - played by Elaine C Smith. It’s a really warm and funny love letter to family, community and pride, via footballers, flatpack furniture and crufts… And it also features surely the three greatest-named siblings you’ll ever hear… ...

Send us a text Before we get to this episode, recorded at the brilliant Glasgow Women’s Library, a reminder that A Kick Up The Arts is live at the Edinburgh Fringe in August… I’d love you to join me at the Stand, which is only a five-minute walk from Waverley Station, for lunchtime chats with guests Gavin Mitchell on August 18, Gordon Buchanan on the 19th, Barbara Dickson on the 20th, Grant Stott on the 21st, Justin Currie on the 23rd, and then - on the 24th - the iconic Horse will be c...

Send us a text We’re at one of my old places of work for this episode - The Tron theatre in Glasgow, to celebrate a terrific one-man play called Man’s Best Friend - you might have seen the dogs who’re ostensibly at the heart of it all over social media - and it’s there until the 12th of July, before touring Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, Edinburgh, Greenock and Inverness in the Autumn. It’s written by Scottish theatre lodestar Douglas Maxwell, and directed by Tron artistic Director Jemima Levick, who...

Send us a text Before we get wired into this week’s episode, I’ve just announced that wildlife cameraman, film-maker and rock ‘n’ roll lion tamer Gordon Buchnanan is the latest guest to join me for A Kick Up The Arts at the Edinburgh Fringe… We’ll be at the Stand on August 19th, and we’d love you to join us. My other guests that week - so far - are Gavin Mitchell on the 18thl, Barbara Dickson on the 20th, Grant Stott on the 21st, Justin Currie on the 23rd, and I’ll be announcing another...

Send us a text Just very quickly, a reminder that I’d love you to join me for A Kick Up The Arts - live at at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, I’ll be at The Stand, with Still Game's Gavin Mitchell on August 18th, Barbara Dickson on August 20th, Grant Stott on August 21st, and Del Amitri’s Justin Currie on August 23rd - and I’ll be announcing more fab special guests soon… Before that, the awesome Val McDermid will join me at The Portobello Bookshop on July 9th… There are ticket links to all of t...

Send us a text Just very quickly, a reminder that I’d love you to join me for A Kick Up The Arts - live - at at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, I’ll be at The Stand, with Barbara Dickson on August 20th, Grant Stott on August 21st, and Del Amitri’s Justin Currie on August 23rd - and I’ll be announcing more fab special guests soon… Before that, the awesome Val McDermid will join me at The Portobello Bookshop on July 9th… There are ticket links to all of those shows here. Right now though, we’re i...

Send us a text In this episode, we’re celebrating brass bands, activism, teenage angst and community spirit, thanks to the National Theatre of Scotland’s latest production - KELI, which opened last week at Stirling’s Macrobert Centre and Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum. It’s running at Dundee Rep this week, before marching on to Perth Theatre and Glasgow Tramway in June… Marking 40 years since the miners’ strike, it tells the story of a stressed, and funny, and fired-up seventeen-year-old - Keli -...

Send us a text Just very quickly, a reminder that I’d love you to join me for A Kick Up The Arts - live - at at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, I’ll be at The Stand, with Barbara Dickson on August 20th, Grant Stott on August 21st, and Del Amitri’s Justin Currie on August 23rd - and I’ll be announcing more special guests soon… Before that though, the brilliant Val McDermid will join me at The Portobello Bookshop on July 9th, we’ll be celebrating the paperback publication of Queen Macbeth, and ch...

Send us a text Before we jump on board with this episode, I’m delighted to tell you that the writer and legend Val McDermid will be joining me for A Kick Up The Arts live from Edinburgh’s Portobello Bookshop to celebrate her latest book, Queen Macbeth, on July the 9th. She’ll also chat about a favourite Scottish album, film and book - and we’d love you to come along. I’ll put ticket links everywhere… There are also tickets on-sale now for A Kick Up The Arts live from the Edinburgh Fringe, I’l...

Send us a text Before we get wired into this episode, I’m delighted to tell you that the podcast is coming to the Edinburgh Fringe this Summer! I’ll be at The Stand, which is a five minute walk from Waverley Station, with very special guests every lunchtime, from August the 18th to the 24th… So far, I can tell you that I’ll be joined by Barbara Dickson on August 20th, Grant Stott on August 21st, and Del Amitri’s Justin Currie on August 23rd - and I would love you to join us… I’ll be ann...