I'll be reading at Sally Evans' Poetry Weekend in Callander on September 4-5 2010, Jim Carruth's St Mungo's Mirrorball event in Glasgow on November 25th 2010, and at the Shore Poets' monthly reading in Edinburgh on January 30th 2011.
Copies of Perfect Blue and Tails will be available at both events.
Keep an eye on this website for further details!
The Perfect Blue Companion, a free PDF e-Book containing author commentaries on all the poems in my new collection, Perfect Blue, is now available.
You can download the e-Book here, and you can also read it online at the Perfect Blue website.
If you're interested in why I'm providing the commentaries, please read this. If you find them useful, please tell me about it!
On Sunday 14th March, I'll be launching Perfect Blue at Rob Mackenzie's Poetry at the... series in Edinburgh, an event also featuring poets Alan Riach and Aiko Harman.
The event is held at the GRV in Guthrie Street (just off Chambers Street), and runs from 7.45pm - 9.45pm. Cost of entry is £4, or £3 concession.
Copies of Perfect Blue will be available on the night; do contact me if you'd like me to reserve one for you.
My new poetry collection, Perfect Blue, is now available! You can order a signed copy direct from me, or buy an unsigned copy from the usual places (see the online shop for links.)
Supporting the new collection is a companion website featuring sample poems and audio recordings.
The companion website also provides author commentaries on each poem, intended to provide a friendly accompaniment to the book (particularly for readers who are new to poetry.)
On Sunday 14th February, a cornucopia of poets including Kona Macphee will be celebrating Valentine's Day with Rob Mackenzie's jumpin' Poetry at the... gig in Edinburgh.
Come along and hear a fine assortment of writers sharing specially-commissioned poems inspired by that great ancient love poem, the Song of Songs.
Much to my own amazement, my Poem Of The Week blog at thingwright is now 100 poems old!
To celebrate, I'm giving away a signed copy of "Tails", together with another mystery poetry book. Visit the competition page for your chance to win.
The Poetry Society is now taking bookings for my next two Poetry Surgery days at the SPL in Edinburgh, which will take place on Wednesday 27 January 2010 and Wednesday 21 April 2010.
Please see the Poetry Society's Surgery page for more information.
It's the (second!) launch of the Golden Hour II anthology from the wondrous Forest Publications, at Elvis Shakespeare bookshop in Leith. I'll be reading with Russell Jones and Claire Askew, with a cornucopia of music supplied by Hailey Beavis, Billy Liar and Withered Hand.
| Event: | Golden Hour II reading |
| Time: | 2.00pm, Sunday 1 November 2009 |
| Place: | Elvis Shakespeare bookshop, 347 Leith Walk, Edinburgh EH6 8SD |
| Map: | Elvis Shakespeare website |
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I'm the November reader in the Stirling Centre of Poetry's ongoing series of events. All are welcome, and admission is free!
| Event: | Stirling Centre of Poetry reading |
| Time: | 7.30pm, Thursday 5 November 2009 |
| Place: | Room A7, Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling |
| Map: | Location of the Pathfoot Building |
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As part of the Crieff and Strathearn Drovers' Tryst Walking Festival, I'll be reading with other local writers at the Tryst Tales and Tunes event.
| Event: | "Tryst Tales and Tunes" |
| Time: | 7.30pm, Saturday 10 October 2009 |
| Place: | Caledonian Bar, James Square, Crieff |
| Map: | Location of the Caledonian Bar |
| Facebook: | Facebook event listing |
Here's a sneak preview of the cover of my new collection Perfect Blue, due for release in February 2010!
The cover image is "Blue Cala" by the US photographer Jack Spencer.
Here's some more info about the book.
On 30th September 2009, I'll be providing the first of an ongoing series of Scotland-based Poetry Surgery events for the Poetry Society, kindly hosted by the wonderful Scottish Poetry Library.
This first session is already fully booked, but keep your eyes open for the next one, coming up in a few months' time.
All enquiries about the Poetry Surgeries should be sent to Paul McGrane at the Poetry Society.
The BBC have recently launched their four-part series "My Life In Verse", featuring poetry selections by Sheila Hancock, Robert Webb, Malorie Blackman and Cerys Williams.
Malorie Blackman has included the poem "My people"
from "Tails" in her selection, and it appears in the supporting
anthology now available in bookshops or
here on Amazon.co.uk
In support of Poetry Aid, I'm giving a solo reading at Birnam Arts - here's the full event listing.
I hope to sell some copies of Tails on the night for Poetry Aid, and Birnam Arts are also kindly donating 10% of their takings from the event to UNICEF.
| Event: | Reading at Birnam Arts |
| Time: | 8pm, Friday 12 June 2009 |
| Tickets: | £5 each; available in advance at the online box office. |
| Place: | Birnam Arts and Conference Centre (BACC) |
| Location: | Here are the directions to BACC. Note that the venue is just two minutes' walk from Birnam and Dunkeld train station. |
To celebrate the "Lost World" One Book One Edinburgh 2009 campaign for Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, I'll be giving a short reading as part of The Golden Hour at The Forest venue in Bristo Place, Edinburgh.
| Event: | "Lost World" at The Golden Hour |
| Time: | 8pm, Wednesday 18 February 2009 |
| Place: | The Forest, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh EH1 1EY |
| Organised by: | The redoubtable Ryan Van Winkle, Forest Publications co-founder and Reader In Residence at the SPL |
| Map: | Location of The Forest |
| Facebook: | Facebook event listing |
