Doug Johnstone

Look what I found in a drawer in the loft…

…so it wasn’t just a hideous fever dream.

It has a really catchy title…

…and what a page turner…

…and check out the cheeky epigram, basically admitting I was at it!

Dx

Hey, The Jump made it on to a Books of the Year list over at Scots Whay Hae, alongside some great writers like Kirstin Innes, Janice Galloway and Stuart Cosgrove. Nice one, thanks Ali Braidwood!

So I’ve updated my Events page to include write-ups of all my Book Week Scotland gigs from last week. They were a mixed bag, as per usual. All very interesting, though, and definitely worth doing.

I’ve also added my last gig of the year, which is at Perth Prison in a couple of weeks. Not open to the public, obviously. I’ve done prison events before and they’re always very interesting.

Dx

illustration by Dom McKenzie

Here’s my Big Issue review of William Gay’s Little Sister Death (Faber) and A Mile Down (William Heinemann) by David Vann. Both cracking.

Here you go. I didn’t like it very much, if I’m honest. Sorry!

Dx

What do James M Cain and George Mackay Brown have in common? They’re both mentioned in this penetrating Q&A I did with the inimitable Karen Sullivan over at Orenda Books, that’s what. I did some deep digging for this one, folks!

illustration by Dom McKenzie

Here’s a thing I wrote for The Big Issue magazine about a brilliant project organised by Sarah Weinman called Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s. Please check it out. There’s also an accompanying website for the project here. Well worth a look. I was really blown away by this whole thing. Enjoy!