Welcome to the personal website of Shirley McKay

26 May, 2011 - 15:59 — Administrator

Welcome to the personal website of Shirley McKay, author of the Hew Cullan mysteries. We hope you enjoy your visit. Please register or login to comment on the blogs or contribute to the forums, or use the "Contact us" form to send us a message.

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Time & Tide new paperback

1 May, 2012 - 16:34 — Shirley McKay

  

 

 

 

 

This  is the new mass market paperback edition of Time & Tide, which came out in April, as always carefully and beautifully produced by Polygon. The cover is inlaid with gold (not real, but hey, for £8.99) and reproduction here does not do it justice. It reminds me, much as I appreciate and enjoy my kindle, how very much I like to hold a new book in my hand. It's not just the cover, but the whole feel of a book, its make up and its furniture, which  electronic versions cannot hope to emulate.

Meanwhile, new research at St Andrews university has opened up the lives of ancient volumes, looking at  the dirt upon the page - the palpable and physical - to find out what it tells us about readers in the past. My kindle holds no crumbs.

North Ayrshire libraries readers' day

9 April, 2012 - 13:23 — Shirley McKay

Library book

 

I will be taking part in the North Ayrshire libraries readers' day in Irvine on Saturday 28th April, with authors Keith Charters, Sue Peebles, Robin Pilcher and Caro Ramsey. More information here

Readers' Days are a fantastic opportunity to discuss your favourite books with readers and writers, in friendly and informal settings, and I can warmly recommend them to anyone who have not been to one before. The format consists of a panel discussion with all invited authors, followed by a choice of group sessions, where each  author leads  discussiion on a chosen book. (I have selected John Lanchester's Fragrant Harbour). 

After lunch come further small group sessions, in which the authors lead discussions on one of their own works (in my case, Time & Tide). A general question/answer session rounds off the day.

Events are interspersed with a series of short 'reader testimonies', where readers give their own insights into the world of reading and describe the meaning books have had for for them. Amusing, apt, and moving, these often prove the highlight of the day.

Ask at your local library for events in your area

Bloody Scotland

12 March, 2012 - 16:38 — Shirley McKay

 

Bloody Scotland

For readers and writers of mysteries and thrillers, hard and soft-boiled: Bloody Scotland is Scotland's first dedicated crime writing festival, devised and plotted by the fearless and esteemed  Lin Anderson and Alex Gray, aided and abetted by a powerful team of suspects, and  taking place in Stirling in September of  this year. Their website is now live,  showcasing some of Scotland's finest writing in the genre, and featuring the Glengoyne story competition (first prize: publication, and a rare single malt. The competition closes on the 29th of June)

Full programme to appear when tickets go on sale on May 17th, with news updated weekly in the meantime. Not to be missed!

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Crail History Group

25 January, 2012 - 00:37 — Shirley McKay

Crail History Group

I have been invited to talk to the Crail History Group next Tuesday (January 31st) on the subject of researching for the stories of Hew Cullan: Making up the Past, where histories and fictions cross. I was delighted to be asked.

The group meets monthly in the legion hall in Crail, Fife, and have had some distinguished speakers to date, including Christopher Smout, the Historiographer Royal for Scotland. Research interests include the survey of residents, place names and streets, and the stories of first world war casualties: the human side of history which colours in and brings to life the faces of the past.

The building in the picture is Crail tolbooth, which for me (and Hew) is close to home. We live on the same street.

Adjacent is the Crail Museum, run by volunteers; a fascinating insight into local history, and well worth a visit if you come to Crail. Which, of course, you should...

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