Read All About It

Heather Martin is the author of the highly-acclaimed and best-selling biography of Lee Child called The Reacher Guy. Heather is a writer and academic who was born in Australia, and later moved to England to become a classical guitarist. However, she ended up singing with a Venezuelan folk group and studying languages instead. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma Grae is an author and journalist, originally from Glasgow, who now lives and works in London. Emma has been writing in Scots since she was a student at the University of Strathclyde, and her debut novel, Be guid tae yer Mammy, was published in August 2021 by Unbound Books, the world's first crowdfunding publisher.Emma has also published fiction and poetry in the UK and Ireland, while her journalism has appeared in numerous publications.You can order Emma's novel, Be guid tae yer Mammy, at https://unbound.com/books/be-guid-tae-yer-mammy/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Danny Rhodes is a writer who has been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC National Short Story Award 2021 for his short story, Toadstone. The winner will be announced on October 19th.His debut novel Asboville was published in 2006 and was selected as a Waterstone's Booksellers Paperback of the Year, while it has also been adapted for BBC Films. His next novel, Soldier Boy, was published in 2009, while his third novel, Fan, came out in 2014. It is grounded in Danny's experiences as a Nottingham Forest fan at the Hillsborough Disaster on April 15th, 1989. He has just finished a prequel to that novel, called Kid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tom Palmer is a children's author who writes historical and sports fiction books, and to date he has written 53 books for children. His latest novel, Arctic Circle, is rooted in the real life story of the Arctic convoys during the Second World War, and it was longlisted for the Dudley Children's Book 2021 Award. He has also written books on subjects such as the trenches of the First World War, as well as novels set further back in history, while his many sports books include the Roy of the Rovers series of novels, the latest of which, Sudden Death, is published in September 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Vanessa Onwuemezi is a writer and poet based in London. She completed an MA in creative writing at the University of Birkbeck in 2018 while her story, Heart of Things, won the White Review Short Story Prize. Her work has also appeared in Prototype Magazine, Freeze and The Literary Consultancy.Her debut collection of short stories, Dark Neighbourhood, is published in October 2021 by Fitzcarraldo Editions. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charles E. McGarry is a crime writer based in Glasgow. He works as an audio editor, a newspaper sub-editor and a crime fiction writer. His first novel, The Road To Lisbon, was not a crime book, but is an excellent piece of football fiction which he co-wrote with Martin Greig. HIs first crime novel, The Killing of Helen Addison, was published in 2017 and is the first in a series of supernatural detective fiction featuring psychic detective, Leo Moran. That's been followed by The Shadow of the Black Earl (2018) and The Mystery of the Strange Piper, which is published in September 2021 by BackPage Press. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Siobhan O'Neill is a history teacher based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Since graduating from Bangor University in North Wales, where she studied history and film studies, Siobhan has worked in education as a secondary school history teacher and head of history.She created a network for history educators in Basingstoke to be able to share good practice and to learn from different stages of education, while she also runs her own history revision channel on YouTube and Instagram called One History Help. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Neil Broadfoot is a writer who has written six books to date - three in his Doug McGregor series and three in his Conor Fraser series - with a seventh novel set for publication later this year.Neil's debut, Falling Fast, came out in 2014 and introduced the world to Edinburgh investigative journalist, Doug McGregor. It was shortlisted for both the Dundee International Prize and the prestigious Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year award. He followed that up with The Storm and All The Devils. His first Conor Fraser novel, No Man's Land, came out in 2018 and he followed that up with No Place To Die and, most recently, The Point of No Return.Before writing fiction, Neil worked as a journalist for 15 years at both local and national newspapers, before moving into communications. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fiona Erskine is a professional engineer with 40 years of international manufacturing experience. Now based in Teeside, England, she grew up in Edinburgh, studied chemical engineering at Cambridge University and has since travelled the world, working in fertiliser factories, oil terminals and international construction projects.Fiona's first job was in the factory described in her novel, Phosphate Rocks: A Death in 10 Objects, which has recently been published by Sandstone Press to great acclaim.Her first novel, The Chemical Detective, came out in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, while the second book in the series, The Chemical Reaction, came out in 2020. And there are at least to further books to come in the series, featuring main character, Jaq Silver - The Chemical Cocktail, which is due out in 2022, and a fourth novel in 2023. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lucy is a writer and PR consultant whose work has appeared in The Independent, The I Paper, NME, Red Magazine, Den of Geek, Huff Post and many more. She is also a former columnist with Sarah Millican's Standard Issue magazine and often interviews guests for the Standard Issue podcast. She has also published two books - A Series of Unfortunate Stereotypes: naming and shaming mental health stigmas, and a novel, The Twenty-Seven Club.Lucy is passionate about challenging mental health and particularly addiction stigma, has worked with the media in PR and marketing for over 18 years and has experienced anxiety for even longer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

AJ Pearce grew up in Hampshire and worked in magazine publishing and marketing before getting into writing. After gaining a degree in American studies at the University of Sussex, she embarked on a two-decade career in magazine marketing, working on everything from What's New in Engineering to Smash Hits.And it is the world of magazine publishing that provided the backdrop for her highly-acclaimed debut novel, Dear Mrs Bird, which was published back in 2018 and became a Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard & Judy Book Club pick.The novel is set in London in 1941 and features Emmeline Lake, an aspiring journalist who begins working on the Woman's Friend magazine, assisting the formidable Mrs Bird, the magazine's resident agony aunt.And Emmeline's adventures continue in Yours Cheerfully – AJ's new novel which has just been published. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Caro Ramsay is a Scottish crime writer who has published 14 novels to great acclaim. The first of those, Absolution, came out in 2007 and was shortlisted for the British Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger Award for first books by unpublished writers. It was also the first in a series set in Glasgow and featuring DI Colin Anderson and DS Freddie Costello. To date, there have been 12 novels in the series, the most recent - On An Outgoing Tide - published earlier this year. Caro has also published two stand-alone novels, Mosaic and The Cursed Girls, which has just come out in paperback.A graduate of the British School of Osteopathy, Caro also runs a large osteopath centre, treating animals and humans. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marion Todd is a crime writer whose debut novel, See Them Run (published in 2019), was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year in 2020. Since then, she has published a further three books, with two more to come in the next 12 months.Marion has had a variety of jobs over the years, mostly in education as a lecturer in Further Education - rich pickings for a writer! She has also worked as a plantswoman, candlemaker and pianist in a hotel lounge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Craig Russell is an award-winning and best-selling author, whose novels have been published in 25 languages around the world.His Jan Fabel series is set in Hamburg, Germany, and the seven novels to date have been phenomenally successful. The most recent of those, The Ghosts of Altona, won the Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Fiction in 2015, while five of the novels have been made into films by ARD, the German national broadcaster.His Lennox series of novels are set in 1950s Glasgow, featuring private investigator Lennox. The series has been optioned for TV.Craig has also written to stand-alone novels - The Devil Aspect and, most recently, Hyde, which has just been published in April 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Karen Heenan-Davies is a book blogger based in Wales. She began her book blog, BookerTalk: Adventures in Reading, just over eight years ago, with her motivation to read of the Booker Prize-winning novels, going all the way back to the first winner in 1969. It's a project that she finally completed last year.The blog has continued to go from strength to strength and expand beyond the Booker Prize winners to become a journal of Karen's reading, as well as a platform to promote writers and publishers in Wales See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gavin Bell is an award-winning travel writer, whose wanderings from Antarctica to Zanzibar have failed to diminish his passion for football, and Motherwell FC in particular.Gavin previously worked as a features writer with The Herald newspaper, while he was also a foreign correspondent of Reuters and The Times. He has written two travel books - Somewhere Over The Rainbow: Travels in South Africa, and In Search of Tusitala: Travels in the Pacific after Robert Louis Stevenson - while in 2020 he published Because It's Saturday: A Journey into Football's Heartlands, that examines the professional grassroots of football. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gordon Brown (aka Morgan Cry) is the author of eight frim thriller books, along with a novella and a number of short stories. His novels are set in Spain, Scotland and the United States, with his latest Morgan Cry novel, Thirty One Bones, being set in Spain. The sequel, Six Wounds, is due for release next year.Gordon also helped found Bloody Scotland - Scotland's international crime-writing festival. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gordon McGhie is a book blogger, whose popular blog, Grab This Book, has been going now for eight years, and it is a vehicle for his lifelong passion for reading. A graduate of Stirling University, Gordon works as an independent contractor in financial services, in between reading books and blogging about them.You can check out Gordon's blog, Grab This Book, at www.grabthisbook.net See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Elizabeth Macneal is a writer and potter who was born in Scotland but now lives in London. In 2017 she completed the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia, where she was awarded the Malcolm Bradbury Scholarship.She is the author of the Sunday Times best-selling novel, The Doll Factory, which won the Caledonia Novel Award in 2018, and her new novel, Circus of Wonders, is published in May 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Elisa Lorello is a best-selling author who grew up in Long Island but is now based in Montana. She has written 13 books - mostly novels, although she's also written a memoir, Friends of Mine: 30 Years of Life as a Duran Duran fan, and The Writer's Habit, which puts her knowledge and experience of being a writer into a book.Her first novel, Faking It, was published in 2008, which was also the first in a series, which she has also written a number of stand-alone novels. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The fourth bonus episode of Extra! Extra! Read All About It, with writer Catriona Child joining Paul Cuddihy to talk all things books – what they’ve been reading and what they’re planning to read… the latest news from the world of books… some other podcast recommendations, and a look at what’s coming up on the main Read All About It podcast.Extra! Extra! Read All About It comes out on the last day of every month. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah McMullan is a journalist and presenter with STV News, and presents the morning and lunchtime bulletins every day. She graduated from Strathclyde University with an English Literature degree, and went on to live and teach English as a foreign language in Vietnam. While living there, she applied for the MA Multimedia Journalism course at Glasgow Caledonian University, with the interview starting on the back of a motorbike because she got struck in traffic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alan Parks is a writer, who has, to date, published four highly-acclaimed crime novels set in Glasgow in the 1970s and featuring Detective Harry McCoy - Bloody January, February's Son, Bobby March Will Live Forever and, most recently in March 2021, The April Dead. He had previously worked in the music industry for over 20 years, initially with a music management company before joining London Records where he commissioned music videos, artwork and photography. He continued in that role when it became Warners. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robbie Morrison is a novelist, who has just brought out his first novel, a historical crime book set in 1930s Glasgow called Edge of the Grave.He is also one of the most highly-regarded writers in the UK Comics industry, best known for his award-winning sci-fi/adventure series, Nikolai Dante, as well as the graphic novels, Drowntown, and White Death. Robbie has also scripted iconic characters Doctor Who, Judge Dredd, Batman and Spider-man. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nicky Allt is a writer who has penned a number of hit theatre shows, as well as having written several books and a film. His first success came with the show, Brick Up The Mersey, a musical comedy about people on opposite sides of the River Mersey. Its success was critical in saving Liverpool's historic Royal Court Theatre from closing.Nicky's next theatre venture, One Night in Istanbul, was the Empire Theatre's fastest-selling show, and it was subsequently made into a film. He has also wrote and produced You'll Never Walk Alone - a story about the history of Liverpool Football Club, and also the smash-hit show, Celtic The Musical See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The third bonus episode of Extra! Extra! Read All About It, where Paul Cuddihy and Chris Dolan talk all things books – what they’ve been reading and what they’re planning to read… the latest news from the world of books… some other podcast recommendations, and a look at what’s coming up on the main Read All About It podcast.Extra! Extra! Read All About It comes out on the last day of every month. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Vikki Reilly is the marketing, events and sales support manager for Publishing Scotland - the trade and network body for Scottish publishing. She has worked for nearly 20 years in the book industry - first as a book seller, then in the sales and marketing departments of Mainstream Publishing, Mercat Press and Birlinn Ltd, where she was also a member of the editorial board.In 2020, Vikki published her first book - The Beatles 101: a pocket guide in 101 moments, songs, people and places. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jenny Lindsay is one of Scotland's best-known spoken word performers. As an independent programmer and promoter of poetry, live literature and spoken word, Jenny has been credited with contributing to a thriving live poetry scene in Scotland, and she has performed across the UK and further afield at a variety of festivals and events. Jenny is the author of two full collections and two pamphlet collections of poetry, she was longlisted for the inaugural Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship in 2017, and in 2020 won a John Byrne Award for Critical Thinking. Her most recent work, This Script, which exists as both a print collection and stage show, has been described in The Scotsman newspaper as ‘genius’, and in The Wee Review as ‘one of 2020’s most necessary spoken word shows.’ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Elaine C Smith is one of Scotland's best-known performers, a star of stage and screen for over 30 years. She is an award-winning actress, a singer, writer, comedian, raconteur, campaigner, political activist, sister, wife, mother and granny... and she is also a voracious reader.She has worked extensively in radio, TV, film and theatre, and is famous for her brilliant portrayal of Mary Doll in the BBC comedy series, Rab C Nesbitt, while she has been a leading light in Scotland's panto scene over the years... Oh yes she has!Elaine is also a BAFTA winner for her superb performance as Christine in the excellent sitcom, Two Doors Down. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael J. Malone is a writer with 11 novels to his name, as well as one work of non-fiction. He has also had around 200 poems published in a variety of publications.He has had a varied career, working for the Royal Bank of Scotland after leaving school and then in the financial industry before becoming a regional sales manager for the publisher, Faber & Faber, a position he held until 2015.He is now a full-time writer, while also working part-time as a clinical hypnotherapist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, whose latest book, The Strays of Paris, was published in the UK in February 2021. She has published 15 novels, two short story collections, five non-fiction books and eight young adult books.Her first novel, Barn Blind, came out in 1980, while A Thousand Acres won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. And prior to the release of The Strays of Paris, she wrote the highly-acclaimed Last 100 Years trilogy - Good Luck, Early Warning and Golden Age.Jane is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has also received the PEN Centre USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The second of a new bonus series of podcasts called Extra! Extra! Read All About It, where Paul Cuddihy and Chris Dolan talk all things books – what they’ve been reading and what they’re planning to read… the latest news from the world of books… some other podcast recommendations, and a look at what’s coming up on the main Read All About It podcast.Extra! Extra! Read All About It is out on the last day of every month. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Douglas Skelton is a writer who has published 12 non-fiction books and nine crime thrillers, with number 10 due in August 2021. His first thriller, Blood City, was published in 2013, the first in a quartet of novels set in Glasgow. And Douglas has twice been longlisted for the prestigious McIlvanney Prize for Crime Fiction. As well as being a writer, Douglas is also a performer and takes part in comedy shows alongside other crime writers. He is also one quarter of Four Blokes in Search of a Plot – a show where they invite members of the public to give them a murder weapon and a protagonist, and they then take it in turns to create a crime story while also answering questions about the craft of crime writing. Douglas also has a one-man show, You The Jury, which invites audiences to deliver verdicts on real life, but heavily disguised cases from around the world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tara Fitzpatrick is a reporter with the Daily Record, covering a range of areas including live news, crime, features, and human interest, mostly working with digital and social media, although she also write for print. She is also an arts writer and reviewer, and has previously covered the Edinburgh Fringe festival and theatre and live music across Glasgow. She studied English and Theatre at Glasgow University and Multimedia Journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stuart Braithwaite is a musician and songwriter, who is the guitarist and vocalist with top Scottish band, Mogwai. The band, who were formed back in 1995, release their 10th studio album, As The Love Continues, on February 19, 2021, while a live performance of the album will be streamed online on Saturday, February 13. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aidan McQuade is an anti-slavery and human rights consultant who hails from South Armagh in Ireland. From 2006 until 2017, he was director of the non-governmental organisation, Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organisation. Prior to that, for 13 years he worked in humanitarian response, development and human rights. Aidan is also a patron of the Dalit Solidarity Network UK and an ambassador for the international Dalit Solidarity Network.He published his first novel, The Undiscovered Country, in 2020 with Unbound Books following a successful crowd-funding project, while Aidan can also boast of being the first Mastermind champion to appear on the Read All About It podcast, having won the competition in 2013. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first of a new bonus series of podcasts called Extra! Extra! Read All About It, where Paul Cuddihy and Chris Dolan talk all things books – what they’ve been reading and what they’re planning to read… the latest news from the world of books… some other podcast recommendations, and a look at what’s coming up on the main Read All About It podcast.Extra! Extra! Read All About It will be out on the last day of every month. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stuart Cosgrove is a writer and broadcaster, who used to work for the NME and The Face back in the 1980s. He was also an executive at Channel 4, where he was controller of Arts and Entertainment, and then Head of Programmes at the channel.He co-hosts the popular and long-running BBC Radio Scotland show, Off The Ball, with Tam Cowan, and his great sporting love is his hometown football team, St Johnstone.Stuart is also the author of the Soul Trilogy – a series of books on soul music and social change. They are – Detroit 67: The Year That Changed Soul; Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul; Harlem 69: The Future Of Soul, and his latest book, Cassius X, was published in September 2020 by Polygon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Read All About It podcast is returning for a new season, and guests from the worlds of literature, music, entertainment, theatre, sports and politics talk about their favourite (and not so favourite) books.Every week on the podcast, each guest answer the same five questions while also chatting about their own life, career and how important books are to them.The five questions are:1. Favourite book from childhood.2. Favourite book from teenage/university (formative) years.3. A book you would recommend to anyone.4. A book you couldn’t be paid to read again.5. The last book you read or are currently reading,This trailer is a taste of what's to come in season 2 of the Read All About It podcast series. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the last podcast episode of 2020 and, indeed, the final episode of Season 1, which began back in January this year. And in this Hogmanay episode, Paul Cuddihy and Chris Dolan each pick five books they're planning to read in 2021 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As we reach the end of the year, Paul Cuddihy looks back at all the books he read in 2020 and picks a few of his favourites. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Highlights from previous Read All About It episodes, as Dani Garavelli, Les Wood, Nicola Smith, Thomas Quinn, Rebecca Norman and Ed Needham all choose a book they would recommend to anyone. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jane O’Donnell is the Director of People Policy at COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities). Jane grew up in Bathgate, West Lothian, where she still stays with her partner and two daughters, and grew up with a love of books given to her by her parents.She studied English at St Andrew’s University, which she admits was just because she loved books so much, and like many people, it has had no bearing on her choice of career.Jane has worked in local government for most of her adult life, working in a variety of roles over the past 24 years. Her role now as Director of People Policy at COSLA covers policy relating to children and young people, health, social care and working with trade union colleagues to support the workforce. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Highlights from previous Read All About It episodes, as Adam Farrer, Heather Parry, Neil Lancaster, Sarah Smith, Neil Mackay and Louise Welsh all choose their favourite teenage/formative years read. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Highlights from previous Read All About It episodes, as Hugh Macdonald, Karen Campbell, Doug Johnstone, Catriona Child, Steven Kedie and Karen Jones all choose their favourite book from childhood. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A special Read All About It podcast of poems and songs for Christmas Day, featuring Robert Louis Stevenson poems read by Paul Cuddihy's family and sung by the legendary Bookends band. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the twelfth and final day of The 12 Days of Bookmas, a special festive podcast series from the Read All About It podcast. This episode features Chris Dolan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Highlights from previous Read All About It episodes, as Douglas Stuart, Tammye Huf, Jonathan Whitelaw, Catherine Simpson, Paul Lyons and Laura Marney all choose a book they would recommend to anyone. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's Day 11 of The 12 Days of Bookmas, a special festive podcast series from the Read All About It podcast, featuring Professor Willy Maley. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Heather Parry is a writer and reader based in Glasgow. Her work has been performed at the Edinburgh International Book Festival and has been published in many books and magazines. Heather, in her own words, writes weird fiction and non-fiction, while she is the co-founder and editorial director of Extra Teeth magazine. She also produces and co-presents Teenage Scream, a podcast about point horror books, with Kirsty Logan, and she chairs various literary events throughout Scotland.Heather is currently working on her second and third novels, and a collection of short stories. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's Day 10 of The 12 Days of Bookmas, a special festive podcast series from the Read All About It podcast, featuring writer, Margot McCuaig. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.