Podcast appearances and mentions of Louise Welsh

Best Scottish Poems is the Scottish Poetry Library's annual online anthology of the 20 Best Scottish Poems, edited each year by a different editor. Bookshops and libraries – with honourable exceptions – often provide a very narrow range of poetry, and Scottish poetry in particular. Best Scottish Poems offers readers in Scotland and abroad a way of sampling the range and achievement of our poets, their languages, forms, concerns. It is in no sense a competition but a personal choice, and this year's editors, the novelists Louise Welsh and Zoë Strachan, checked and balanced each other's predilections. Their introduction demonstrates how widely they read, and how intensely. All the Best Scottish Poems selections are available on the SPL website. This special podcast features readings by established voices and emerging talent. With readings by Kathleen Jamie, Liz Lochhead, Robin Robertson, John Burnside, and many more.  Photo by Jen Hadfield.

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali caught up with writer, and previous guest, Louise Welsh to talk about her latest novel To The Dogs, which is out now published by Canongate Books. The two talk about the complex issue of class, the hold of the past, the setting of Glasgow, the central character of Jim Brennan, the parallels between gangland life and academia, the changing politics of university life, building towards a dramatic conclusion, and much more. They also discuss The Second Cut, Louise's sequel to her critically-acclaimed and much-loved debut The Cutting Room, and the return of the protagonist Rilke, as well as her role as Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and revisiting the Empire Cafe project 10 years on. Louise is not only one of SWH!'s favourite writers, but also one of our greatest supporters and it was great to have her back on the podcast. The result is an insightful and thoughtful conversation which will appeal to readers and writers alike. For full details, including all the ways to listen, go to https://www.scotswhayhae.com

Louise Welsh worked in a second-hand bookshop in Glasgow before she took the plunge to become a writer, bursting onto the scene in 2002 with her prize-winning crime novel, The Cutting Room. As the author of seven novels and the Plague Times Trilogy, she doesn't shy away from difficult subjects and unpalatable truths in her fiction, exploring issues of identity, sexuality, class, immigration, viral pandemics and shady economics. Her latest book, To the Dogs, is a thriller centred around a university professor who finds himself dragged into his former life of violence and danger when his son is arrested on drugs charges. But despite these serious themes, Louise's work is punctuated by a playful, dry sense of humour, highlighting the absurdity of certain situations - and a vivid vocabulary. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Glasgow University and she loves to collaborate. She has written short stories and plays, edited collections of poetry and has a long-standing working relationship with the composer Stuart MacRae, with whom she's written four opera librettos. Her musical choices include works by Debussy, Purcell and Verdi.

Clive Anderson and Scottee are joined by Louise Welsh, Sikisa, Movin' Melvin Brown & Victoria Melody for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Niteworks & AiiTee.

It’s been twenty long years, but Glaswegian auctioneer extraordinaire Rilke is back with his merry band of pranksters in The Second Cut, Louise Welsh’s follow up novel to her remarkable The Cutting Room. The times may have changed—tech-savvy Rilke is now meeting men on Grindr instead of in pubs—but remarkably, Rilke, Rose, Anderson and Les,... Read more »

Neil has been waiting for 20 years to talk to Louise Welsh about her latest novel The Second Cut. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

HEADS TOGETHER - the monthly magazine show on CRIME TIME FM. PAUL, VICTORIA and BARRY discuss the Crime Time FM WATCHLIST, the latest podcasts, January 2022 releases, book-to-film-to-book?, TV adaptations of favourite detectives, these extraordinary times for crime fiction and the little fella...PAUL BURKE writes about crime fiction for Crime Fiction Lover, NB Magazine, Crime Time and the European Literature Network.VICTORIA SELMAN is the bestselling author of the Ziba MacKenzie series killer thrillers. Her new thriller Truly, Darkly, Deeply will be published in 2022.BARRY FORSHAW is the editor of Crime Time, author of several books on film and crime fiction and the FT Crime Fiction Critic.The Watchlist:Dolphin Junction - Mick HerronVine Street - Dominic NolanThe Killing Hills - Chris OffuttThe Night Will be Long - Santiago Gamboa trans. Andrea RosenbergA Three Dog Problem SJ BennettTurf Wars Olivier Norek trans. Nick CaistorJanuary 2022 Crime Fiction:Theo Clare, Simon Mason, Amen Alonge, CS Robertson, Dean Koonz, Louise Welsh, Matt Wesolowski & David Gilman.Produced by JUNKYARD DOGMusic courtesy of Southgate & LeighCrime Time

Actress and writer Joanna Scanlan - best known for her comedic roles in tv series such as The Thick of It, Getting On and No Offence - talks to Tom about her role as Mary Hussain an Islam convert in Aleem Khan’s moving debut feature After Love. Journalist Lee Trewhela discusses the close of Cornish theatre company, Kneehigh after more than 40 years. Novelist Chibundu Onuzo discusses her new novel Sankofa, about a woman who grew up in England with her white mother and knowing very little about her West African father. In middle age, after separating from her husband and with her own daughter all grown up, she finds herself alone and wondering who she really is. Her mother’s death leads her to find her father’s student diaries, chronicling his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. She discovers that he eventually became the president – some would say the dictator – of Bamana in West Africa. And he is still alive. We review Jimmy McGovern’s new 3 part drama for BBC 1 is set in a prison. “Time” is a taut emotional thriller where moral lines get blurred, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham as an inmate and a warder respectively. We're joined by crime writer Mark Billingham and novelist Louise Welsh, who also have some cultural recommendations for listeners to enjoy. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Oliver Jones Main image: Joanna Scanlan in After Love. Image credit: The Bureau/BFI

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 Iain Maloney, Louise Welsh, Tony Connelly, Linda Jackson, Neil White and Zoe Strachan all choose their favourite book from childhood. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ahead of Saturday nights historic card at Wembley Arena which features 3 women’s world tile fights - this episode takes time to look back over the fight the girls have had over the years - just to fight. Al looks back at some fascinating clips from previous episodes featuring Ireland’s former WBC World champ Christina McMahon. Belfast & Holy Trinity fighter Louise Welsh. Manchester’s former professional footballer, Commonwealth champion boxer the truly inspirational Stacy Copeland. And last but in no possible way least - the lady who made it all possible. - Jane Couch..She fought the fight, just to fight back in a time when sad, sour and backwards old farts had too much to say on too many topics.

Susan Morrison and Louise Welsh swap tales of Scotland's darker history in a spooky special, finding out who gets buried in a bog and getting up close and personal with an accused witch from the early 1700s - Lilias Adie. Susan heads to Dundee University to reconstruct Lilias' face while Louise Welsh goes to visit what remains of a person who became a bog body, to look at the reality behind one of Scotland's most famous Gothic novels The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg.

James Naughtie and Louise Welsh discussed Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

Louise Welsh is the author of eight novels, including the Plague Times trilogy - A Lovely Way To Burn, Death Is A Welcome Guest and No Dominion. She has also written several plays, an opera, numerous short stories and edited various collections of writing.She is also a professor of creative writing at the University of Glasgow, having previously gained a Masters in Creative Writing (with distinction) from the same university, and she was previously writer-in-residence there between 2011-12. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Damian Barr reads his piece from this brand new collection edited by Val McDermid and Jo Sharp. Imagine A Country: Ideas for a Better Future offers visions of a new future from an astonishing array of Scottish voices, from comedians to economists, writers to musicians. Featuring Ali Smith, Alan Cumming, Kerry Hudson, Jackie Kay, Louise Welsh and many more. Royalties will be split among five Scottish charities: Shelter Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid, Scottish Book Trust, Refuweegee and Reforesting Scotland. Imagine A Country was published on 19th March 2020 by Canongate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're at the Edinburgh Festivals, including the Pet Shop Boys/Jonathan Harvey musical starring Frances Barber: Musik. Also the stage adaptation of Kate Grenville's best-selling novel about the collision between settlers and Indigenous Australians, The Secret River. As well as the Bridget Riley retrospective at The National Gallery of Scotland and Blinded By The Light - the film of Safraz Mansoor's story about growing up in Luton and his love for the music of Bruce Springsteen. Also we find out what wonders members of our audience have come across. Tom Sutcliffe's guests Denise Mina, Louise Welsh and Don Paterson. The producer is Oliver Jones Audience recommendations: Samson Young at talbot Rice Gallery, Twice Over at Greenside, Bystanders at Summerhall, Something About Simon at Assembly George Square, The Edinburgh Night Walk at The Fruitmarket Gallery , Scottish Ballet's The Crucuble PodcastExtra recommendations: Denise -My Favourite Murder podcast Don - Succession Louise - Robert McFarlane's Underland Tom -Documentary Now. And Crocodile Fever at The Traverse. And Peter Gynt at The Festival Theatre also Cora Bissett - What Girls Are Made Of at The Assembly Hall

The writer Louise Welsh meets the artist Duggie Fields. Louise lives in Glasgow and is the author of eight novels, including The Cutting Room, Naming the Bones, and the Plague Times trilogy, which imagines a world ravaged by a pandemic. Duggie studied at the Chelsea School of Art in the 1960s, and is known for his colourful geometric canvases, inspired by pop and classical culture. For the past 50 years, he has lived and worked in the same Earls Court flat- which he once shared with Syd Barrett, a founding member of Pink Floyd. A re-creation of the flat is currently on show in Glasgow - complete with paint-spattered floor, furniture, and life-sized photographs of the walls, covered in art-works. Producer Clare Walker.

Ian McMillan peers into the pop-up tent that is 'festival' writing with Murray Lachlan Young - he introduces new fiction from Louise Welsh, new poetry from William Letford and Hollie McNish joins the programme to explore, in conversation with Dr Peter Mackay, the kind of festive language and rituals associated with Scots Gaelic literature. Ian is also joined by Professor Sarah Churchwell to unpick the language of the great American novelist Philip Roth - who died this week - and to celebrate not only the meaning, but the sound and texture of Roth's sentences. Roth's best-known novels include the darkly comic 'Portnoy's Complaint' and the Pulitzer Prize winning 'American Pastoral'.

As this year's AyeWrite! approaches, Robert Kirkwood chats to Denise Mina, Chris Brookmyre, Alan Bisset, Louise Welsh and Zoe Strachan about some of their favourite memories of the Glasgow Book Festival.

With author Jess Townsend Red Szell explores Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow. Robert Kirkwood looks forward to AyeWrite!, Glasgow's Book Festival with Denise Mina, Chris Brookmyre, Louise Welsh, Zoe Strachan and Alan Bissett. A listener recommends a tale of heroism and blindness in the face on 9/11 and Red reviews The Transition by Luke Kennard. Contact the show on readonair@rnib.org.uk

Writer Louise Welsh reflects on the theme of the Uncanny in the writing of Muriel Spark through her story "The House of the Famous Poet." Muriel Spark was a Scot, an exile, a poet, a codebreaker, a convert to a particularly Calvinist form of Catholicism from a particularly low-key Judaism and the cosmopolitan author of slender, sophisticated novels whose bestselling book mined her own schooldays in the Edinburgh of the 1930s. She may be most famous for "The Prime of Jean Brodie" but she wrote more than 20 novels, plus poems and plays. She is a writer of many facets, all of them glittering, and is now recognised as the most important Scottish writer of the 20th century. In this series, five Scottish women writers give five very different takes on the novels and life of Mrs Spark.

Recorded at The Edinburgh Festivals, there's a selection of some of the highlights from this year's typically varied assortment of delights. Also: Ned Beauman's new novel; Madness Is Better Than Defeat, set in 1930s Honduras An exhibition of British Realist painters at The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Kathryn Bigelow's film Detroit tells the story of the 1960s race riots in that city Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Inua Ellams, Louise Welsh and Peggy Hughes. the producer is Oliver Jones.

The latest podcast is an interview with one of our favourite guests, the writer Louise Welsh. Her latest novel, 'No Dominion', is the final part in her Plague Times Trilogy which began back in 2014 (not five years ago as Ali suggests) with 'A Lovely Way To Burn', and continued with 'Death Is A Welcome Guest'. The conversation touches on the central themes in the trilogy which include family, morality, society, and what could happen in the face of a global pandemic threat. Just the usual. There is also talk of ghost stories and opera. What more do you want from a podcast?

November's edition is a Classic Bookclub as presenter James Naughtie chooses Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story Kidnapped as his favourite from his own reading life, as part of the BBC's #LovetoRead Season. In the absence of Stevenson, our guide to the book is author Louise Welsh, who has written an opera inspired by him. Kidnapped is one Stevenson's best loved titles. It's an historical adventure novel set in Scotland after the Jacobite rising of 1745 and tells the adventures of the recently orphaned sixteen year old David Balfour, as he journeys through the dangerous Scottish Highlands in an attempt to regain his rightful inheritance. James Naughtie says : "As a young boy Robert Louis Stevenson was my guide to adventure. Kidnapped was always at hand and, like Treasure Island, it introduced me to great story-telling. A boy alone in a country torn apart by war, betrayed by a sad but wicked uncle, and a coming-of-age through adversity. Reading it again, I can still feel the thrill of the first time. That's what great books do". Author Louise Welsh has said "I think if you were to stop any Scottish writer and ask them to list their top three writers that made them want to write they would mention Stevenson. He's always been number one for me." Bookclub's #LovetoRead on Kidnapped is recorded as always with an audience of readers, including members of the RLS Club, local school children and university students, at the Hawes Inn, Queensferry, where Stevenson is thought to have started the novel in 1866. Presenter James Naughtie Interviewed guest : Louise Welsh Producer : Dymphna Flynn December's Bookclub Choice : Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney.

On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe looks at what happens during a health epidemic and its aftermath. The US activist Peter Staley was instrumental in forcing scientists and pharmaceutical companies to develop life-saving HIV/AIDs drugs. Thirty years later and with drugs now readily available, the concern is that the rate of new cases of HIV remains constant. Professor Anne Johnson was involved in the biggest-ever-official investigation of Britain's sexual habits, which was vetoed at the time by Margaret Thatcher. She says continuing to understand people's attitudes and behaviour is vital to the nation's health. More than eleven thousand people died during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. When the crisis hit its peak in 2014 there were no effective drugs and Professor Peter Horby was one of a team of scientists who conducted a drugs trial in the midst of the epidemic. He explains how what they discovered can be used for future health scares. The author Louise Welsh is completing a trilogy of novels in which a killer disease has devastated the world. She explains why plague literature has proved so popular and enduring. Producer: Katy Hickman Photo: ACT UP activists at the International AIDS Conference in San Francisco, 1990 Credit: Rick Gerharter.

This week Lee and Eddie are celebrating their 52nd episode in the only way they know how! Talking about the apocalypse! Tune in for some A++ dystopia, missions to Mars, and speculative affliction! The post 1.52 | Richard Matheson, Louise Welsh, & The Hunger Games appeared first on Crime Time.

From the Edinburgh Festivals: Tom Sutcliffe and his guests discuss their selection of what's on offer this year. The National Theatre of Scotland's Anything That Gives off Light and Cheek by Jowl's Russian language Measure for Measure Hermann Koch's new novel Dear Mr M, Surrealist Encounters at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art The documentary film Tickled about the peculiar, secretive world of competitive tickling which has surprising menace lurking beneath the surface. Also the guests present their personal choices from the enormous range of art on offer across the city Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Denise Mina, Louise Welsh and Stuart Kelly. The producer is Oliver Jones.

In this week's episode we try to escape from a room, talk about whether it's appropriate to run a man down in your car for not calling you, and Lee tries to psychically contact Louise Welsh. If you would like to read A Journal of Sin, by Darryl Donaghue check out his website! The post 1.7 | Louise Welsh, An Escape Room & A Journal of Sin appeared first on Crime Time.

My guest on this episode is renowned author, screenwriter and playwright Alan Bissett. If you don't know him from his excellent prose and theatre work then you may know him from how active he was for the Yes campaign during the 2014 Scottish Referendum.But to me, he's a novelist first and foremost. He'd probably disagree with that, yet that's how I got into his writing so I guess that'll always be my perception of him.When I began studying Scottish Literature in first year of university, I was motivated (in no small part by some weird sense of cultural nationalism) to spend the time away from the course texts  and to absorb other Scottish writers. Trainspotting is a book we're all familiar with, and naturally that happened to be the only Scottish novel that I'd read going into uni and the relatively older age of 24. That book then turned up as a course text in my first year because, well... why wouldn't it?Re-reading it, and realising I had access to a huge library and a vast reservoir of Scots literary knowledge, I spent my time in between essays, exams and course texts pulling as many different books as I could from between the stacks of the Glasgow Uni library. I devoured Kelman, Crichton Smith, MacCaig, Gray, Spark and then moved onto more contemporary authors like Bissett, Louise Welsh and Robertson among others. Boyracers was one of the first contemporary novels I read.I went on to read Pack Men, as it was his most recent at the time, and then Death of a Ladies Man. Welsh was important to me because it demonstrated that people could write in Scots and "get away with it"; Kelman was vital to my literary development because it was the first novel I read in Glaswegian, and it contained characters the likes of which I'd met in my own scheme when growing up; but Bissett was more relevant, largely in part because I found it easier to identify with teenagers from Falkirk than I could with twenty-something heroin addicts in Leith or a blind guy in Glasgow. As I look back on that period of voracious reading, I now know it was because the community he depicts in Boyracers, and later again in Pack Men, is so similar to ones I know.This podcast is a very cerebral chat. I hope you don't find it too dense. Highlights include:Creativity always seemed natural, he kept coming back to that when he was youngCame to realise writing was a career when he was doing a PHd Being shortlisted for the Macallan Prize is when he realised writing was a thingComing from a TV household with no creative familyYou only start to realise the themes of your writing when people start to talk to you aboutScottish writing and the themes of identity of community, and how those mainly seem to come from writers who are not from the landed gentryHow Alan finds this to be more powerful and valuable than writing about rich people having drawing room affairsThe object of growing up is like to get out of your community and how that leads to a sense of guilt when you doHow current writers that he's been working with seem to reflect the difference in community now than in the generation before – Boyracers was filled with hope, but it's hope that the current generation of teenagers don't feelThere's a generation of young theatre makers like Steph Smith, Catrion Evans, Kiron Hurly, Gary McNair, Rob Drummond and Nick Green who are doing politically explicit workThe radical spirit that theatre had in the 70s with John McGrath etc feels like it's coming backYet it's harder for Scottish novelists to be political because of the global competitionIt's very difficult for political novels to get throughHow Late It Was, How Late was prophetic about the struggle people face with the DWP now, despite it being written in the mid 90sPeople want to escape reality instead of experience or read about what people actually feel say and doAmerican cultural colonisation is greater than ever despite the narratives of big media franchises like Game of Thrones or Marvel films not being culturally specificOur obsessions with these universal cultures mean that local cultures – their stories, dialects, art – are slowly being erased and neglectedBut that's not to say we should protect our cultures by allowing them to remain untouched, rather there should be cultural spaces where local culture still exist – we must preserve minority cultureIt's difficult to know what our default cultural tastes would be when entertainment is controlled by media conglomeratesThe artist's that feel that they have some kind of social responsibility at least signals that they are willing to make a stand that's bigger than just them as an individualWe get caught up in the rights of the individual above all else and it's not surprise because that's capitalism but we have to perverse the work that we doMoving to writing plays is as much about the economic reality of writing novels and how difficult it is to pay bills as a full time writer when it takes a long time to write a book Many novelists are stimulated into over production because of the fear of having their livelihood taken away from them, Alan can't work like thatThere's also an energy in Scottish theatre that wasn't quite there in Scottish literatureTheatre is more immediate but a novel is more powerful because of the mental experience is deeperYet a play can react quicker to current events whereas a novel takes timeThe full scale demolition of masculinity in Death of a Ladies ManThe alpha male pursuit to anoint great works of literatureAnd how that pursuit can be destructive, and the way that has affected the mental health of many great writes, such as James JoyceHowever ambition is required to power you through being creativeYet a lot of female writers have a completely different mindset, which often makes them better writersThe Caledonian Antisyzergy and the dual identity of Scots which is reflected in referendum resultThe referendum was Scotland finding out what it is was – Scotland doesn't know what it is or what it would spring towards whilst it's still part of the unionAlan finds that interviews aren't fun anymore because they talk about politics…So we make it fun by talking about MarvelAnd the seemingly infinite expansion of franchisesWe have a shared love for blockbuster moves despite them being more disposable than everAlan's favourite film is Jaws and compared to current CGI films, it feels so handmadeThe shift in the 70s in blockbuster films which shook everything up in terms of how big budget films are made, and how that shift would not happen now because of CGIWe agree Marvel Studios are good at retaining artists' singular vision in a big budget blockbuster settingDisney used to feel like a benign company that used to make kids films every year, and now they seem to run HollywoodThere are, however, more nourishing forms of entertainmentWHY ARE ADULTS WATCHING KIDS FILMS?! And whey to complain about them when they're not FOR adults?Society aims to keep us in a state of permanent adolescence Some Scottish Literature chat – James Robertson is a genius, he's so far ahead of every other Scottish author. Also, Louise Welsh, Kirsty Logan, John Niven, Sophie Sexton, William Letford, Richie McCafferty, Laura Marney, Rodge Glass, Zoe Strachan are all people to watchAlso James Hogg – Confessions of a Justified Sinner is ESSENTIAL literatureLots of show notes here. Apologies for the length of the post. I hope you enjoy the episode!Featured MusicIntro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Suede - The Next LifePink Floyd - Comfortably NumbMartyn Bennett - MoveAll music can be purchased on iTunes and the digital retailer of your choice. Or in a record store. You know they still exist, right? I make no claim to the copyright of these tracks.LinksGo buy any of Alan's books from a book store. A bricks and mortar one. That'd be well good.You can see his website here to see what he's upto in the theatre world. His twitter and facebook are also pretty cool.Thank you!My thanks are eternal to you and everyone else who has listened to the podcast and helped me get it to where it is. If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I'd love you forever and ever.Questions? Feedback?You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.Social MediaI'm on a few social media sites, so it'd be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.Check out the Facebook page.Or you can get me on Twitter.Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Edinburgh for The Festivals: Ian Rankin, Louise Welsh and James Runcie review Theatre de Complicite's The Encounter, Robert LePage's 887 Ex Machina, Adam Mars Jones' book about his father and dealing with Alzheimer's, Netflix's series Narcos, a new film about drug lord Pablo Escobar. And also their own selections from the rich array available in the city.

The novelists Helen Dunmore and Louise Welsh discuss DH Lawrence's 'The Rainbow', first published a hundred years ago in 1915, with Rana Mitter. The novel, which was banned on publication, tells the story of the Brangwen family as they face the decline of their pastoral life in the face of industrialisation. Presented by Rana Mitter.

Actress Claire Skinner, who plays the mum in BBC One's Outnumbered, and Glaswegian author Louise Welsh, talk favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. They include A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and Strong Poison by Dorothy L Sayers.

The Scots Whay Hae! Podcast makes a timely return as the latest is all about the forthcoming Empire Café. Ali talks to Louise Welsh and Jude Barber, the driving forces behind the series of events, and matters are rounded off by a reading from one of the many contributors, Glasgow's new Poet Laureate, Jim Carruth.

Joseph O'Connor tells Mariella Frostrup about his new novel about a fictional band: The Thrill of it All and Louise Welsh and Andrew Wilson on the elusive Ms Patricia Highsmith.

With Kirsty Lang. Thriller writer Louise Welsh reviews Penny Dreadful, produced by Sam Mendes and staring Eva Green; Kirsty talks to The Two Faces of January star Oscar Isaac; gets the low down from Cannes; and discusses Moog synthesizers with Goldfrapp's Will Gregory. Produced by Claire Bartleet.

Best Scottish Poems is the Scottish Poetry Library's annual online anthology of the 20 Best Scottish Poems, edited each year by a different editor. Bookshops and libraries – with honourable exceptions – often provide a very narrow range of poetry, and Scottish poetry in particular. Best Scottish Poems offers readers in Scotland and abroad a way of sampling the range and achievement of our poets, their languages, forms, concerns. It is in no sense a competition but a personal choice, and this year's editors, the novelists Louise Welsh and Zoë Strachan, checked and balanced each other’s predilections. Their introduction demonstrates how widely they read, and how intensely. The preceding years’ selections are still available on this site. This special podcast features readings by established voices and emerging talent. With readings by Kathleen Jamie, Liz Lochhead, Robin Robertson, John Burnside, and many more. Image: Seaweed by Lucy Burnett

What did you get up to during Book Week Scotland? Did you meet some of your favourite authors, try our Literary Personalities app, or grab your copy of Treasures? In this instalment of Book Talk, Ryan Van Winkle takes us on a quick tour of the week, sitting down with two authors and staying up all night at the Fruitmarket Gallery.First up, Ryan meets Glasgow-based author Louise Welsh for a talk about her latest book, A Lovely Way to Burn, the first instalment of the Plague Times Trilogy. Set in a contemporary world engulfed in a pandemic, the book follows a woman named Stevie Smith who sets out to get some answers regarding her boyfriend's mysterious death. Find out where Louise found her inspiration, why you'll love her heroine, and what's to come in the next two books.Ryan then moves on to Edinburgh's Fruitmarket Gallery, which hosted an all-night event called In the Wee Small Hours, featuring a drawing workshop, poetry readings and plenty of treats. Hear from some of the attendees, discover the inspiration behind the night, and listen to some of the attending poets read their work.Finally, Ryan takes some time to sit down with Alastair Reynolds, author of On the Steel Breeze, the second volume of the Poseidon's Children Sequence of science fiction novels. Among other things, they discuss the ins and outs of planning a multi-volume series and how he keeps science fiction grounded in reality.Podcast contents00:00-02:42 Intro02:42-15:36 Louise Welsh interview15:36-24:49 In the Wee Small Hours21:25-22:44 Samantha Walton reads her poem, Circuitous23:55-24:29 David Hopkins reads his poem, Sleep is Serious24:29-36:03 Alasdair Reynolds interview

The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson is read by Louise Welsh

The latest podcast is a bit of cross promotion as it is a Robert Louis Stevenson special which has Ali talking to Louise Welsh and Ronnie Young about the great man...

In the twelfth of our new Glasgow Women’s Library podcasts, Zoe Strachan and Louise Welsh reads a join collaboration, Anyone Who Had A Heart and they talk about the inspiration behind the work.

Philip Dodd presents a Landmark edition examining Muriel Spark's 1961 novel The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie. It's a fierce assault on the smug, joyless and sexless quality of Edinburgh middle-class life in the 1930s. Philip is joined by novelists Ian Rankin, Louise Welsh and former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway to examine this acclaimed and disturbing portrait of adolescent trauma and lost innocence.

With Kirsty Lang Meera Syal has made her professional Shakespeare debut playing Beatrice in the RSC's new production of Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Iqbal Khan, this latest adaptation sets the comedy in modern-day India - with Paul Bhattacharjee playing Benedict. Author Bidisha gives the critical verdict. Director Lynn Alleway discusses her experiences making a documentary, which follows an Old Order Amish family in America. According to the strict rules of the Amish church, filming is not permitted, so by opening up their homes and life to the cameras Miriam and David risk being ex-communicated and excluded from their society. Glasgow writer Louise Welsh talks about her latest novel, The Girl on the Stairs, a thriller set in Berlin - and also about the libretto she's written for a short opera called Ghost Patrol, about soldiers returning from an unspecified war. The opera is part of a Scottish Opera season opening at the Edinburgh Festival. With Kate Moss appearing in a video for George Michael's track White Light, and Daniel Radcliffe in a Snow Club video - David Quantick considers cameos in pop videos. In celebration of the Olympics, the BBC - in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh - has selected and recorded a poem representing every country that's competing. Each poem is introduced and read by a native of the country in question, who has made their home here in Britain. Every night during the Olympics, Front Row features one of these poems. Producer Rebecca Nicholson.

The American Civil War: Blockade Runners and Black Minstrels. What did Britain do in the American Civil War? Louise Welsh investigates blockade running, blackface minstrelsy, spy-wars and abolitionists, with the Clyde shipyards as her focus.

The 8th Scots Whay Hae! podcast sees Ali interview writer Louise Welsh about her writing, other people's writing, silent movies, the importance of collaboration, the genius of Psycho, and a shared love of Asterix. What more could you ask for?

Fay Weldon and Louise Welsh talk to Harriett Gilbert about the books they love.

Louise Welsh reading Vanishing Point. Part of an engaging and varied series of podcasts of leading authors reading their remarkable new stories, poems or essays on the theme of ‘Elsewhere’. Commissioned by Edinburgh International Book Festival and supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. You can read or download the Elsewhere stories, listen to more Elsewhere podcasts or watch the videos of events filmed live at the Book Festival on www.edbookfest.co.uk.