Please join us to celebrate Boatlines by Ian Stephen on Thursday 2nd March at 6.30pm.

Birlinn Ltd is delighted is absolutely delighted to invite you to hear Ian Stephen discuss his new book, Boatlines, on Thursday 2nd March.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Copies of Boatlines will be available for purchase and signing throughout the evening.

• Thursday 2nd March
• Doors: 6pm, event start: 6.30pm
• West Newington House, 10 Newington Rd, Newington, Edinburgh EH9 1QS

About the book:

People are drawn to the harbours and boats of Scotland whether they have a seafaring background or not. Why do boats take on different shapes as you follow the complex shorelines of islands and mainland? And why do the sails they carry appear to be so many shapes and sizes? Then there are rowing craft or power-driven vessels which can also be considered ‘classics’, whether they were built for work or leisure.

As he traces the iconic forms of a selection of the boats of Scotland, Ian Stephen outlines the purposes of craft, past and present, to help gain a true understanding of this vital part of our culture. Sea conditions likely to be met and coastal geography are other factors behind the designs of a wide variety of craft.

Stories go with boats. The vessels are not seen as bare artefacts without their own soul but more like living things.

About the author:

Ian Stephen is a writer, artist and storyteller from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. After graduating from Aberdeen University he worked for 15 years in the coastguard service, based in Stornoway, where he still lives. Since 1995 he has worked full-time in the arts after winning the inaugural Robert Louis Stevenson award. His poetry and fiction have been published throughout Europe and North America, and his first non-fiction book, Waypoints, was published to critical acclaim by Bloomsbury in 2017.