St Andrew’s Day Poem: ‘Canedolia’ by Edwin Morgan
30 Nov ’21
Edwin Morgan(1920-2010), Scotland’s first modern Makar, was one of the country’s most playful and curious poets. His vast body of work…
Recipe of the week: Haggis Lasagne from The Macsween Haggis Bible
29 Nov ’21
Celebrate St Andrew’s Day with Scotland’s national dish in our recipe of the week from The Macsween Haggis Bible. Jo Macsween brings her…
Graham Clark wins 2021 Prize for Best Paper in Scottish Local History
25 Nov ’21
Together with the Scottish Local History Forum we are pleased to announce that Dr GRAHAM CLARK has been awarded the Prize for Best Paper in Scottish…
Polygon announces three-book deal and rights sales for Douglas Skelton
25 Nov ’21
Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn Limited, is delighted to announce the signing of a three-book deal with crime writer Douglas Skelton. The trio…
Vegan Three Nut ‘Meatloaf’ from The Scottish Vegan Cookbook
22 Nov ’21
Whether you are starting to think ahead to Christmas dinner and the logistics of planning for different dietary requirements, or you simply fancy…
Ginger Biscuits from Sue Lawrence’s Scottish Baking
16 Nov ’21
If you are ready to get in the festive spirit, there is nothing quite like baking with winter spices, their delicious aromas filling your home. You…
COP26: Extract from Of Stone and Sky
12 Nov ’21
Merryn Glover is an award-winning writer of fiction, drama and poetry. Her stories are widely anthologised and her plays broadcast on BBC Radio. She…
Must Read
One for Discussion – 100 Novels that Shaped our World
09 Nov ’19
Birlinn are delighted to have two novels on the list – 100 Novels that Shaped our World, selected by BBC Radio 4 Front Row presenter and TLS…
A Library of One’s Own
09 Nov ’19
‘From the moment I first ventured into a library I wanted one of my own.’ Famously, Virginia Woolf said that a woman must have money and a room of…
COP26: Weathering The Storm: Scottish Poets Discuss Climate Change Resilience and Adaption (with Roseanne Watt)
09 Nov ’21
On Saturday, Shetlandic poet Roseanne Watt (Moder Dy, 2019) was joined by Pàdraig MacAoidh and Donald S. Murray, both from Lewis, to give readings…
COP26: Merryn Glover on living in harmony with nature
08 Nov ’21
Set on a farming estate in the upper reaches of the River Spey, Of Stone and Sky by Merryn Glover follows several generations of a shepherding…
COP26: Marian Pallister on Argyll’s mining past and clean energy future
04 Nov ’21
Marian Pallister is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books including Cruachan: The Hollow Mountain, The Crinan Canal and Not…
Caramelised Bananas with Glenmorangie, Cream and Toasted Oats from A Taste of the Highlands
01 Nov ’21
On this culinary journey through the Highlands of Scotland, award-winning food writer Ghillie Basan meets a host of artisan food producers, farmers,…
COP26: What does the 1.5°C warming target mean?
01 Nov ’21
Today marks the beginning of formal discussions between world leaders at the COP26 climate change conference being hosted in Glasgow. In…
As Cop26 opens in Glasgow, what are publishers doing to help the planet?
01 Nov ’21
When caring for our planet we need grand vision but we also need small first steps. There is much talk amongst publishers of sustainability but what…
Updating the Dictionary: New Edition of Ian Crofton’s A Dictionary of Scottish Phrase and Fable
21 Oct ’21
From ‘Aald Rock’ to ‘Zeenty-teenty’, author Ian Crofton has cast his eye across Scottish life, history, language and culture to produce a…
Growing up Black in a White World
14 Oct ’21
Blood and Gold by Mara Menzies This is a book that you won’t be expecting. But it is a book that you need – indeed that we all need. It is a book…
Bookshop Day – A beautiful poem in support of your Local Bookshop – we agree with every word!
08 Oct ’21
Take a walk down the High Street on Bookshop Day and get lost in your Local Bookshop Launched in 2016, Bookshop Day 2021 takes place on…
Sixty Years on and STILL in its Prime
07 Oct ’21
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark – first published SIXTY YEARS ago this week. Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, set…
Game, Set… and a slightly older Match
15 Sep ’21
Britain’s Emma Raducanu from Bromley has etched her name into Tennis history books this week in spectacular style, just as the teenager Lottie…
Reappraising the caricature – Extract from Neville Chamberlain: The Passionate Radical
09 Sep ’21
Neville Chamberlain is remembered today as Hitler’s credulous dupe, the man who proclaimed in September 1938 that the Munich agreement guaranteed…
Highlights from EIBF 2021
31 Aug ’21
Mara Menzies The live audience at the EIBF Sculpture Court theatre were held in suspenseful silence by Mara Menzie’s performance reading of a…
August 31st, 1969 – PELE’S ROAD TO GLORY
31 Aug ’21
On August 31st, 1969 Brazil clinched qualification for the 1970 World Cup Finals by beating Paraguay 1-0 at the Maracana. After a disastrous World…
A New Chapter for The Edinburgh International Book Festival
24 Aug ’21
This year, The Edinburgh International Book Festival are staging a hybrid programme of over 250 events from their new home at the University of…
Denzil Meyrick and Doug Skelton meet crime superstar Ian Rankin
14 Sep ’21
Our favourite crime writers, Doug Skelton and Denzil Meyrick are back after an 18 month hiatus with their much loved podcast SBooks. To kick start…
Have you heard it? The Parting Glass on BBC Radio 4
28 Jul ’21
I’m a bit hit and miss with BBC Radio 4 these days. Some of the programmes are truly world class, others leave me cold and struggling to understand…
Burns Night? It’s Looking a Little Different This Year…
25 Jan ’21
A Poem for Burns Night by Alexander McCall Smith Give us your hand – here’s ours: All Scotland, though a little quieter now, Is a bit happier in…
Getting Over Christmas (in Japan)
15 Dec ’20
Iain Maloney moved to Japan in 2005. This year, we published his memoir The Only Gaijin in the Village, the story of moving out of the city to the…
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Paperback | Pub: 07 Oct 2021£14.99£11.99The 21st century’s own Gin Craze continues unabated, with exciting new crafted gins launched on a regular basis. Most recently, we have seen growing interest in Pink Gins and the development of a range of flavoured gins, not to mention the…
