Category: Books

  • A cover girl again

    I’m proud and delighted to be one of the contributors to, and one of the mentors involved in, the new Queer Words anthology Fierce Salvage. It’ll be published in January 2025 and features a dizzying array of LGBTQ+ talent. And me. I haven’t had the opportunity to read the other contributions just yet bar one,…

  • An announcement

    Bless my cotton socks, I’m in the news: the announcement of my new book is in today’s Bookseller. It’s been *so* hard to keep this quiet so I’m really delighted to say we’re putting the band back together for another 404ink book, this time celebrating Scots music of all kinds. The book is called Small…

  • Death should be the end

    There’s a joke I like about technology companies, first posted by Alex Blechman: Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don’t Create The Torment Nexus Like the best jokes it’s funny because it’s…

  • Authors who don’t exist

    Meet Jason N. Martin N. Martin, the author of the exciting and dynamic Amazon bestseller “How to Talk to Anyone: Master Small Talks, Elevate Your Social Skills, Build Genuine Connections (Make Real Friends; Boost Confidence & Charisma)” Except you can’t meet him, because he doesn’t exist. He’s an AI-generated character with an AI-generated face credited…

  • Handsome devils

    I bought myself a coffee table book as a present. Marr’s Guitars by Johnny Marr is a lavishly photographed guide to some of Marr’s 132 guitars, including some very iconic instruments that played a key role in the sound of The Smiths. If you love guitars like I do, it’s absolute filth. Some of my…

  • Calling Scots writers

    Are you an early-career queer writer based in Scotland? Then you really need to know about the Queer Words Project Scotland, which is now open for applications. It’s a programme designed to help you with your writing, and with your writing career. Funded by Creative Scotland, it matches five emerging queer writers with five established…

  • Just the facts

    Since around 2017, it’s been very clear that if you hate trans people you can make up any old shite and have it printed or broadcast without anybody fact-checking it before, during or afterwards – and as a result, many anti-trans activists have taken full advantage of that to spread absolute bullshit with impunity. So…

  • “Who needs this?”

    There’s a lovely piece by the equally lovely Robin Ince about creating things and asking yourself a simple question: who needs this? It’s something I think about a lot, and like Robin says “my favourite thing about the arts is the potential of connection.” When I write a book or a song, what I want…

  • Year we go

    I can barely believe it, but Carrie Kills A Man is a year old this week. That’s a year of going to amazing places, meeting amazing people and having amazing adventures, and I feel just as excited and delighted and pinching myself about it all as I did on publication day. Thanks to everybody who’s…

  • Now that’s funny

    From Popbitch: The intensity of internet discourse can sometimes create an overinflated sense of just how interested the general public is in certain stories. For instance, Graham Linehan’s new memoir Tough Crowd: How I Made And Lost A Career In Comedy sold 390 copies in its first week – including pre-sales. A figure that fails to…