Scots Whay Hae!

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to CD Boyland to hear all about The Glasgow Review of Books, and particularly the Live Hip-Hop + Poetry night which will be at Stereo in Glasgow on 26th May.

CD talks about the line-up, which includes Darren McGarvey, Iona Lee, Billy Letford, Imogen Stirling, Texture, and Johnny Cypher, all hosted by Loud Poets' Kevin Mclean.

The two then talk about the work of The Glasgow Review...

The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is all about the new experimental work 'Futuristic Folktales', and Ali caught up with Dance-theatre artist and director Charlotte Mclean, writer Nelly Kelly and composer Malin Lewis to learn all about it.

They each break down their individual roles before talking about the collaborative process involved, and how working together was inspirational, and educational, for them all. The talk al...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast - the second relating to this year's Paisley Book Festival - Ali spoke to writers Alan Bissett and Brian Conaghan, who will be at the festival alongside Graeme Armstrong as part of the Scottish Masculinities event - Sunday 28th April, 5-6pm.

Alan and Brian talk in detail about their latest books; 'Lads' and 'Treacle Town' respectively, and how they relate to the theme of ma...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Jess Orr, the Associate Programmer for the Paisley Book Festival, to learn all about this year's programme - and what a programme it is.

Jess explains this year's theme 'Imagine Something Different' as well as breaking down the various strands of the festival which include 'The Beautiful Game', 'Oot and Aboot', and 'Ireland in Focus'.

She al...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Martin Stewart about his new novel 'Double Proof', a Glasgow-set crime thriller that both embraces and subverts genre stereotypes and expectations.

Martin talks about how he views the novel, the pressures he initially felt in setting it in Glasgow, and the joy of overcoming those, the importance of comedy in his writing, the healthy state, and diverse nature, o...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Greg and Pat Kane, better known as Scottish musical legends Hue And Cry, to hear all about their 40th anniversary celebrations which will be happening throughout 2024.

As part of those celebrations they are releasing demos and rarities every month, as well as producing a documentary and other archival material, before undertaking a full-band tour later in the year.

The two talk ab...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcat Ali spoke to writer Maud Wolf about her debut novel 'Thirteen Ways To Kill Lulabelle Rock', out now with Angry Robot Books.

Maud gives a beautifully concise synopsis, before talking about that arresting title, why she wanted to write this story, the road to being published and her experiences along the way, how the novel works on a number of levels, and the philosophies which drive it.

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For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Philip Miller to discuss his new novel 'The Hollow Tree', which will be published by Polygon Books on the 4th April.

It's the second in the Shona Sandison series of novels, following on from the critically acclaimed 'The Goldenacre', and Phil talks about the challenges of writing a sequel, the balance between writing something recognisable but new, the i...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Ajay Close to talk about her latest novel 'What Doesn't Kill Us' (published with Saraband Books). Set in Yorkshire as the 1970s became the 80s, and greatly influenced by the real-life Yorkshire Ripper investigations, Close evokes the sights, sounds, smells, and attitudes of Britain – and that part of Britain in particular – touching not only on prevalent sexism,...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer and musician Colin MacIntyre, better known to most as Mull Historical Society, to talk about his amazing album 'In My Mind There's A Room', which brings together his twin loves of music and literature.

Colin describes how this album came together and the processes involved in marrying his music to the words of a number of his favourite writers, including Colin&#...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Dawn Taylor, the Artistic Director & CEO at MANIPULATE Arts, to learn all about this year's MANIPULATE International Festival of Visual Theatre which runs from 1st - 11th February.

Now in its 17th year the festival promises something for everyone, and Dawn gives us an overview of the festival, a bit of the history, the significance in supporting non-text based theatre, fil...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer and podcaster Tom Brogan to learn all about his book 'Scotland 101: An Introduction to the National Team'. Tom gives an overview of 'Scotland 101', his reasons for writing it, the inspirations, sifting through the research, and the publishing process.

Ali then picks a dozen chapters to look at in more detail to give a more clear idea of the book as a whole, ...

For the first Scots Whay Hae! podcast of 2024 Ali spoke to actor and writer Forbes Masson to talk about his starring role in a new one-person adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Jekyll and Hyde', which is at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh from 13-27th January before going on tour.

Forbes talks about the production itself, collaborating with writer Gary McNair and director Michael Fentiman, returning to the Ly...

For the latest SWH! podcast, and the last of our Best of 2023 pods, Ali is joined once more by regulars Chris Ward and Wesley Shearer to talk all things film, or at least to talk about their films of the year. Once again picking five each, they share their enthusiasm for the movies you may have missed first time around, and we’re sure you’ll find something to tickle your fancy.

Chris and Wes share the same top two, and each has the...

For our latest roundup of 2023 we look at the year in music, with Ali joined once again by musician and righteous supporter of Scottish music, Gefahrgeist's Fiona Liddell. They each pick 10 tracks to discuss which have left their mark in the last 12 months.

Both admit they could easily have picked many, many, more examples from what was another incredible year for Scottish music, and on another day possibly would, but we hope y...

For the last in our Best Books of 2023 podcasts for this year, Ali caught up with poet, writer, singer/songwriter, and previous podcast guest, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, to learn about his Gaelic books of the year and other aspects of Gaelic writing over the last 12 months.

It's a fascinating conversation not only about what the year was like in Gaelic literature, but also further aspects of the culture and the way it is treated ...

For the second of our Best Books of 2023 podcasts, Ali was once again joined by Publishing Scotland's Vikki Reilly, and in this podcast the two talk crime fiction, poetry, memoirs and other non-fiction, what we can look forward to in 2024, and more.

Always a SWH! highlight of the year, when taken together these podcasts reflect, and celebrate, another exceptional 12 months in Scottish writing.

For further details and relevant l...

As is traditional, the first of our Best of 2023 podcasts are all about books, and there were so many books and book-related things to talk about that once again we have split the podcast into two parts.

For both parts, Ali is once again joined by Publishing Scotland's Vikki Reilly, and in this podcast the two talk fiction, themes and trends of the year, notable debuts, and a whole lot more, as well as declaring their own ...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to musician and composer Martin Green about all things brass banding including the audio drama 'Keli', the album 'Split the Air', the Radio 4 documentary 'Banding: Love, Spit and Valve Oil', the forthcoming Celtic Connections gig, and so much more. Martin also explains how his love for brass band music came about and grew, why the music and the communities whe...