One of the brilliant things about writing books is that you get to do book launches and book festivals and other book-related things.
I’ll be doing some events in 2025 for my new book, Small Town Joy, and as part of the Fierce Salvage crew too. I’m also a member of the Scottish Book Trust Live Literature programme, which supports and helps fund author events across Scotland.
10 August 2025
1995: Grrrls Aloud at the Edinburgh Book Festival
I’m going to be quite starstruck in the presence of Emma Pollock, Cora Bissett and Chitra Ramaswamy, with a soundtrack by Hen Hoose’s Cariss Crosbie. We’re going to be talking about the other 1995: not the Oasis one, but the one where Garbage released their debut album and the Delgados and Chemikal Underground did amazing things.
11 August 2025
God Save The Scene at the Edinburgh Book Festival
I’ll be chatting with Gary West about my book and his. Gary’s Brave New Music is a biography of the late, great Martyn Bennett and this is going to be a celebration of great music and musicians.
November 2025, date tbc
Sunny Govan Radio, Glasgow
A small event as part of Book Week Scotland 2025.
Previously…
9 July 2025
Marginalia, The Stand Comedy Club, Glasgow
Well, this was quite the thing: after many years of going to shows at The Stand, I was in one. Marginalia is a night of “scribbling in the margins of Scottish culture” and I was part of an incredible line-up alongside comedian Christopher McArthur Boyd, the author Alan Bissett and poet Iona Lee. Top fun.
8 July 2025
Waterstones, Kirkcaldy
Talking about, and reading from, Small Town Joy to a small but very lovely group of people on a beautiful evening.
April 2025
Paisley Book Festival
This was fun: Ely Percy, Mae Diansangu, Michael Lee Richardson and I talked about Fierce Salvage, the new anthology of queer writing and poetry from 404Ink, and our wider work too.
October 2023
Exploring Gender and Identity Narratives in Writing, online
I was delighted to be part of this event alongside my incredibly talented pal Ely Percy, author of Duck Feet and other great fiction. We talked about queerness in writing both in terms of how it informs our work and what it means to be publicly LGBTQ+ in the book business. All proceeds from this event went to the Mermaids charity for trans, binary and gender-diverse young people.
September 2023
Mount Florida Books, Glasgow
In conversation with So Mayer, whose new collection Truth And Dare is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever read. Their previous book, A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing, was an astonishing mix of history, art, cinema and activism and our chat was serious and seriously funny too.
September 2023
Wigtown Book Festival
I’d heard so many great things about this festival, which takes place in Scotland’s best book town and which was celebrating its 25th year. And they’re all true. I was overjoyed to be appearing with writer, musician and renaissance woman Nyla Ahmad.
August 2023
Edinburgh International Book Festival
I had great fun chatting about taboos and stereotypes around parenthood with Kirsty Logan, Szilvia Molnar and Alex Hyde, and then chatting with lots of lovely people afterwards.
May 2023
Boswell Book Festival
The Boswell Book Festival is the world’s only festival of biography and memoir. It’s a lovely festival to be part of.
May 2023
The British Book Awards 2023
The British book Oscars, I’m told. I was very surprised and delighted to be shortlisted.
April 2023
Society of Young Publishers conference, Edinburgh
I delivered a keynote on the final day, which meant stepping into shoes previously worn by Nicola Sturgeon, Douglas Stuart and Denise Mina. So no pressure there.
February 2023
Paisley Book Festival
I grew up in nearby North Ayrshire, so being invited to the Paisley Book Festival was a real thrill. I had so much fun talking about comedy and darkness with Chris Thorburn and Kirkland Ciccone.
January 2023
Marbles Magazine launch, Edinburgh
My brilliant and talented editor Kirstyn Smith is also the editor of Marbles Magazine, so it was a real joy to catch up with her – and meet her for the first time in real life; we worked together during COVID – at the launch of the latest Marbles mental health issue as a pal and as a contributor too.
December 2022
Carrie Kills A Man book launches, Glasgow and Edinburgh
Thanks so much to Category Is books in Glasgow and Argonaut Books in Edinburgh.
August 2022
Publishing Scotland Creative Conversations, Glasgow University
My first ever book event! I got to meet Louise Welsh, who I’ve long admired, and I appeared on the same panel as Chitra Ramaswamy, Cynthia Rogerson, Malachy Tallack, Trishna Singh OBE and Mark Woolhouse OBE.