Books HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS

Mark Millar & Leinil Francis Yu In Superior, Mark Millar offers a more poignant take on superheroes as a boy with multiple sclerosis has his ultimate wish fulfilled by becoming a Superman-like saviour of the people. See review, page 51. Titan.

Luath Off the Page Live As part of Ceilidh Culture, a night of performance poetry, prose and music featuring the likes of Catriona Child (see column, right) and Alistair Findlay. City Café, Edinburgh, Fri 30 Mar.

Words Per Minute Celebrating the ‘Special Relationship’ with Jarred McGinnis and Ryan van Winkle for the US, and Rodge Glass and Caroline Bird from over here. The Arches, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sun 1 Apr. Living Under the Gun A night of poetry and music in aid of Saor Phalastain’s Glasgow-Bethlehem cultural exchange, with Liz Lochhead, Billy Letford and more doing their bit. CCA, Glasgow, Wed 4 Apr.

The 2012 Annan Lecture The Scottish Society for the History of Photography annual lecture, The Word and the Image, is delivered by James Robertson and snapper Robin Gillanders. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Thu 5 Apr. Iain Banks A fine return to form for the man without M in his name for once, Stonemouth simultaneously hits the shelves and gets a public airing this month. See review, page 50. Waterstone’s, Edinburgh, Thu 5 Apr; Little, Brown.

Julia Donaldson The Children’s Laureate and Gruffalo creator performs the tales from some of her inspiring picture books, including The Highway Rat and The Rhyming Rabbit. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Sat 7 Apr.

Lin Anderson One of the capital’s many sterling crime writers visits the city’s newest library and chats about her work, of which Picture Her Dead is the most recent. Drumbrae Library Hub, Edinburgh, Wed 18 Apr.

Peter Carey The twice Booker- winning Australian author returns with a haunting novel, The Chemistry of Tears, memorably spanning the 19th and 21st centuries. See review, page 50. Faber.

Maggie O’Farrell The Northern Irish writer, who won the Costa Novel Award for latest work The Hand that First Held Mine, gets all wordy in a World Book Night event. See profile, page 52. Central Library, Edinburgh, Mon 23 Apr.

list.co.uk/books

FirstWrites INTRODUCING DEBUT AUTHORS

CATRIONA CHILD takes on this issue’s debut author Q&A. Her first book, Trackman, introduces us to Davie Watts, still haunted by the death of his brother when his life is changed by a homeless man’s MP3 player

Give us five words to describe Trackman? Music, Edinburgh, memories, love, loss.

Name one author who should be more famous than they are now? Brian McCabe. When I first started to take my writing seriously, I went to his writer’s workshop. He was really supportive, very encouraging and went out of his way to help me. What was the first book you read? The first book I remember reading was Five on a Treasure Island. My dad took me to the library when I first learnt to read and I remember being overwhelmed by all the books and not knowing what to choose.

Which book makes you laugh? I’ll say I, Partridge as I’ve just finished it and spent a lot of time laughing while reading. It’s very funny and especially good if you know the TV shows well. Alan’s version of certain events in the book are not quite the same as they appeared on TV. Steve Coogan’s a smart guy. Which dead author do you wish was still alive today? I’ll go with Jane Austen. I recently went to visit my sister in Bath and we visited the Jane Austen Centre. While there we were told that nobody really knows what she looked like, and that the famous picture we always see of her was actually drawn by one of her sisters.

What plans do you have for book number two? Hopefully to finish writing it! (Interview by Brian Donaldson) Trackman is out now published by Luath. See list.co.uk for more of this Q&A.

29 Mar–26 Apr 2012 THE LIST 49

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