Insider's Choice: New Scottish Books to look out for in November
Three highly promising Scottish writers will be releasing their “difficult” second novels in November, writes Vikki Reilly
Conventional publishing wisdom has November as a risky month for publication. A question lingers about it being too late to catch attention from the trade and media - and therefore readers - in time for the Christmas gifting season. Big names can buck that November risk, and this November certainly has those with new books from Salman Rushdie, John Irving and Margaret Atwood. In Scotland, we have Val McDermid’s Winter, her celebration of the season that is part memoir, part guide to our festive traditions and seems tailor-made for the Christmas market. As is Wonderful Wildflowers by Johanna Basford: yes, the adult colouring book market is still huge and Basford continues to be its superstar. Meanwhile, Sally Magnusson’s new novel The Shapeshifter’s Daughter, a retelling of the Norse myth of Hel of the underworld, is perfect for fireside or under-the-duvet reading, and Abir Mukherjee’s latest in the brilliant Wyndham and Banerjee mysteries, The Burning Grounds, takes us away from the frozen north to the heat of 1920s Calcutta and India’s burgeoning film industry.
Still, part of the joy of reading is in discovering of a new favourite writer, whatever the time of year. This November also sees three Scottish writers release that “difficult” second novel following an acclaimed debut and - wonderfully - the evidence suggests that none of them have struggled to fulfil their original promise.
Francine Toon’s debut Pine won the McIllvanney Prize in 2020, and she follows that up with Bluff (Doubleday, 6 November, 16.99). It’s another slice of modern gothic that sees Cameron return to his coastal hometown (inspired by St Andrews) determined to find out what happened to an old school friend, Joanie, who was humiliated by her boyfriend on the night of their high school graduation. Toon’s gift for creating an otherworldly atmosphere in small towns with big secrets is present once again in a novel that explores the desire to escape the ordinary.
Allan Radcliffe’s debut novel, The Old Haunts, was shortlisted for the McKitterick Prize and the Saltire First Book Award in 2024. His second novel, Blurred Faces (Fairlight Books, 13 November, £10.99), tells the story of the tentative relationship between Jordan and Davie in contemporary Edinburgh. They meet on a hook up app and Davie recognises Jordan as someone he bullied back in high school, though Jordan has no memory of Davie. Radcliffe offers readers another emotionally resonant tale of family dynamics and the complex, fragile intimacies that come from childhood shame and secrets.
Finally, Anbara Salam’s Hazardous Spirits was shortlisted for the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year in 2024, and she follows her debut with The Salvage (Baskerville, 6 November, £18.99). A gothic, historical thriller, it’s set in Cairnroch, a fictional island off the north coast of Scotland. It’s October 1962, and Marta Khoury, an ambitious but reckless maritime archaeologist, is sent to the island to recover valuable artefacts from a Victorian explorer’s shipwreck at the request of the explorer’s wealthy descendants. Marta is unsettled when she sees a ghostly figure on her first dive. Then the artefacts go missing, the island’s lighthouse burns down, and the islanders’ behaviour becomes ever stranger. There’s also the Cuban Missile Crisis, professional and love rivalries, theological debate, and the worst winter in British history, all of which makes The Salvage a heady, entertaining brew that also asks questions about guilt, superstition, desire, power, and historical inheritance.
Vikki Reilly has worked in Scottish books for over 20 years and now works for Publishing Scotland, the trade and networking body for Scotland’s book publishing sector. She also edits BooksfromScotland.com, a website that promotes the best in Scottish writing, contemporary and classic, and supports Scottish publishers and authors to find new audiences.
The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today
Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.