Scots Whay Hae!

For the latest SWH! podcast Ali spoke to Chief Executive of Ringwood Publishing Sandy Jamieson, one of their authors Dr Anne Pettigrew, and their Assistant Managing Director Laure Camail. Celebrating their 20th birthday this year, Glasgow's Ringwood show that it is possible to publish and survive in a city which has notoriously had problems sustaining and maintaining a publishing culture in recent...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to the writer and producer Henry Bell about his biography of John Maclean. If you haven't heard of Maclean then this is a perfect place to start, and if you do then I'm sure you'll learn something new about the man dubbed both "Hero of Red Clydeside" and "the most dangerous man in Britain" depending on which newspaper you read. Henry explains how Maclean came to ac...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to writer Claire MacLeary about her trilogy of Aberdeen set crime novels, 'Cross Purpose', 'Burnout', and her latest, 'Runaway'. They discuss the central characters of Maggie Laird and 'Big' Wilma Harcus and how they are a refreshing change from the norm, the importance of research, the themes of her work, the importance of being different, Aberdeen as a setting, a...

For the latest podcast Ali headed to the home of Scottish Opera in central Glasgow to talk to Jonathon Swinard, the new Artistic Director of the Scottish Opera Young Company (SOYC). Over the years Scots Whay Hae! has reviewed many of Scottish Opera's productions so it was a pleasure to talk to someone at the heart of the company, especially one whose concentration is on youth and the talent of tom...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to the poet Nadine Aisha Jassat about her new collection of poems, 'Let Me Tell You This'. It starts with a reading from Nadine, and the conversation is interspersed with further examples throughout which should give you a clear idea as to what makes this book so special. During their discussion the two touch on narrative, family, the possibilities for poetry, the...

Last month in Mono there was the Glasgow launch of David Keenan's latest novel 'For The Good Times'. A night of two-halves, SWH!'s own Ali Braidwood was on chairing duties as first fellow writer Chris McQueer (below) then David himself (above) read from 'HWFG' and 'For The Good Times' respectively before talking in depth about their latest work. It was a really special night and if you weren't abl...

For the latest podcast, a Glasgow Film Festival special, Ali met up with film-director Andrew Peat at the city's CCA to talk about his documentary 'Scotch: The Golden Dram'. Andrew has roots in the city and he was delighted to be bringing his film "home" as he put it. 'Scotch' is a film which follows the making of whisky from "grain to glass", and Andrew talks about how he presents that journey, t...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to Lily, Gordon and Dickson from L-space who are, as regular readers of SWH! will know, one of our favourite bands. Their album, 'Kipple Arcadia' (LNFG) was one of the best in recent years and no discerning home should be without it. The talk turns to expectation versus reality, how their sound and songwriting developed, the thinking behind the themes explored in t...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to writer David Keenan about his latest novel 'For The Good Times'. After the success of his previous book 'This Is Memorial Device', (Scots Whay Hae!'s Book of 2017), it was always going to be fascinating to see how he would follow it, but he has done so in fine style. The two discuss why it is set in Belfast in the '70s, the personal connections Keenan has to tha...

For the latest podcast Ali caught up with Peter Kelly, better known as singer/songwriter Beerjacket, to talk about 'Silver Cords' which is not only the name of his latest collection of songs, but also of the accompanying book of short stories, (a review of which you can read over at Scots Whay Hae!). The two talk about the project from its early days through to completion, how the stories work wit...

For our final Best Of 2018 podcast Ali, Chris Ward, Wesley Shearer, and our very own Young Father, Ian, discuss their favourite records of the year, and the best gigs of 2018. What do they choose? Well you'll just have to listen to find out, but we can say that there are a hell of a lot of winners, and nary a loser in sight as they decide that the year in music was a rather fine one.

For our review of the year in film Ali & Ian were joined once more by Chris Ward and Wesley Shearer to discuss their favourite film of 2018, the year in Scottish film, any themes and trends which could be uncovered, and if Mel Gibson films are better or worse for the involvement of Mel Gibson. It's an enjoyable hour where all three have some shared choices, and some which are new to everyone else,...

For our Best Books of 2018 podcast Ali was once again joined by Book Vikki herself, Publishing Scotland’s Vikki Reilly to discuss their favourite books of the year and the state of Scottish publishing, try to identify the themes and trends of the last 12 months, forget the names of things (mostly Ali, to be fair), look into what's coming in the new year, and explain why 2018 belonged to Muriel. It...

For the latest podcast Ali visited LP Records in Glasgow's West End to talk to LP himself, Lorenzo Pacitti. The two talk about the history of his LP Record store, the move into becoming a label, (releasing music from Wesley A. Chung, American Clay, and Codist), and his plans to start LP Radio, a station which will be based in the store. There are also tales of Nicki Minaj, the vital role of darts...

For the latest podcast Ali met up with poet and writer Donald S. Murray to talk about this novel 'As The Women Lay Dreaming' which examines the Iolaire disaster of 1919 and why the story of one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters remains largely unknown outside of the Highlands & Islands. The two discuss the impact this terrible event has had on a community through the generations, and also...

"For the latest podcast Ali went through to Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh to talk to musician David Luximon-Herbert, better known as Vive La Rose, about his latest album 'For She Who Hangs The Moon', which is destined to be one of the best records of 2018. The two talk about the making of the record, influences, themes, tone, the expectations David has, and the critical reaction so far. As well as...

"For the latest podcast Ali spoke to the writer Chris McQueer about his latest collection of short stories, 'HWFG'. If you haven't heard of or read Chris' work, where have you been? His previous book, 'Hings' took the world of Scottish writing by storm announcing a fresh and exciting new voice. 'HWFG', ('Here We Fucking Go', if you haven't worked it out yet), sees him build on the success of 'Hing...

For our 100th podcast we thought long and hard about who to ask and we kept coming back to one name, Mr Vic Galloway. With the recent publication of his superb book Rip It Up: The Story Of Scottish Pop, written to coincide with the National Museum of Scotland’s exhibition and the TV show of the same name, it seems fitting to talk to a man who helps shape the nation's musical tastes.

For the latest SWH! podcast Ali caught up with musician Carla J. Easton to talk about her new album 'Impossible Stuff', which is released on the 5th October on Olive Grove Records. As well as explaining the Canadian roots of the record Carla talks about the importance of home, her many collaborations, her musical history, Teen Canteen, and the documentary she is working on with Blair Young about w...

For the latest podcast Ali spoke to writer & director May Miles Thomas about her incredible film 'Voyageuse' and the issues and themes it addresses such as family, ageing, grief, and much more. However, the two also discuss different approaches to making film, May's previous projects, using setbacks as inspiration, the problem in getting heard in a crowded market, and the primary importance of sto...

For the latest podcast Ali met up with the American novelist Andy Davidson before his event at The Edinburgh International Book Festival. In an ironically dreich Charlotte Square the two discuss Andy's terrific debut novel 'In The Valley Of The Sun' which is out now on the Contraband imprint of Saraband books, and which is one of the best of the year so far. It's a fascinating chat about influence...

After our Dundee podcast Ali moves up the coast to Aberdeen to talk to Charley Buchan from Fitlike Records, writer Shane Strachan, and Mood Of Collapse blogger Jon Reid. The three talk about the changes in Aberdeen's arts and cultural community, the influence of the city's educational and civic insitutions, the importance of spaces and places, graduate and talent drain, what inspires them to do wh...

For the latest podcast Ali visited Dundee to talk about all things artistic and cultural in relation to that great city. To do so he was joined by the co-founding director of Creative Dundee Gillian Easson, the writer and playwrite (and long term supporter of SWH!) Anna Stewart, and the TV and theatre actor, (currently on the brilliant 'The Terror' on AMC) Gordon Morris. All three are proud Dundon...

In the latest podcast we look at the life and work of Muriel Spark with our guest Dr Colin McIlroy who is the Muriel Spark Project Curator at the National Library of Scotland, and who was instrumental in their recent The International Style of Muriel Spark Exhibition. This year is the centenary of the birth of Spark, and the exhibition was just part of the #MurielSpark100 celebrations which are on...

For the latest podcast Ali met up with writer Helen McClory at Edinburgh's Fruitmarket Gallery to talk about her life as a writer to date - and a very interesting story it proves to be. From studying creative writing in Sydney and Glasgow, to winning awards for her debut short story collection 'On The Edges Of Vision', walking Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson's dog, the difficult publication of her no...