Paisley’s all-time bestselling author, Evelyn Hood, has died. Famed for her Paisley sequence of eight novels, former journalist Evelyn’s books had a global following. A tribute by Brian Hannan from Abbey Books. In my opinion she was unfairly discounted in literary circles and for the worst reason of all – she was a woman....
Read MoreBrian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley takes a look at The Extraordinary Life & Momentous Times of J.M.W. Turner by Franny Moyle. One of the biggest benefits of running a second-hand bookshop is that hundreds books pass in across my desk in a week. It’s like watching a conveyor of delights. I’m something...
Read MoreBrian Hannan from Abbey Books in Paisley talks through The Slab Boys on Broadway programme, a beautiful piece of John Byrne memorabilia. You are probably unaware just how big a global success iconic Paisley author/painter John Byrne achieved with his play The Slab Boys. I was, too, until among a recent donation to Abbey...
Read MoreConfidence by Denise Mina reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes. The multi-award winning Denise Mina has been heralded as crime writing royalty by Val McDermid and legions of readers, and with Confidence, she certainly keeps the title intact. Lisa Lee, a young, urban explorer and vlogger disappears from North Berwick after posting a video from an...
Read MoreBlack is the Colour by Seamus Connolly reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes. In Black is the Colour, we meet lawyer Cal Lynch as he returns to Scotland, three decades after fleeing as a child in the wake of the brutal murder of his father by a gangster on the streets of Glasgow. Cal is back...
Read MoreRenfrewshire-based Poet, Lorna Callery-Sithole is releasing her second poetry collection, Colour Theory, published by Dreich, having won the Dreich Full Collection Award earlier this year. Colour Theory begins with Fierce, the last poem in Callery-Sithole’s debut collection Pigeon with Warburtons, (Speculative Books, 2019), which documents her eldest daughter’s first experience of racism at the...
Read MoreAward-winning author, Kerry Hudson, will look to inspire people across Renfrewshire as part of her tenure as Artist in Residence at the Paisley Book Festival. Kerry, whose first novel won the Scottish First Book Award in 2012, will use the power of written and spoken word to make literature and a love for writing...
Read MoreElderslie-born author Tracy Patrick launches a collection of poems from World War One penned by Renfrewshire soldiers next month at Abbey Books in Paisley. Titled Braw Lads Are Marching Awa, Brian Hannan from Abbey Books caught up with her to find out more… Can you tell me why you came to do this book? The book...
Read MoreHex by Jenni Fagan reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes. Hex is visceral and poignant, depicting the final night of the life of Geillis Duncan. Convicted of witchcraft during the infamous North Berwick Witch Trials, it remains one of the darkest times in Scottish history, the echoes of which are felt here in Renfrewshire....
Read MoreDuck Feet by Ely Percy reviewed by local councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes First released in February of last year, Ely Percy’s Saltire Society Scotland Scottish Book of the Year, Duck Feet, is the coming-of-age story of local teenager Kirsty Campbell as she navigates her way through her time at Renfrew Grammar. Having been a teenage girl just...
Read More