The McCollection: Short Stories from McStorytellers

by Brendan Gisby (Editor), Various

In October 2010, we launched McStorytellers, a website dedicated to showcasing the work of Scottish-connected short story writers. A year later, our little site provides free access to close to 200 stories by three dozen McStorytellers.

To celebrate our first birthday, we’re delighted to publish The McCollection, our maiden anthology. Since the theme of the anthology is Scottishness, we’ve picked out twenty stories that in our mind are quintessentially Scottish. Each piece selected either is emotive (our McStorytellers aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves) or it’s powerfully written, with no holds barred, or it’s underpinned by wry Scots humour. It might even demonstrate a combination of all three qualities.

But see for yourself. And enjoy a roller-coaster ride through the Scottish writing psyche.

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2011

About the author

Brendan Gisby was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, halfway through the 20th century, and was brought up just along the road in South Queensferry (the Ferry) in the shadow of the world-famous Forth Bridge. He now lives in splendid isolation in the wilds of Strathearn in Scotland.

Retiring from a business career in 2007, Brendan has devoted himself to writing. To date, he has published four novels, four biographies and several short story collections.

Brendan is also the founder of McStorytellers, a website which showcases the work of Scottish-connected short story writers.

Reviews

[Lizzie Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both bleak and beautiful, this collection contains some powerful stories which simply hit you in the stomach with their stark and concise clarity. There's a darkness and a heaviness which is distinctively Scottish, as is the humour which cuts through to intensify or alleviate the harsh subject matter. As you'd probably expect in any collection, some of the pieces have less of an impact than others but the overwhelming majority of the stories have a strength and integrity which is equally matched by the quality of the writing. This really is a fine collection and a pleasure to read as you weave your way through different scenarios with memorable characters, leaving a sharp and poignant impression on the emotions and the mind.