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Out There: An Anthology of Scottish LGBT writing
Bold new writing from Scotland's leading and emerging gay writers, including Ali Smith, Louise Welsh, Jackie Kay, Ronald Frame, and Toni Davidson
With 24 pieces that as a whole provide an important snapshot of gay writing in the 21st century, this is a definitive anthology of prose writing from Scotland's leading and emerging gay writers. The collection includes the likes of Ali Smith, whose The Accidental was nominated for the Man Booker and Orange Prizes, and winner of Whitbread Novel of the Year; Louise Welsh, whose The Cutting Room was nominated for the Orange Prize and won the Creasey Dagger; Jackie Kay, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for PEN/Ackerley and Costa prizes; Ronald Frame, author of Havisham; Toni Davidson, author of Scar Culture; and many exciting new voices. The writing is as provocative, thoughtful, moving, and fully-charged with energy as one would expect from the country's celebrated community of LGBT artists.
With 24 pieces that as a whole provide an important snapshot of gay writing in the 21st century, this is a definitive anthology of prose writing from Scotland's leading and emerging gay writers. The collection includes the likes of Ali Smith, whose The Accidental was nominated for the Man Booker and Orange Prizes, and winner of Whitbread Novel of the Year; Louise Welsh, whose The Cutting Room was nominated for the Orange Prize and won the Creasey Dagger; Jackie Kay, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for PEN/Ackerley and Costa prizes; Ronald Frame, author of Havisham; Toni Davidson, author of Scar Culture; and many exciting new voices. The writing is as provocative, thoughtful, moving, and fully-charged with energy as one would expect from the country's celebrated community of LGBT artists.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2014
3 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Zoë Strachan
17 books12 followersZoë Strachan was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1975. She is the author of three novels: Ever Fallen in Love, Spin Cycle and Negative Space.
Ever Fallen in Love was shortlisted for the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards and the Green Carnation Prize and nominated for the London Book Awards. Negative Space won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year Award.
In 2003 The Independent on Sunday listed her in their top twenty novelists under 30, and the Scottish Review of Books selected her as one of their new generation of five young Scottish authors in 2011. Her short stories and essays have been included in numerous journals and anthologies, she contributes journalism to various newspapers and magazines and her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. She has been UNESCO City of Literature writer-in-residence at the National Museum of Scotland, a Hermann Kesten Stipendiaten, a Hawthornden Fellow, a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellow and in 2011 she undertook a British Council visiting fellowship at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa.
Recent works for theatre are Panic Patterns (with Louise Welsh, Citizen's Theatre and BBC Radio Scotland) and Old Girls (which opened the 2009/10 season of A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor in Glasgow). Her short opera Sublimation (with composer Nick Fells) toured Scotland in May 2010 with Scottish Opera before going to Cape Town, South Africa in November 2010. The Lady from the Sea, a full-length opera composed by Craig Armstrong and based on the play by Ibsen, premieres at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2012.
Ever Fallen in Love was shortlisted for the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards and the Green Carnation Prize and nominated for the London Book Awards. Negative Space won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book of the Year Award.
In 2003 The Independent on Sunday listed her in their top twenty novelists under 30, and the Scottish Review of Books selected her as one of their new generation of five young Scottish authors in 2011. Her short stories and essays have been included in numerous journals and anthologies, she contributes journalism to various newspapers and magazines and her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. She has been UNESCO City of Literature writer-in-residence at the National Museum of Scotland, a Hermann Kesten Stipendiaten, a Hawthornden Fellow, a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellow and in 2011 she undertook a British Council visiting fellowship at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa.
Recent works for theatre are Panic Patterns (with Louise Welsh, Citizen's Theatre and BBC Radio Scotland) and Old Girls (which opened the 2009/10 season of A Play, a Pie and a Pint at Oran Mor in Glasgow). Her short opera Sublimation (with composer Nick Fells) toured Scotland in May 2010 with Scottish Opera before going to Cape Town, South Africa in November 2010. The Lady from the Sea, a full-length opera composed by Craig Armstrong and based on the play by Ibsen, premieres at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2022
A most impressive collection of LGBT stories from Scottish writers which I was very impressed by and enjoyed very much.
October 24, 2015
This is definitely one of the more unique books I’ve read this year. I’m not a big short-story reader but when I was offered Out There I couldn’t resist.
As with most collections there will always be some stories that you enjoy more than others but Out There has such a variety and so many to choose from you will find yours. Probably more than just the one, I did.
These ones that stuck with me were;
I live Here Now by Nicola White
The Face at the Window, the Wave of the Hand by Louise Welsh
A Guid Cause by John Maley
Outing by Allan Radcliffe (think this might be my favourite)
Dog-Bait by Kirsty Logan
Generations by Roy Gill
The Quilt by David Downing
The Fine Art of Finding a Safe Place To Pee by Jo Clifford
Alongside the short stories there are also poems. I’ve never been a poetry fan so while I did read a few of them none stuck with me the way the stories did. Given the quality of the other contributions I’m sure they’re good I’m just not the person to comment.
As with most collections there will always be some stories that you enjoy more than others but Out There has such a variety and so many to choose from you will find yours. Probably more than just the one, I did.
These ones that stuck with me were;
I live Here Now by Nicola White
The Face at the Window, the Wave of the Hand by Louise Welsh
A Guid Cause by John Maley
Outing by Allan Radcliffe (think this might be my favourite)
Dog-Bait by Kirsty Logan
Generations by Roy Gill
The Quilt by David Downing
The Fine Art of Finding a Safe Place To Pee by Jo Clifford
Alongside the short stories there are also poems. I’ve never been a poetry fan so while I did read a few of them none stuck with me the way the stories did. Given the quality of the other contributions I’m sure they’re good I’m just not the person to comment.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews