Granite Noir: Author Conversation - Gothic Elements

Granite Noir: Author Conversation – Gothic Elements

Whether you are joining us in the studio or from elsewhere via our livestream, this is your chance to hear from two of Scotland’s most exciting crime writers as they speak with chair Peggy Hughes.

Angie Spoto‘s debut The Grief Nurse is set in a world where the rich and powerful have their grief removed, a gothic drama about one woman’s search for freedom and the descent of an aristocratic family into madness and death.

When she was five years old Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm. Now, Maggie is determined to discover what really happened and what the villagers are hiding. Discover dark and deadly secrets in Carole Johnstone‘s The Blackhouse.

This event will also feature Chris Tait reading The Grey Granite Gnarled as part of our Locals in the Limelight scheme.

This event will be live streamed and can be viewed online.

Carole Johnstone

Carole Johnstone is an award-winning short story writer and author. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Mirrorland, received praise from the likes of Stephen King and Ruth Ware. Her new novel, The Blackhouse, is a darkly disturbing thriller set in the village of Blairmore. The Observer describes it as ‘deliciously unsettling’.

Growing up in Scotland, Carole always felt a pull towards the wild seas and intense isolation of the Outer Hebrides. She was fascinated by its juxtaposition: the loneliness of the wilderness against the claustrophobia of its tiny villages, where anonymity isn’t an option. Carole delved into local superstition, discovering the legend of ‘thin places’: places where the distance between this world and other worlds is short, where one can walk in two worlds. She weaves this gothic folklore throughout The Blackhouse, creating a haunting, absorbing atmosphere with spine-tingling twists.

Peggy Hughes

Peggy Hughes is Head of Programmes at the National Centre for Writing, a literature house dedicated to the exploration and celebration of the artform of writing based in Norwich. Previously, she worked in various literature organisations in Scotland, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish Poetry Library, Literary Dundee at the University of Dundee, and the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust. Peggy chaired Literature Alliance Scotland, Scotland’s largest network for literature organisations, from 2017 until August 2021 and is now a trustee. She is also on the board for the publishers 404Ink and the charity Open Book Reading, and frequently chairs literary events around the UK.

Angie Spoto

Angie Spoto is an American writer of fiction with a fantastical edge. She lives in Edinburgh. She is editor of the collection Disclosures: Rewriting the Narrative About HIV published by Edinburgh press Stewed Rhubarb. Her poetry, essays and stories have appeared in publications around the world. Angie helps run the non-profit The Survivor Arts Community, which supports the artistic practices of survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse.

Chris Tait

Chris Tait is a poet, playwright and spoken word artist from Shetland living in Glasgow.  She reads at events across Scotland and on the radio, her audio play “A Toon Built Apo Shenanigans” is available on all podcast channels with the book and poetry book “Literary Skulduggery” available from Amazon.