Growing up in Scotland, I often heard the names of Scottish authors being mentioned, both in school and in social settings. It was not until I created my Bookstagram account in 2019 that I realised that Scottish authors were not as widely talked about outside of Scotland.
Classic and contemporary Scottish authors have not only impacted and influenced literature within Scotland but also around the world. I have recommended a few Scottish authors below, both classic and contemporary, to give you a brief introduction to the nation’s literature.
Classic Recommendations
1.Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Born in Edinburgh in 1850, Robert Louis Stevenson continues to be one of the most widely talked about Scottish authors in the 21st century. He is best known for writing children’s adventure fiction and novels in the horror genre. Although he was well-travelled, his native Scotland was a big inspiration in his literature.
Best Known For:
Treasure Island (1883)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1885)
Kidnapped (1886)
2. Lewis Grassic Gibbon (1901-1935)
Born in Aberdeenshire in 1901, Lewis Grassic Gibbon is best known for writing about small farming communities in the northeast of Scotland. His trilogy A Scots Quair (which includes the well-known Sunset Song) is considered to be one of the most important works of the 20th century Scottish Renaissance.
Best Known For:
Sunset Song (1932)
3.Nan Shepherd (1893-1981)
Born in Aberdeenshire in 1893, Nan Shepherd is best known for her contribution to modern nature writing with her memoir The Living Mountain, which focuses on her experiences of hillwalking in the Cairngorms. Shepherd also wrote fiction novels and poetry, where Scottish landscape and weather played a major role.
Best Known For:
The Living Mountain (1977)
Contemporary Recommendations
1.Irvine Welsh (1958-)
Irvine Welsh is perhaps best known for writing Scotland’s famous cult novel, Trainspotting. Born in Edinburgh in 1958, Welsh continues to write novels, short stories, plays and screenplays which are characterised by the Scots dialect.
Best Known For:
Trainspotting (1993)
2.Ali Smith (1962-)
Smith was born in Inverness in 1962 and has had books shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Folio Prize. Summer (2020), book four in her Seasonal Quartet series, also won the Orwell Prize for Fiction in 2021 (The Orwell Foundation 2022).
Best Known For:
The Seasonal Quartet series (2016-2020)
3.Ian Rankin (1960-)
Born in Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin is best known for his crime fiction, specifically his Inspector Rebus novels. His novels belong in a Scottish crime fiction genre known as “Tartan Noir”.
In 2005, Rankin became the 10th best selling writer in Britain.
Best Known For:
The Inspector Rebus novels (1987-)
4.Val McDermid (1955)
Born in Fife in 1955, Val McDermid is best known for her crime fiction, especially her Dr. Tony Hill series. Like Rankin, McDermid writes in the “Tartan Noir” genre. She has also written children’s books and non-fiction books.
Best Known For:
The Dr. Tony Hill series (1995-2019)
There we have it, a very brief introduction to classic and contemporary Scottish authors! Unfortunately, I can’t share every Scottish author with you, so if you can think of any more, please let us know in the comments below!
Blog post by Mairead Morgan @maireadreads
Comments