Birlinn Books

Birlinn Books Birlinn is an independent publisher based in Edinburgh.

25% off pre-orders on Waterstones! Head over to the Waterstones websites to browse a fantastic selection of our books av...
14/10/2025

25% off pre-orders on Waterstones!

Head over to the Waterstones websites to browse a fantastic selection of our books available exclusively this week for 25% off. Use the code OCTOBER25 to redeem your discount on these 2026 books!

October is here! 🍂 We are publishing a truly wonderful selection of books today, from the latest in our Darkland Tales s...
02/10/2025

October is here! 🍂 We are publishing a truly wonderful selection of books today, from the latest in our Darkland Tales series from Booker-shortlisted Graeme Macrae Burnet, to the tantalising new cookbook from Sarah Rankin, Feast, a gorgeous stand-alone novel from Sir Alexander McCall Smith, two sports books diving into very different eras of sporting history, a fascinating biography of musician Margaret Fay Shaw, a gem of a book exploring Scotland’s festive traditions, AND an exploration of Ireland’s mapping history.

Your weekend reading is very much sorted! Check out our website to find out more about all our new titles or pop into your local bookshop to buy a copy.

A huge congratulations to Andrew Fleming,  whose book The Gravity of Feathers has been shortlisted for the 2025  , the U...
30/09/2025

A huge congratulations to Andrew Fleming, whose book The Gravity of Feathers has been shortlisted for the 2025 , the UK’s most prestigious history writing prize.

The judge’s described the book as ‘an absorbing and powerful book about St Kilda, written with deft humour and human sympathy. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, and social, political and religious history, it brings the island’s story to life.’

🍾Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party in the running for the Vintage Bollinger Prize! 🍾Ten years ago, Alexander won the Bollinge...
25/09/2025

🍾Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party in the running for the Vintage Bollinger Prize! 🍾

Ten years ago, Alexander won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction for his novel Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party.

In the year that marks its Silver Jubilee, the prize has announced a VIP line-up of judges for its special Vintage Bollinger Prize. Five well-known personalities from the worlds of comedy, entertainment and literature will be given the devilishly difficult task of picking a ‘winner of winners’ from the twenty-five previous recipients of this prestigious award.

The award prize comes with a locally bred Gloucestershire Old Spot pig named after the winning novel, and pictured is Alexander meeting ‘Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party’ at Hay Festival back in 2015. 🐖

We are so pleased to share the news that , author of Drystone: A Life Rebuilt, has been shortlisted for the Anne Brown E...
19/09/2025

We are so pleased to share the news that , author of Drystone: A Life Rebuilt, has been shortlisted for the Anne Brown Essay Prize for her essay ‘The Stone Is Heavy in My Hand’. This prize champions excellence in short non-fiction by writers from Scotland, and the £1,500 prize and trophy will be awarded during a special event on Sunday 28 September at Bladnoch Distillery during Wigtown Book Festival.

The eight shortlisted essays will be published on the Wigtown Book Festival website and also on The Herald newspaper website, with an excerpt appearing in the print edition. Do make sure to check these out for a flavour of Kristie’s powerful writing, and don’t miss out on her memoir Drystone, a story about the weight of the past, resilience and the hard work of living on your own terms.

Kristie will also be taking part in an event at on 27th September - tickets available now!

Stephen Travers has lived two lives. His first was as a young bass player, immersed in music, friendship, and the thrill...
18/09/2025

Stephen Travers has lived two lives. His first was as a young bass player, immersed in music, friendship, and the thrill of gigs on the road with The Miami Showband. But on July 31, 1975, that life shattered in County Down when a Loyalist gang ambushed the band, murdering three of his friends in an attack that would become one of the darkest moments of The Troubles. In the quiet aftermath, in a nearby field, Stephen awoke to his second life—as a survivor. This second life led him down unexpected paths: as an author, composer, producer, and international speaker on peace and reconciliation. Over decades, he worked to support other survivors, challenge suspected state collusion, and seek justice in a landmark case against the British Ministry of Defence.

We are proud to publish Stephen Travers’ remarkable book in collaboration with New Island in Ireland. Stephen will be interviewed on The Late Late Show next Friday 26th discussing his remarkable experiences, and his search for closure and justice.

We are delighted to share that Breathe: Life Lessons from the Edge of the World by  has been shortlisted for the  Award ...
16/09/2025

We are delighted to share that Breathe: Life Lessons from the Edge of the World by has been shortlisted for the Award for Mountain Literature.

The Judges for 2025 were Rehan Siddiqui (Chair), Brian Hall and, Nandini Purandare, who described Breathe by saying:

‘An inspiring account by Mollie Hughes of exploring some of the Earth’s wildest environments. She shares her view on how self-belief and lessons learnt from epic challenges enabled her to become the youngest woman to climb Everest from the south and north sides. Then, aged 29, she describes her battle through freezing storm-force winds to achieve the distinction of being the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole.’

A huge congratulations to Mollie on this achievement!

‘Who was Miss Brodie?’‘A teacher of mine, she was full of culture. She was an Edinburgh Festival all on her own. She use...
11/09/2025

‘Who was Miss Brodie?’

‘A teacher of mine, she was full of culture. She was an Edinburgh Festival all on her own. She used to give us teas at her flat and tell us about her prime.’

We are thrilled to publish this gorgeous new edition of Muriel Spark’s most famous novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

To celebrate publication, if you order a copy of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie through Birlinn’s website, we will send you a FREE hardback signed edition of Appointment in Arezzo, Alan Taylor’s intimate, anecdotal, indiscreet and admiring memoir of his friend Muriel Spark. Available to UK customers, no code needed.

Today is our September publication day! We have a brilliant mix of non-fiction this month, plus a brand new edition of o...
04/09/2025

Today is our September publication day! We have a brilliant mix of non-fiction this month, plus a brand new edition of one of Scotland’s most famous novels.

Check out our website for more information on all of these or pop into your local bookshop to pick up some weekend reading. 📚

It’s less than a week until this brilliant new history from Steven Veerapen is published! Witches – whether broomstick-r...
29/08/2025

It’s less than a week until this brilliant new history from Steven Veerapen is published! Witches – whether broomstick-riding spell-casters or Wiccan earth-worshippers – have been culturally relevant for centuries.

Witches: A King’s Obsession traces witches, witchcraft, and witch-hunters from the explosion of mass-trials under King James VI and I in the late sixteenth century to the death of the witch-hunting phenomenon in the early eighteenth century.

Steven has a couple of events coming up next month to discuss his fascinating new book:
Toppings Edinburgh, 8th September
Provan Hall, Glasgow, 13th September
Get your tickets now!

Shortlisted for The List Festival Awards!We’re thrilled to have two of our brand new fiction titles shortlisted for  Fes...
19/08/2025

Shortlisted for The List Festival Awards!

We’re thrilled to have two of our brand new fiction titles shortlisted for Festival Awards 2025 in the Best Rising Scottish Author category! Summer Hours by .writer and The Man on the Endless Stair by are both sparkling debut novels by two of the most exciting new voices in Scottish literature, and we are delighted to see them recognised in this way.

This is how The List described each of our shortlisted authors:
Alessandra Thom - Winner of 2023’s Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, Alessandra Thom has made her Edinburgh-set debut with Summer Hours, a sizzling story of what happens when the lines of friendship are blurred.

Chris Barkley - The Man on the Endless Stair sees the beautiful Scottish Isles as remote, picturesque and the perfect backdrop for a murder mystery when troubled but talented young author Euan is taken there on a trip by decorated novelist Malcolm Furnivall.

Congratulations to both Chris and Alessandra - we will be cheering you on for the announcement of the winners on Friday!

It’s week two of , and we have more events coming up with our fabulous authors this week. Tickets are still on sale so w...
18/08/2025

It’s week two of , and we have more events coming up with our fabulous authors this week. Tickets are still on sale so we hope to see you there!

Monday 18th, 5:30pm - Alessandra Thom, Summer Hours
Tuesday 19th, 12:45pm - Alistair Moffat, To See Ourselves
Wednesday 20th, 12:45pm - Rosemary Goring, Exile
Wednesday 20th, 3pm - Andy Wightman, The Poor Had No Lawyers
Friday 22nd, 3pm - Andrés N Ordorica, Holy Boys
Saturday 23rd, 9pm, Jenni Fagan, Frankenstein

And it’s not just taking place this weekend; you can also see our authors at other events around the country:
Thursday 21st, 6pm, Waterstones Dundee - Robin Crawford, The Sound of Many Waters
Friday 22nd, 10:30am Writing Worth Reading Festival Edinburgh - Rosemary Goring, Exile
Saturday 23rd, 10:30am, Writing Worth Reading Festival Edinburgh - Liz Lochhead, A Handsel

Address

10 Newington Road
Edinburgh
EH91QS

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441316684371

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