Our latest anthology, Beyond Words: Short Stories and Poetry from the Western Isles was launched at this year's Faclan festival.
Over 60 people attended an evening of readings from the anthology which is avalable now from local outlets including An Lanntair, An Clachan (Leverburgh), Salka, Baltic Bookshop, Ness Bookshop, Stornoway Airport shop, Ceilidh Place.
The anthology is also available from Amazon for Kindle devices.
Beyond Words includes over thirty stories and poems, written during 2017, that feature the Outer Hebrides and highlight the theme of this year’s Faclan, Ultima Thule.
We are thrilled that acclaimed author, Peter May, has shown support for the project by contributing a foreword.
He said, “…it was with such great pleasure that I read the work of the Stornoway Writers’ Circle, prepared for publication to coincide with this year’s Faclan Festival. Here was the work of writers who had dipped deep into the creative well, drawing to the surface stories and poems and essays that entertain and inform, stimulate and provoke. Real writers, honing their craft by hewing words from the culture that has nourished them, and the land that has bred them."
His forthcoming book, I’ll Keep You Safe, out next January, is once again set in the Hebrides.
The cover of Beyond Words features artwork by Lewis-based artist, Gill Thompson.
The book was made possible with An Lanntair’s continued support and funding assistance. Founding Director and Head of Visual Arts & Literature at An Lanntair, Roddy Murray, said, "The Writers' Circle is such a success. It's dynamic and durable because the membership are fully-engaged, self-supporting and fuelled by an infectious enthusiasm and love of what they do. You can't fake that."
Photo courtesy of Alf Sludden.