The Wee Scottish Book Club

This week, Scott and Natalie are thrilled to be joined by debut novelist Sarah Smith. Sarah chats about all things Hear No Evil, the importance of libraries as a means of research, explains what flash fiction is and also brings along her own Scottish Book of the Week. Have a listen and if you'd like to keep up to date with all of Sarah's work, you can find her on Twitter (@truesarahsmith) and Instagram (@sarahsmithwriter).

Inspired by last week's guest, Karen Sullivan from Orenda, Scott and Natalie have a deep dive into indie publishers. The pair talk about their favourite books published by an indie, which indies they are attracted to, and why indie publishers are important in the book world. As always, you can get in touch with the show through Instagram - @Scott.You.Reading and @ScottiesandBooks, Twitter - @ScottShields90 and @Scottiesnbooks or through email - [email protected]

This week, Natalie and Scott are joined by the founder of Orenda Books, Karen Sullivan. Orenda is an indie publisher, founded in 2014, based in London. They publish a wide variety of books, many of which are in translation, but have a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers. Karen discusses some of her authors, including some of her Scottish writers, gives us a great inside look at the publishing process and gives us some excellent book recommendations - so get your notepads ready. You can keep up to date with all all of the goings on at Orenda by; Visiting their website - www.orendabooks.co.uk Instagram - @orendabooks Twitter - @Orendabooks TikTok - @OrendaBooks

Join your hosts, Scott and Natalie, as they explore the world of empathy in literature. Empathy Day, brought to the podcast's attention by Hannah Gold, is a day that celebrates empathy on the 8th of June every year. This year's event is all available online at www.emathylab.uk/empathy-day-live This week, Scott shares a book that helped him empathise with others, Natalie shares a powerful poem, we learn a new Scots word and we are introduced to so many brilliant reads. As always, you can get in touch with the hosts on Instagram - @scott.you.reading and @Scottiesandbooks or on twitter @ScottShields90 and @scottiesnbooks. You can also get in touch with the show on our email [email protected]

This week, Scott and Natalie bring you the Top of the Pops of the book world. The pair chat about all things about music and books, music in books and music inspired by books. Also, which authors would make it into your ultimate dream band? Natalie and Scott build their ultimate writer/musician supergroup! Let us know who would make it into your band and what music filled books you love on Twitter (@scottiesnbooks and @scottshields90), Instagram (@scottiesandbooks and @scott.you.reading) or through email at [email protected]

This week, Scott and Natalie are joined by two VILs (Very Important Librarians). Heather and Laura are both in the same profession but have very different roles. The quartet talk all about the importance of libraries, the sense of community that these buildings bring and what they would like in their dream library. You can keep up to date with our guests reading ways through Instagram; Heather - @heatherguardianofbooks Laura - @readingisadoingword

Scott and Natalie are delighted to be joined by Scottish author, David F. Ross. He drops by to chat about his latest novel Dashboard Elvis is Dead, his collaborative approach to writing, his awesome book events and his love of a certain Belgian footballer. If you'd like to be in the know with all things David F Ross and read those daily Up. Morning. posts, you can find him on Instagram @davidfross10 and Twitter @dfr10 As always, you can get in touch with the show by email on [email protected]

One this week's show, Natalie and Scott discuss their love of their local libraries. They discuss a broad variety of library related topics, including; what services are available at their local library, controversial library closures, as well as some of their top library finds. Finally, as two library novices, the pair urge us to get out and visit our local library. As always you can get in touch through Instagram @Scottiesandbooks @Scott.You.Reading and Twitter @Scottiesnbooks and @ScottShields90 or through our email [email protected]

This week, Scott and Natalie are joined by debut novelist Kate Foster. Kate drops in to talk all things The Maiden, journalism, her love of listening to her children's musical 'talents' and why pancake day and signing bookplates is not a good mix. If you'd like to find out more about Kate Foster and keep up to date with her work, you can find her on instagram @katefosterauthor and Twitter @katefostermedia. You can also pick up your own copy of The Maiden NOW! As always, you can get in touch with the show through email at [email protected]

This week, Natalie and Scott are joined by a very special guest. Hannah Gold is a multi-award winning children's author who has released two amazing books, The Last Bear and The Lost Whale. With book number three, Finding Bear, starting to build its roar and join us in September, Hannah drops in to talk all things Bear and White Beak. As Earth Day is just around the corner, Hannah also discusses environmentalism and the role of readers in helping save the planet. Not only does Hannah take on Scott and Natalie's questions, she also fields some, much better, questions from the Primary Six learners from Scott's school. Remember, after listening to the podcast, you can check out the work that Hannah does with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, you can visit https://uk.whales.org/ and keep up to date on Social media through Instagram - @hannahgold_author Twitter - @HGold_author and on TikTok - @hannahauthorgold As always, you can keep up with Natalie and Scott on their usual socials (@scottiesandbooks and @Scott.You.Reading on Instagram and @Scottiesnbooks and @ScottShields90 on Twitter) and through [email protected] for any email enquiries.