Category Archives: Writing

The Witness

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Jamie Jauncey

When I came back to Scotland in 1990 after living in London for 20 years it seemed like a different country to the one I had left. The spirit of John Knox had finally been banished from the streets of … Continue reading →

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Close encounter

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Jamie Jauncey

In December 1972 I quit my job at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly and flew to Argentina with my girlfriend. There we met up with 30 other travellers of all nationalities and stripes who had signed up for a trip with … Continue reading →

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Breaking up is hard to do

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Jamie Jauncey

I’ve been dismembering one of my books, painstakingly taking it apart, page by page, so that each comes away from the glue of the spine cleanly, a perfect rectangle. It’s a strange, not entirely comfortable, feeling. The book in question … Continue reading →

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A time for kindling

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Jamie Jauncey

There are some things you just have to take on the chin. Ten days ago we had our annual Dark Angels get-together. John comes up to Edinburgh from London. Stuart and I meet him at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. … Continue reading →

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Life and Fate

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Jamie Jauncey

We’re two weeks into the new year and stories are everywhere, it seems. There’s Melvyn Bragg and his Radio 4 series on the history of literature. It was the 4,000 year-old Sumerian epic, Gilgamesh, that set humanity off on its story-telling … Continue reading →

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Choosing your bees

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Jamie Jauncey

We had our last Edinburgh International Book Festival board meeting of the year yesterday. It has been a fascinating year as world events swirl around us and we’ve found ourselves debating issues as diverse as whether to initiate a cultural … Continue reading →

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Who cares wins

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Jamie Jauncey

Christie Watson must be very pleased. Her book, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, about a Muslim family in Lagos, has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize. Perhaps she has an advantage. She’s a graduate of the famous University of … Continue reading →

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Pencil or pills?

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Jamie Jauncey

  It’s nice to hear that now there’s validation from the health professionals for an exercise we’ve used since we first started Dark Angels; an exercise that’s also used by teachers of creative writing the world over.   Faye Sharpe, … Continue reading →

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Bring on the clowns

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Jamie Jauncey

Here’s a terrific story that surfaced in The Guardian this week in the context of the Pakistan match-fixing convictions, and the fact that corruption and gambling in Asian cricket is seen as a cultural problem. In 1995 a new mayor took office … Continue reading →

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The rabble

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Jamie Jauncey

There was a time when I imagined that in my sixties life would have started to become a pleasant, carefree stroll through the sunlit uplands. Ah well … This is what has been competing for space in my head this … Continue reading →

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