Ron Butlin

Bleeters come and bleeters go, they never, never stay – if it’s not raining now more rain is on the way. It’s widely reported that Eskimos have over 50 words for snow. Given the equivalent ubiquity of rain in Britain’s northern climes, it is not surprising that Scots have coined just as many (and possibly many more) expressions for the many different types of precipitation that fall from our skies. In this book Ron Butlin introduces 50 of the most colourful Scottish words for rain in humorous and memorable verse, imaginatively accompanied with illustrations by Tim Kirby.

From the author of the award winning The Sound of My Voice After being sacked from his day job as a business executive, Morris Magellan has cashed it all in – the house, the car, family life – to be free at last to pursue his true passion: music. He returns to his childhood home to escape city life, face his demons and compose his masterpiece. Very soon, things start to go wrong. Not only does his past catch up with him, but the future becomes more threatening by the day. Bad habits return with a vengeance. Then he meets Jess. Written with humour and compassion, this compelling novel, set in the Borders, sixties London and present-day Edinburgh, touches on music, love in later life and, most of all, how to make the most of one’s time before it is too late.

Morris Magellan wakes one morning to find himself stuck in a corporate job and living the suburban dream with a wife and two children, except this dream feels like a nightmare. Out of his depth and starting to drift from reality, we meet Morris at the precipice. Bit by bit he is losing his struggle with addiction – he just doesn’t know it yet. His only solace and escape from suburban family life and corporate duties is music and alcohol. His life is soundtracked with symphonies and concertos, every note, and every drink, carries him from moment to moment hoping to salvage something of himself before that too slips from his grasp. Harrowing but compellingly written, with humour and compassion, The Sound of My Voice is a stylistic masterpiece that presents conflict between a man’s cowardice and cruelty, and a desperate attempt to recover his humanity.

From the author of the award winning The Sound of My Voice After being sacked from his day job as a business executive, Morris Magellan has cashed it all in – the house, the car, family life – to be free at last to pursue his true passion: music. He returns to his childhood home to escape city life, face his demons and compose his masterpiece. Very soon, things start to go wrong. Not only does his past catch up with him, but the future becomes more threatening by the day. Bad habits return with a vengeance. Then he meets Jess. Written with humour and compassion, this compelling novel, set in the Borders, sixties London and present-day Edinburgh, touches on music, love in later life and, most of all, how to make the most of one’s time before it is too late.

In the seventies and eighties, The Lost Poets – Ron Butlin, Andrew Greig, Liz Lochhead and Brian McCabe, with musician James Hutcheson – were Scotland’s reply to the Liverpool Poets. For many years they were regulars on the Edinburgh Fringe and elsewhere. With their unique blend of poetry and music they proved to be an inspiration for much of today’s spoken-word movement. Each of them went on to highly successful careers as novelists, playwrights and visual artists, as well as continuing to publish poetry. This collection celebrates The Lost Poets’ work and contains new as well as previously published work

Steve has had enough - enough of cyber-bullies, enough of adults messing up the world. Sharp-witted Fran and her brother worry-wart Dan feel exactly the same. And so, along with his dog Nessie, Steve and the FranDan twins leave town in the dead of night to start on the biggest adventure of their lives ...But if things were bad before, they soon get worse. Much, much worse. Some seriously bad men show up. Why have Steve and Dan been overpowered and led away as prisoners? Why are they kept tied up in the barn of a disused farm?Having managed to escape, and with no way to call for help, Fran knows it's up to her to mount a one-woman rescue.

The Magicians of Scotland will build upon the success of The Magicians of Edinburgh (reprinted five times) and on that book's critical acclaim. Ron Butlin is the Edinburgh Makar and this collection will have an Edinburgh emphasis while seeking to celebrate and interrogate Scotland and its people at a crucial turning point in our country's history. Just as The Magicians of Edinburgh's themes ranged from Sir Walter Scott to the new Parliament, from Greyfriar's Bobby to the trams, the themes of the new collection will include Scotland's past, present and future, its landscape and people, its myths and politics - from Bannockburn, Flodden to Faslane, the Loch Ness Monster, wind farms, Hutton to Higgs, Bonnie Prince Charlie to Donald Trump. It will be accessible, serious and entertaining.

Longlisted: International Dublin Literary Award 2016 Having been thrown out onto the Edinburgh streets by her family, Maggie knows she must fight to survive. Many years later, the struggles she had to endure can be kept a secret no longer. Set mostly in post-war Britain and inspired by a real-life story, Ghost Moon is narrated with humour and compassion. A life-affirming read.

Edinburgh has long inspired writers, from Robert Louis Stevenson to Hugh MacDiarmid. In this sparkling new collection of poems about the city in the twenty-first century, renowned poet and novelist Ron Butlin draws on his experience as Edinburgh's Makar, or Poet Laureate. With verve and wit, Butlin leads the reader on a journey through multi-faceted Edinburgh, a place of sweeping vistas and strip bars, grand towers and failed tramlines, world heritage and homelessness. Underlying all these poems, whether satirical or celebratory, is a deep love for the architecture, landscape and people of Scotland's capital city. The Magicians of Edinburgh will delight long-time residents and visitors alike.

Features contemporary poetry.