New Year News: A Rowan Renaissance!

While we wait for publication day, why not check out 'Wisdom of Words': my introduction to Kathleen Raine's poetry collections on what would have been her 115th birthday?

'All this - a story we have told one another

And in the telling made to be

A world...'

Kathleen Raine, "All This," Living With Mystery (1992)

As my regular blog readers know, in recent months I have been seeking the perfect new home for my upcoming novel, inspired by Dr Kathleen Raine's life and legacy in Scotland. And... I'm beyond delighted to now announce that it will be published by the terrific team at Ringwood!

As a pioneering independent press that, like me, was born and bred in Glasgow, and yet enjoys an international outlook, Ringwood Publishing will already be familiar to many of you at Glasgow Gallerina from my time serving as a judge for Scotland's National Book Awards, where titles of theirs such as Ruxton: The First Modern Murder by Tom Wood were shortlisted for our prestigious Non-Fiction Book of the Year. Now, I'm working hard with Ringwood's dynamic editorial team to prepare my own book for publication in autumn 2024. Please watch this space! Could a slightly tweaked title also be on the cards for The Rowan Tree: Phoenix Edition? All will soon be revealed...

For your Rainedrop fix in the meantime, why not check out:

• Happy 115th Birthday Kathleen Raine at the Scottish Poetry Library, a captioned recording of an unforgettable celebration chaired by me and featuring Professor Grevel Lindop, Dr Jenny Messenger, Rebecca Rowe and Dr Caroline Watson.

• Still feeling festive? (Re)watch my Three reasons why Kathleen Raine’s The Story of Three Water Drops is a Christmas classic

• Or if you're already looking forward to spring, try my Four reasons why Kathleen Raine's The World of Living Green is springtime inspiration

Looking for literature? Check out:

• 'As woman is, so she sees: winding the golden string of Dr Kathleen Raine’s William Blake scholarship' for Bluestocking Oxford

• Her ‘Great Battle’: Five reasons why Kathleen Raine’s Second World War essays can help us find peace through poetry

• ‘But why this here and now only when I loved I knew’: Remembering Kathleen Raine for The Women's History Network

You might also enjoy watching 'The lake is in my dream': my journey through Kathleen Raine's Ullswater (Martindale and Cockley Moor)

And Hello 'Happy Fields': exploring Kathleen Raine's Great Bavington (both of which wonderful locations I will be returning to post-publication)!