If you’re a professor of literature, writing a novel must be pretty easy, right? Or, hang on, maybe not. Perhaps all that knowledge, expertise and awareness of truly great writing makes putting yourself out there even harder?
It’s a question I’ll ask of Liam McIlvanney of the University of Otago, New Zealand, on July 11 in a Q&A at Auld Hag, The Shoap in Islington, London. McIlvanney, an esteemed academic, is on a world tour to promote his latest work of crime fiction, The Good Father. Full transparency; McIlvanney and I both hail from Kilmarnock, in Ayrshire, Scotland, we’re good friends and share an addiction to following the (often mis-) fortunes of our home town’s storied football club. So, bits of all this may creep into the evening.
That heritage has also informed the choice of venue, a Scottish cafe, deli and bakery, specialising in lorne sausage, well-fired rolls filled with Ayrshire bacon, and who knows, maybe even a Kilmarnock-style pie or two on the day. A big thank you goes out to Gregg Boyd and the Auld Hag team for making The Shoap available to us.
