Children of Albion Rovers: An Anthology of New Scottish Writing

Hard-edged and iconoclastic, the new wave of Scottish writers and their godfather Irvine Welsh write a darkly funny brand of fiction about people on the fringe – junkies, soccer hooligans, ravers, working-class youth. This anthology of six full-length novellas from the “beats of Edinburgh” (The New York Times Magazine) was compiled by Kevin Williamson, publisher of the underground literary magazine Rebel Inc., which put many of these writers on the map.

Williamson presents here the best practitioners of urban surrealism, influenced by the same gritty lifestyle of Scottish drug and dance/rave culture the world got a glimpse of in Trainspotting. The novellas include Irvine Welsh’s first-ever sci-fi story, “The Rosewell Incident”, and each is filled with fresh prose riffs resonant with the frenetic backbeat of Scottish street fiction. The writing in this anthology is raw and exciting, providing readers with a rare chance to discover these emerging literary stars.

The line-up includes Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, Gordon Legge, James Meek, Laura J. Hird, and Paul Reekie.”This little collection of stories from the suddenly hot wave of Scottish writers ought to come as salutary kick in the nuts to American fiction…. Add in the jolting rhythms of Scottish street slang and a taste for outrageous plotting, and you have the makings of new hope for what a good story can do”. — New Times Los Angeles