Ron Butlin is the current Edinburgh Poet Laureate (Makar). Last year he was made the first Honorary Writing Fellow of the University of Edinburgh, together with Ian Rankin. Before taking up writing full-time he was, at various times, a lyricist with a pop band, a barnacle scraper on Thames barges, a footman attending embassies and country houses, and a male model. His poetry and fiction have won several SAC Book Awards. The Sound of My Voice was the winner of the Prix MillePages  and Prix Lucioles (both for Best Foreign Novel), and was included in the recent Guardian’s 1000 Books You Have To Read. A play based on this novel was presented by the Glasgow Citizens Theatre and ran throughout last year’s Edinburgh Festival.

This year sees the production of his new opera with Lyell Cresswell, The Money Man, for Scottish Opera. His most recent novel is Belonging, ‘A gripping read . . . a real page-turner’ (Guardian), and was a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. His most recent collection of short stories, No More Angels, was described as ‘an emotional roller-coaster . . . If you love great books, read this, then everything Ron Butlin has penned.’ (Daily Record). He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, the writer Regi Claire, and their golden retriever.  

TOBY LITT

Toby Litt is the author of seven novels:  Beatniks, Corpsing, deadkidsongs, Finding Myself, Ghost Story, Hospital, and I play the drums in a band called okay. He has also published two books of short stories:  Adventures in Capitalism and Exhibitionism. His latest novel Journey into Space came out in March 2009.

He was chosen as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003.

Along with Ali Smith, he edited the New Writing 13 anthology.

He reviews for The Guardian and The Financial Times, and appears regularly on Radio 3’s The Verb. He won the 2009 Manchester Fiction Prize.

Toby Litt's latest novel is King Death, published May 2010

He is a member of English PEN.

His website is at www.tobylitt.com.

Toby will be joining us again for the Spring 2011 Hothouse for prose writers.