Our books might be secret, but our guests definitely aren't!

We're delighted to introduce the brilliant writers, storytellers and book people joining us for the new season of The Secret Book Swap.

From Scottish speculative fiction and crime thrillers to historical stories, gothic fantasy, personal development and the world of libraries, we've got a wonderfully varied line-up, with a different guest joining us in Currie and North Berwick each month.

So, let's meet them...

Book Tickets

SEPTEMBER

📍 Currie — 2 September - Isla, Librarian at Wester Hailes Library

We're kicking off our new season by turning our attention to people who help us discover, access and fall in love with books.

We're delighted to welcome Isla, a librarian from Wester Hailes Library, to our Currie Secret Book Swap.

📍 North Berwick — 4 September - Lyndsey Croal

Something for those who love their fiction strange, atmospheric and a little bit unsettling

Lyndsey is a Scottish author whose work has appeared in more than 100 magazines and anthologies, including Best of British Science Fiction and Mslexia's Best Women’s Short Fiction. She is a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, a Shirley Jackson Award and four-time British Fantasy Award finalist, and a former Hawthornden Fellow.

Her longer works include Limelight and Other Stories, Dark Crescent and In This City, Where it Rains. Her writing draws on her background in climate and nature policy and her experience growing up in remote places, giving her work a distinctly Scottish voice.

We'll be looking forward to talking about speculative fiction, folklore, horror and the strange places stories can take us.

OCTOBER

📍 Currie — 7 October - Mairi Kidd

Mairi Kidd brings together a love of Scottish stories, history, folklore and children's literature.

Mairi heads Moat Brae, the Birthplace of Peter Pan and Scotland's National Centre for Children's Books. She was formerly MD of Barrington Stoke, CEO of Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books, and Head of Literature at Creative Scotland.

She is also the author of We Are All Witches, Warriors and Witches and Damn Rebel Bitches, Feisty and Fiery and Fierce, Strong Brave True and Scottish Fairytales, Myths and Legends, as well as books in Gaelic for young readers, including Uilleam Againne, the Gaelic translation of Oor Wullie.

We're looking forward to exploring Scottish stories, folklore, history, children's books and Mairi's own journey as a writer and champion of literature.

📍 North Berwick — 9 October - Angela C Nurse

Crime fiction fans are in for a treat!

Angela C Nurse is the author of the Rowan McFarlane Detective Series and the DI Ravenscroft & Professor Laing Thrillers.

A lifelong storyteller, Angela writes crime fiction featuring strong female protagonists, intricate mysteries and unexpected twists, exploring the complexities of human nature while keeping readers guessing until the final page.

Her work has been nominated for Best Author at the Crime Fiction Lovers Awards, and she has twice been a Top 100 finalist in the Black Spring Press Opening Gambit Competition, judged by Lee Child and Val McDermid.

Expect mysteries, detectives, twists and plenty to talk about!

NOVEMBER

📍 Currie — 4 November - Alex Brown

Alex Brown writes darkly comic Scottish crime fiction alongside children's books, including the Snoozlewhoosh series.

His HIT ME series is set within Edinburgh's criminal underworld and explores gang rivalries, revenge, loyalty and power struggles through fast-paced storytelling, sharp dialogue and gritty humour.

His writing combines crime, action and dark comedy to create a distinctly Scottish take on modern gangland fiction.

We're looking forward to talking about crime writing, dark humour, Scottish settings and creating memorable characters.

📍 North Berwick — 6 November - Gillian Lee Gibson

Gillian Lee Gibson is a psychological thriller and crime writer whose work explores the complexities of human nature.

After beginning her writing career with two romantic comedies, Gillian went on to publish her first crime thriller, Dark Angel, and is currently working on darker stories including the psychological thriller Shore Gulls.

With a background in teaching Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies and a career as a Psychologist, Gillian brings her knowledge and experience of human behaviour to her writing.

We'll be talking about psychological thrillers, crime, human nature and what makes a story keep you turning the pages.

DECEMBER

📍 Currie — 2 December - Lynn B Mann

Lynn B Mann writes books focused on self-help, motivation and personal development.

Her books include Being: Awake, aware and experiencing life as your authentic self, Being 21: Towards greater self-understanding in 21 questions, Being A Woman...who's had enough! and The Little Book of Being.

Lynn's career has taken her through a remarkable variety of roles, from aerobics instructor and lab technician to television researcher and director, before training and working as a counsellor and therapist and running stress management workshops.

We're looking forward to talking about writing, self-understanding, personal development and the stories and experiences that shape who we are.

📍 North Berwick — 4 December - Angela Spoto

Our final guest of the season takes us into darker, stranger and more magical territory.

Angela Spoto is an American writer living in Scotland. After growing up near Chicago and living in the Netherlands, she moved to Scotland to study for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow.

Her first two novels, The Grief Nurse and The Bone Diver, are gothic tales inspired by Scotland's coast. Her work embraces stories that are dark, surreal, strange and magical, with influences including Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Leonora Carrington and Naomi Novik.

Angela also hosts the bookish podcast Season of the Cosy Witch with her twin sister.

We'll be talking about gothic fiction, folklore, fairy tales, surreal stories and the magic of creating worlds that are just a little bit different from our own.

Come and Meet Them!

We can't wait to welcome all of our guests to The Secret Book Swap and to hear about their books, their writing journeys and the stories that inspire them.

And, of course, you'll still get everything else you love about our Secret Book Swap, a wrapped mystery book, the chance to discover something completely unexpected, bookish conversation, games, our regularly banned book chat and plenty of time to chat with fellow readers.

Book your place

Join us in Currie or North Berwick for one of our upcoming Secret Book Swaps and meet our wonderful guests in person.