Ron Butlin

Contact: ron@ronbutlin.co.uk

With an international reputation as a prize-winning novelist, Ron Butlin is also the Edinburgh Makar (poet laureate). In 2009 he was made the first ever Honorary Writing fellow (together with Ian Rankin) at Edinburgh University. Much of his poetry, as well as many of his novels and short stories have been broadcast and translated into over ten languages. In addition to his plays for BBC radio and theatre (most recently Sweet Dreams for Oran Mor in Glasgow), he has written five operas, two of them for Scottish Opera.

See tabs (above) for more details. You can reach him at administrator@ronbutlin.co.uk

Now over to Ron -

This is my first proper website update - so many apologies to everyone for the previous lamentable state. It was a victim of my e-ignorance and my skill at procrastination. From now on I intend to be e-active, more or less. Fingers crossed!

I have just finished a new novel, Ghost Moon, which took nearly three years. That is my excuse.

See below for what else I've been up to this last year. Such as a new collection of poetry, The Magicians of Edinburgh and a new play, Sweet Dreams. Also I gave readings at many festivals and also one in the House of Lords! During term time I teach part-time courses in music (Concertos for All and Symphonies for All at the University of Edinburgh's Office of Lifelong Learning)

I look forward to hearing from you, if you wish to get in touch!

DECEMBER 2011

6 Dec – Switched on Xmas lights at St Patrick Square

11 Dec – GUEST at SCO concert

20 Dec – INTERVIEW for STV website. Makar’s New Year resolutions for 2012!

JANUARY 2012

NOTE – Most of this year I have been working on a new novel set in Edinburgh, Ghost Moon. January and February were also largely spent finalising the text and proofs for my new poetry collection The Magicians of Edinburgh.

5 Jan – TALK at Scottish Writers Centre (Glasgow)

19 Jan – ‘Symphonies for All’ course at Edinburgh University extended for further six weeks.

FEBRUARY

23 Feb – GUEST at presentation of Edinburgh Award to Professor Higgs.

26 Feb – ACTED in Alasdair Gray’s Fleck at Oran Mor in Glasgow

27 Feb – COMMISSIONED to write poem for the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society

(ALCS) to be performed at the House of Lords in June.

MARCH

1 Mar – TALK at Royal Society of Edinburgh

2 MAR – READING at Edinburgh University

10 Mar – TALK at the Aye Write! Festival in Glasgow

17 Mar – GUEST at SCO concert

20 Mar – READING for Scottish PEN

24  Mar – JUDGE for the Get Inspired!  competition at National Galleries of Scotland

30 Mar - SWEET DREAMS, my new play for Oran Mor (Glasgow), goes into production

31 Mar – GUEST of Scottish Opera

APRIL

NOTE –Much of this month is spent in revision and rehearsal of SWEET DREAMS and in finalising The Magicians of Edinburgh

15 April – GUEST at Italian Film Festival dinner  and screening

19 April – SPEECH and prize giving for Get Inspired! at NGS

21 April – GUEST of SCO

MAY

1 May – READING at Traverse Theatre

            – GUEST  at Southside Association reception

2 May – THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, play adaptation for ‘Bloody Scotland’ crime

festival, is commissioned.

3 May – READING at Traverse Theatre (texts by Arab Spring writers)

4 May – READING at Traverse Theatre

            – Meeting with Peggy Hughes of UNESCO City of Literature to discuss developing

Makar role.

8 May – TALK / WORKSHOP at Drummond High School

14 May – SWEET DREAMS goes into rehearsal

15 May – TALK at Drummond High School

17 May – GUEST at Callum Macdonald Awards at National Library of Scotland

24 May – SWEET DREAMS – dress rehearsal (private)

25 May – GUEST at Scottish Opera

28 May – SWEET DREAMS opens at Oran Mor

29 May – TALK / READING at Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre

31 May – Travel to give READING at Coeur de Livres, the international book festival in

Montpellier  (France)

JUNE

2 June – SWEET DREAMS finishes its run at Oran Mor. Full houses and enthusiastic

audience response.

4 June – SWEET DREAMS receives extra performance at Pitlochry. Again a full house and

enthusiastic audience response.

 18 June – Retiring as Royal Literary Fund Fellow at University of Edinburgh (OLL).

Reception held in my honour.

20 June – TALK at Penicuik High School

26 June – GUEST at Parnassus International Poetry Summit at the Royal Festival Hall

(London)

27 June – READING of commissioned poem ‘Taking Our Cue from God’ at the House of

Lords (London) for ALCS and the Parliamentary Cross-Party Writers’ Group

JULY

Note - Most of this month is taken up with devising and rehearsing a new Fringe show, with jazz musicians, based on my soon-to-be-published collection THE MAGICIANS OF EDINBURGH.

23 July – INTERVIEW for TV programme about William McGonigal

24 July – PHOTO-SHOOT for Fringe show publicity

28 July – THE MAGICIANS OF EDINBURGH (Fringe show) has preview performance at

The  Scottish Storytelling Centre

AUGUST

Note – Most of this month taken up with performances of THE MAGICIANS OF EDINBURGH (Edinburgh Fringe show). This did very well, both in terms of audience response and books sales! See 5 star review at FringeReview.com

1 Aug – INTERVIEW for STV website

2 Aug – GUEST at reception to City of Words exhibition in the library of Edinburgh

University  (which featured items about myself and my work)

3 Aug – Full-length article commissioned by Scotsman about being Edinburgh Makar

7 Aug – Opening of THE MAGICIANS OF EDINBURGH (Fringe show)

8 Aug – INTERVIEW on BBC Radio Scotland (live broadcast before Fringe audience at

BBC tent)

9 Aug – Reception for the launch of THE MAGICIANS OF EDINBURGH in the City

Chambers hosted by Donald Wilson the Lord Provost of Edinburgh (who also very

kindly wrote the Foreword to the collection)

11 Aug – POEM of the WEEK  in the  Herald

16 Aug – ‘Concertos for All’ – a one-day course at the University of Edinburgh (OLL)

18 Aug – READING (solo) at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

21 Aug – READING at Edinburgh Fringe Book Festival

24 Aug – READING at Amnesty / Scottish PEN event for Imprisoned Writers at the EIBF

25 Aug – Article for the Queen’s Hall Newsletter

28 Aug – READING at Blackwell’s Bookshop for New Writing Scotland

SEPTEMBER

10 Sept – TALK at Scottish Poetry Library

11 Sept – Meeting with the Scottish Literary Tour Company

12 Sept – INTERVIEW for the Scotsman 

13 Sept – READING at Off the Page Stirling Book Festival

16 Sept – THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, play, performed at Bloody Scotland festival

(Stirling)

19 Sept – COMMISSIONED to write poem for Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

22 Sept – POEM of the WEEK in the Scotsman

25 Sept – GUEST of National Theatre of Scotland

27 Sept – COMMISSIONED poem, ‘What the Well-Dressed City Wears’, delivered to the

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

OCTOBER

Note – Most of this month is spent completing my novel GHOST MOON

1 Oct – ‘Concertos for All’ ten-week course begins at Edinburgh University (OLL)

3 Oct – Meeting with the director at Summerhall, the new arts venue

25 Oct – GHOST MOON delivered to my agent

26 Oct – Attended Creative Scotland consultation

NOVEMBER

1 Nov – SPEECH at Connecting Creativity conference at the National Gallery of Scotland

6 Nov – READING at the Edinburgh Southside Association

The Sound Of My Voice
'One of the greatest pieces of fiction to come out of Britain in the 80s'
Irvine Welsh