Delighted that The River made it into Books from Scotland’s “Favourite Books of 2025” list as one of the top three recommendations from the guid folk at Nairn Bookshop.
Samantha and Stephen said this: “An everyday epic, we meet protagonist Lachlan McCormack in a nursing home, then learn about his earlier life, drifting along with him. A brilliant book about how loss, love and shocks shape Lachlan’s life, with Scotland and its evolving politics as a gentle character in its own right.“
Had a great time in Auchterarder on 1st November chatting all things books with Saltire Award winner Ajay Close and multi award-winning author Pauline Tait.
Hosted expertly by Barbara Stevenson, we covered all sorts of things such as: go-to recommendations (And the Land Lay Still); books that provoked a strong emotional response (Duck Feet) and a load of other stuff that was warmly received by a fantastic audience.
I was gently briefed beforehand that, as this was deepest Perthshire, any polemic on Scottish independence may fall on deaf – or at the least, uninterested – ears, but didn’t really notice any hostility from the crowd during my brief forays into the topic. Possibly a mildly annoyed sniff from one lady, but for the most part they were well-behaved and I made it home without being forced to sing God Save the Queen and pledge allegiance to King Boris. Which is always a bonus.
Earlier in the day Into Creative‘s literary powerhouse George Paterson interviewed crime writers Val Penny and Mark Bridgeman like a modern-day Parkinson. Honestly, there’s no end to that guy’s talents.
The staff of this great wee book festival were all fantastic, so huge thanks to all involved for making it such a fun afternoon.
Chuffed to be appearing at a couple of Book Festivals towards the end of 2025.
On 1st Novemberat 2:15pm I’ll be at the Auchterarder Book Festival, as part of the Why Fiction Matters? panel. Hosted by Barbara Stevenson, in conversation with Ajay Close, winner of 2024’s Fiction Book of the Year at Scotland’s National Book Awards, and multi award-winning author Pauline Tait. I haven’t won anything, other than the crossword competition in the Polkemmet Primary school magazine, 1976, so I’ll be the guy suffering from crippling imposter syndrome. Should be fun!
Then on 15th November at 7:45pm, The Into Creative tour bus rolls into Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall for a gig at Aye Write 2025. Write Time, Write Place sees prose readings from George Paterson, Gillian Shirreffs, and muggins, followed by poetry (and music) from David Cameron, Liz Lochhead and Steve Kettley. Should be a great night.
Excited to be part of the new partnership between Brighton-based literary and entertainment company Viv Loves Film and my incredible publisher Into Creative.
Viv Loves Film will now represent Into Creative’s fiction and non-fiction titles for film, television and adaptation rights worldwide.
The River would be pretty good telly, I reckon. I’d watch it anyway. A bit like Our Friends in the North but Scottish. Or a less posh Any Human Heart.
In fact, any of Into’s roster would be great on screen. Keeping everything crossed.
Emma Topping, Founder and CEO of Viv Loves Film, commented:
“There’s a quiet, crackling voltage running through the Into Creative list… something between noir and nostalgia, intellect and instinct. These books aren’t chasing trends; they’re building worlds. We’re excited to be working with the Into team to bring these stories off the page and into new imaginative realms.”
Stephen Cameron, Founder and Publisher at Into Creative, added:
“We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Viv Loves Film on this exciting journey. Emma and her team feel like precisely the right fit for Into. We are looking forward with eager anticipation to seeing adaptation opportunities that reflect the quality of our titles. Into loves Viv Loves Film!”
Watch this space… hopefully.
Attended the Publishing Scotland event in Edinburgh on 13th May with Stephen the Into Creative boss and fellow Into Creative author Gillian Shirreffs, whose new book Elephant is available to pre-order now.
Was a fun day of blagging books, signing books, and book quizzes, where I was placed in a team with author Catherine Simpson, who fortunately seems to be on first name terms with most Scottish writers and has a wealth of bookish knowledge (although I did bag the Alexander Trocchi question for 16 points *buffs nails*).
Buns were eaten, a box of Heroes demolished, and all-in-all was a braw day oot.
Thanks to everyone who came along to listen to me talking all things bookish with my old mate, crime / sci-fi writer extraordinaire, Doug Johnstone at Blackwells on Friday 2nd May, 2025.
We had a ball, and discussed everything from falling out the back of a van drunk to how literature can be a bit like jazz. Or prog rock.
It went really quickly, and was odd as usually we’re sitting in a pub talking shite but this time we were sitting talking shite in front of a room full of people.
Big thanks to Matthew at Blackwells for hosting, and to Stephen at Into Creative for the setup and sweeties. And the warning not ever to use the word “boring” again.
Here’s some pics of the night.
Enjoyed my blether with Ali about The River, and my old book The Mile, and a whole load of other stuff. The video was unusable as it kept glitching so this is audio only, which is a shame as I spent at least 2 minutes choosing a T-shirt to wear.
I was instantly hooked, I read 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Coming from East Lothian myself, and having visited most of the places mentioned, it was easy to imagine the scenes described. @emmas
I loved the connection between Lachlan and Morag and just knew they were destined to be together. Even after all the years spent apart, she was his forever person.
The story covers a lot of delicate matters in a very real and caring way. It was beautiful written, well paced, and kept you intrigued to know what happens. The book does cover a lot of real political matters throughout the book.
I’d recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more by Craig.
🩵 Review – This was such a beautifully written novel. I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. Even though there are some sensitive subjects, they were handled with care. The story was easy to follow, had good pacing and a great cast of characters. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author. 💝 Thank you to @randomthingstours the publisher and author, Craig A Smith for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. #ad#prproduct #@randomthingstours #craigasmith#bookblogger#bookstagramuk#booktours#bookreview
The publisher’s description really does tell you all you need to know about the plot but it did make me think the writing would be more literary than it is. Not that it’s bad writing at all but I had expected something more insightful from the narrator.
However, I did enjoy The River. It was a quick, easy read, spanning the years between 1950 and 2016 (I think!) with well defined characters and places. The dynamic between Lachlan and Morag is especially captivating and although I felt the plot was predictable, it was still satisfying.
Something I did love was the cover, designed, I believe by Stephen Cameron, who established Into Creative and Into Books.
‘The River’ by Craig A Smith is a coming-of-age novel with a difference. It highlights how life, like a river, can meander around a bit but ultimately get you where you are going. It is also a mirror that reflects its setting – locale but also cultural and political discourses. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This is the first book of the author’s which I have read but it certainly won’t be the last.
I am a great proponent of Scottish literature, especially those that feature the working class and let the readers immerse themselves in their lives and stories. This is one of those books. Lachlan is a character that I loved from the get-go and despite some difficult situations he manages to radiate hope. Spanning 75 years we see Lachlan’s life as he deals with seven notable deaths. Some are deeply personal and some are culturally significant but each shapes and moulds him into the person we see at the end of his life.
Lachlan’s life is a reflection of how Scots and Scotland see their place in the world. His family goes from a secure and happy home at the start to an era where it became harder for workers to find employment due to the deindustrialised of Scotland. It follows the rise of nationalism in Scottish politics but it also shows how people become interconnected. I loved Lachlan and Morag’s story and both were interesting and complex characters.
This was a compelling read and I flew through it. I did manage to drop it in the bath though. Oops at least it was a dunk in Scottish water! It was a profound read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
This beautiful story tells the story of Lachlan. From early childhood through adulthood.
His life seems to be a series of unfortunate events and shows how circumstances can change the direction of a life in one go. If you’re not brave enough to follow through on what you want the way it goes can be vastly different from anything you said as a child.
It is so much more than that, though. It shows the changing climate of politics in Scotland and how people went from feeling unnoticed in their own country to ensuring they were, and should be noticed.
I liked Lachlan. He’s a character that anyone could know. We all have hopes and dreams, wishes and aspirations. Things we wished we’d done or not. Lachlan is the everyman that is so relatable. Even when you’re yelling at him to take the chance you want him to.
I loved this book and hope to read a lot more from Craig A. Smith.
With thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
Ad-pr product: Today is my slot for this gorgeous book by Craig A Smith: The River. Thanks to #intobooks via @randomthingstours for sending me a copy.
We meet Lachlan, aged ten, as he navigates growing up in 1950 Aberforth, alongside the river. His dad is angry at the thought of those Tories coming in to get rid of rationing and he’s falling in love with his neighbour and best mate Morag, though he doesn’t know it yet!
Something happens to Lachlan and he needs to move further along the river to Stirling and then he will eventually move again to Alloa and Edinburgh and we traverse his life along that river as he has children, meets people that want an independent Scotland and like their whiskey almost as much as Lachlan!
I really enjoyed this book. I’m half Scottish and shamefully didn’t know half as much about the history of the politics of the country as was brought up in this book. Lachlan and Morag are your everyman characters, especially Lachlan, who loves his beer and whiskey, likes seeing his friends from years ago, goes on the odd fishing trip, and will often get roped into going along to political events with the SNP!
The river is a character in itself, and will often cause havoc in the story, but continues to wind along, just like Lachlan as he travels the journey of his life. This is a life story but has many childish elements to it so the beginning really reminded me of Starling by Kirstin Cram with a different setting. If you enjoyed that, I’m sure you’ll like this book too.
The River is a beautifully written coming of age tale with a message that life is somewhat of a metaphor for a river. As we meander our way through life, we take twists and turns, might come to a dead end or two, but we’ll get there in the end.
We follow Lachlan in this quite profound and powerful homage to his childhood, his life ( spanning some 75 years ), and to his love of Scotland.
I won’t give too much away about the story, but will say that death plays a large part in this story, as Lachlan navigates his way through 7 notable deaths. Some of the deaths are personal to him, others culturally significant, but all effect him in different ways, and shape him into the person he becomes.
So all in all, I throughly enjoyed this read. It’s compelling, thought-provoking and heartfelt, but also sad in parts.
It’s a wonderfully evocative read, with great descriptive writing and I really felt connected to Lachlan on a deep level.
My thoughts: The chance to read a Scottish based book is starting to shine a bit, giving us a chance to enjoy our home and a brilliant read at the same time. This book does have a wee focus on death, but rather than see a dark book that has lots of triggers. Instead look at what this book offers. Throughout the book, we get to see just how death can change you. How it can mould you into a new perspective or take on life, or even take life in a new direction entirely. There are also times when we learn from them by just feeling them and letting them run their course. This book also looks at Scotland as both the stunning place it is and the beautiful history and culture we have to offer. It is such a stunning book and really is a fantastic read.
The authors writing and story telling was very well done. The descriptions of the setting and plot made it feel like you could imagine it all happening.
The story was paced and you can feel the emotions and love and loss between Lachlan and Morag. Even after many years apart they had this raw connection that ran deep than they even realised. We follow the life of Lachlan from childhood through adulthood and how many challenges he has endure during this time. You begin to wonder if some things didn’t happen which direction would his life go in.
The story spans from 1950 til 2016 and touches on many issues through this time. The plot also touches on politics and the effects this has on the choices everyone makes
I was hooked from page 1 and really enjoyed it.
Was interviewed by Alistair Braidwood for SNACK magazine’s April 2025 issue. You can pick up physical copies of this in around 700 locations around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, and Dundee. Or if going out’s not your thing, you can read it at the link below while belting out Teenage Fanclub’s Everything Flows, which has thoughtfully been embedded on the page. Yasssss!
Had a nice long chat with Daffy at SunnyG Radio in which we discuss The River, other books, other writers, mental breakdowns and other fun stuff. There’s some great music too, and also two songs by old bands I was in. Listen again below, and big thanks to Daffy for the interview.
