Kirsti Wishart

These three stories celebrate urban magic, evoking a brand of East Coast magic realism. Featuring uncanny take-aways, a virtual escapee from the digital world wandering along Elm Row and an underground club where the city itself provides the beats, they celebrate Edinburgh not as a back-drop but as a character in its own right – stories as unpredictable and entertaining as a late-night bus trip along Leith Walk.

Excerpt

The final straw was lying in wait for them on the doormat when they came back after a fortnight’s holiday. Both of them had taken turns trying to barge the door open until James brought out the thin wooden spatula Chris had laughed at him for taking. ‘See. Told you this would come in handy.’ After a good two minutes of shoving, the wad of paper jammed in the gap between door and floor, gave and they could let themselves into the stale air of the flat.

About the Author

Stuart Kelly, literary editor of Scotland on Sunday, thought ‘Avatar’ – one of the stories featured – as ‘being worth of M. R. James.’

Kirsti Wishart has a Ph.D in Scottish Literature from St Andrews that she gained a long, long time ago. She now lives in Edinburgh and her work has appeared in New Writing Scotland, on Laura Hird’s website and most recently in The One O’Clock Gun anthology.

http://www.writers-bloc.org.uk/comrades/kirsti-wishart/

Read more another story (that features a lot of drink!) here: http://www.laurahird.com/showcase/kirstiwishart.html