Book News

25 years ago, THE CROW ROAD first found its way into readers’ hands. From its bravura opening onwards, THE CROW ROAD is justly regarded as an outstanding contemporary novel. ‘It was the day my grandmother exploded. I sat in the crematorium, listening to my Uncle Hamish quietly snoring in harmony to Bach’s Mass in B […]

Iain Banks the literary novelist and Iain M. Banks the science-fiction writer are too well known to need introduction, but Iain Banks the poet has hitherto been almost undetected. A single poem, ‘041’, published in a poetry magazine; two poems (‘“Slight Mechanical Destruction”’ and ‘Zakalwe’s Song’) book-ending Use of Weapons; some lines from ‘Feu de […]

Iain Banks’s last novel, The Quarry, is out now in paperback. The Quarry is the story of a dying man and his only son, six old friends, a missing videotape and a reunion in a crumbling house on the edge of a quarry. First published in hardback and ebook last year, here’s what critics had […]

The Wasp Factory has been voted one of the top 50 books that help shape and inspire teenage lives the most, in a public vote held to mark World Book Day today. Thousands of adults and teenagers in the UK voted in the ‘Writes of Passage’ initiative, intended to create the ultimate list of 50 […]

Our much loved and admired author, Iain Banks would have celebrated his 60th birthday today, Sunday 16th February. To mark the date, Little, Brown is delighted to announce that in February 2015, we will publish a collection of Iain and Ken Macleod’s poems, edited by Ken. Simon Pegg, a long-standing fan of Iain’s work, said […]

In recent months, the astronomer José Luis Galache at the Minor Planet Center put forth a request that an asteroid be named after Iain M. Banks. Sadly, it was too late for Iain to hear of it, but on the 23rd of June this was approved by the International Astronomical Union. Asteroid Iainbanks now resides […]

Stonemouth is published tomorrow, and to whet your appetite, here’s a round-up of what the critics have been saying so far: ‘There is more than a shade of Pip and Estella in Stewart and Ellie, and to create an emotionally satisfying while intellectually convincing ending is a rare achievement’ Guardian ‘The storytelling is very, very […]

Thanks to everyone who entered our competition to win a signed proof of Iain Banks new novel Stonemouth. We had some great answers to why you’d like to review it (as well as some helpful spelling advice on the word ‘receive’:-)). And now, without further ado, the winners are . . . Seth DeHaan Gordon […]

Stonemouth. Home to sea fog. Gangsters. Lost love. And a suspension bridge . . . Iain Banks returns in April with his new novel – a dark, fast-paced and brilliant thriller that deals with adolescence, love and vengeance, and the perils of coming home. We’re very excited about it, and with less than three months […]

Time left to sign up as a giver [CountDown id=1 width=250 custom_widget=1 containerx=0 containerxy=0 imagebackground=false reflection=false year=2012 month=2 day=1 hours=00 minute=00 textunder=true] After so many of you voted to see an Iain M Banks title on the World Book Night 2012 list, we were thrilled when it actually happened and The Player of Games made […]

Iain M. Banks is interviewed by David Conyers for the feature piece in the latest issue of Albedo One, Ireland’s longest-running magazine of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. For more information, or to order a copy of the magazine, head to the Albedo One website.

The Wasp Factory was featured on Jim Naughtie’s Radio 4 Book Club last week, and Jim has written about his conversation with Iain on his Book Club blog. “The book is a picture of disturbance, a kind of punk’s-eye view of the world, which is a place of gothic horror and badness. Yet, as Iain […]