'ipad over a sea of Fog' Caspar David Friedrich 1865.

The Guardian ran with my speech from the Edinburgh Book Festival on the subject of The End of Books The event was with Claire Armitstead and Ray Ryan this week).  I am very pleased to find that some blog contributors have submitted detailed advice for how authors might survive in the digital era.

Otherwise I’m alarmed to find that a great number of the comments come from people who:

(a) have no problem with the fact that author advances have been slashed by 80%

(b) have no issue with consuming free digital products in other formats

(c) think that books will somehow be spared the trend towards zero price that is happening in other digital media

There are also many book sniffers locking horns with

digital fetishists but sanity is generally prevailing

Join the debate here: END OF BOOKS

Stuart Kelly Scotland on Sunday 5th July.

‘Ewan Morrison has swiftly established himself as the foremost chronicler of the more perplexing and unconventional contemporary relationships… Ménage is an accomplished, often poignant, novel. …the novel strives to go beyond corrosive irony and world-weary cynicism to recapture a sense of the possibilities of love.’

Matt Thorne. The independent.
‘The link between art and madness is a tired theme, but Morrison makes it fresh by rooting his story in such a richly realised vision of the early nineties… It is a mark of Morrison’s considerable talent that his exploration remains fascinating, and that watching his characters’ fantasies (and sanity) crumble is just as interesting third time round as it’s ever been before.’

Doug Johnstone. Scotsman. 3rd July.
‘A shrewd and insightful look at a complex love triangle… Frightening, funny, perceptive, emotional and honest, Ménage is an excellent piece of work from a clearly gifted writer.

Alan Bissett. Author Death of a Ladies Man.
‘Menage is a triumph. The density of the psychological relationships; the connections between art, love and madness; the cleverness of the structure, the sheer believability of these screwed up, solipsistic people. The weight of it. A huge, brave feat.’

LA Martinson. The Erotic Review.

[Menage] is an attempt to see how we can keep desire alive in daily life; how we can negotiate a pathway between sexual desire and emotional intimacy. An attempt to ask how important sex is and what we’re willing to risk for it. And, more importantly, what we’d be left with if we risked nothing at all.

Sunday Herald – summer reads
A fast-paced, poignant tale about the arrogance of youth and insane, all-consuming love.

Alan Brown. Sunday Times Ecosse. 5th July
‘A good read but it does come across at time a bit like Jackie Collins for Guardian Readers ….Personally I find that his work, menage in particular, can make one feel ancient and suburban.’

Waterstones, Edinburgh.
Menage is a gripping read .. a steamy exploration of regret, sexual tension and a whole truckload of juicys tuff. Buy this and see what all the fuss is about. Ewan Morrison is one of Scotland’s – and Britain’s finest authors. ’

DISTANCE – Ewan’s second Novel – the story of a long distance relationship – was released on June 29th (Jonathan Cape)

The Times ****
“A writer of serious intent and prodigious talent…In lesser hands, the besotted dialogues and communications between Tom and Meg might begin to grate, but here the author makes them utterly compelling… On this form, Morrison is one of the finest novelists around”

The Sunday Telegraph ****
Top 50 Summer reads 2008.

The List. Camilla Pia ****
“Incredibly compelling reading…. an often overpowering, whirlwind romance peppered with hilarious, snappily rendered critiques… bittersweet anecdotes and, perhaps most interestingly, some searing attacks on and celebrations of modern Scotland. Morrison keeps the reader’s spirits up and gripped to every chapter with an abundance of witty lines, bittersweet anecdotes and an underlying sense of hope, which keeps Distance from becoming too sinister.”

Doug Johnstone, author, Tombstoning and The Ossians
“Distance is a remarkable, penetrating look at the nature of love, the psychology of sex and the role of delusion and fantasy in relationships.”

Arena
“The absorption of two lovers can make the reader feel like a gooseberry… Morrison leaves you aching for their reunion.”

The Daily Mirror
“A transatlantic romance is brilliantly stretched to breaking point… Secrets and lies mount on two continents, as a face-to-face confrontation inevitably looms.”

Independent: Jonathan Gibbs
“Morrison seems on the button with the mundane routines of long-distance love.”

Financial Times, Melissa McClements
“Morrison can be insightful…This, together with philosophical musings about the nature of affection, bring weight to bear”

Scotsman
“The much anticipated follow-up to Swung, takes off in a rush, a headlong dash, a slipstream of heat with the force of irresistible suction. Giddy, off-kilter and wholly absorbing, it features two lovers, besotted, reeking of lust and loss, in the wake of a week of powerful sexual-cum-psychological intrigues in New York City and beyond.”

‘ A writer of serious intent and prodigious talent. It’s not easy to write about passionate love, but Morrison is completely convincing in that respect. In lesser hands, the besotted dialogues and communications between Tom and Meg might begin to grate, but here the author makes them utterly compelling. Despite the pair constantly looking backwards to their week together, there is a relentless forward momentum to Distance, Morrison creating an insatiable desire to find out what happens when they finally meet up again. Morrison handles all this brilliantly, and his perfectly judged denouement is a blow to the head and heart. On this form, Morrison is one of the finest novelists around.’
The Times 28th June 2008

To read the entire review click below:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article4224803.ece

‘incredibly compelling …an often overpowering, whirlwind romance peppered with hilarious, snappily rendered critiques of [the lovers] hometowns and, perhaps most interestingly, some searing attacks on and celebrations of modern Scotland….even when all seems to be unravelling for his protagonists, Morrison keeps the reader???s spirits up and gripped to every chapter with an abundance of witty lines, bittersweet anecdotes and an underlying sense of hope.’
The List
see the full review here:

http://www.list.co.uk/article/9131-ewan-morrison-distance/

‘Distance is a remarkable, penetrating look at the nature of love, the psychology of sex and the role of delusion and fantasy in relationships. Heartbreaking in its depiction of self-destruction and desperation, it is an unflinching look at the train wreck that is the modern world. Swung was an amazing debut, Distance is considerably better, and Morrison is infuriatingly talented.’
Doug Johnstone. Author The Ossians

‘Morrison can be insightful, particularly when it comes to Tom???s self-defeatism. He also has a knowing awareness of the clichéd nature of his romantic theme. This, together with philosophical musings about the nature of affection bring weight to bear.’
Financial Times

‘The absorption of two lovers can make the reader feel like a gooseberry…Morrison leaves you aching for their reunion.’
Arena magazine

For more got to: http://www.princemaurice.com/press/pressrelease/CLPMPrize08Shortlist.pdf

ITALIAN IMPRINT OF SWUNG
On Feb 28th Swung comes out in Italy with the publishers Fazi Editore.

www.fazieditore.it

Keep an eye out for an essay by Ewan on Love in La Republica. and also a Q&A appearing in the forthcoming edition of italian womens magazine ‘Anna.’

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2061343,00.html

ARTICLES: WEEK – 7th to 14th April

THE SCOTSMAN. Saturday 7th April. Scottish Exclusive – cover story. Article on Ewan Morrison and swinging in Scotland. Lee Randal.
www.scotsman.com

http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=515012007

THE SUNDAY HERALD. Sunday 8th April. SULTAN OF SWING, Profile on Ewan Morrison. Peter Ross.
www.sundayherald.com

http://www.sundayherald.com/life/people/display.var.1315049.0.sultan_of_swing.php

Interviews also appeared in THE BIG ISSUE and THE LIST

http://www.list.co.uk/

THE DAILY RECORD and THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH both picked up the Independent story WELL SWUNG (below) on Tusday 3rd April. The daily record ran it as cover story.

THE INDEPENDENT. 31st March 2007. Cover story. Diary of a swinger – The inside story of Britains Secret Sexual Revolution.

WELL SWUNG – ‘While working on a novel about swingers the acclaimed author Ewan Morrison spent a year exploring Britains secret Sexual Subculture. Twelve Months and many, many partners later, this is what he learned.

To read the article go to:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2405037.ece

ARENA MAGAZINE. MAY 2007. The controversy Issue. Sex stories by Britain’s hottest authors. p.162. HEAVEN – short story.

www.arenamagazine.co.uk

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Ewan Morrison’s first novel SWUNG (Jonathan Cape) was published on April 5^th 2007

PRAISE FOR SWUNG

“Sometimes – very rarely – a book is just so good that a string of gushing superlatives still seem to be damning it with feint praise. Swung is that kind of a novel, genuinely groundbreaking in its scope and insights, highlighting that its author is one of the most gifted and accomplished writers to have emerged in recent years”- Irvine Welsh

“That rare thing – a serious book about sex. Ewan Morrison’s brave, dirty utterly honest account of the psychological side of swinging is a complete delight.” – Matt Thorne

‘Undeniably erotic…the best book on sex since John Updike’s Couples’
ARENA

“Though sex is its language, this is a novel about ageing and settling and messing things up again, with heart enough to make it hurt a little”
Observer

“A racy romp… not for the faint of heart, this psychologically involving story certainly makes for an eye-opening read”
Easy Living Magazine

“as dirty a debut as Adam Thirlwell’s brilliant Politics…. And just as funny and thought-provoking”
Daily Sport

“Glasgow writer Ewan Morrison takes on the mantle of responsibility of writing a serious book about sex and carries it off with great success. It’s difficult to believe that Swung is his first novel.
It boasts a narrative control and sureness of touch… that would induce envy in many more experienced novelists… Swung is a beautifully crafted, completely realised and often inspirational book. It announces Morrison as one of the most interesting and exciting voices to emerge in Scottish
fiction in recent years.”
Guardian

‘Worryingly captivating’
Esquire

‘very impressive first novel’
Scotland on Sunday

“Ewan Morrison has a rare, enviable talent, like Vonnegut, like many of the best, he writes like he hates the world he lives in but sympathises with the people in it – no matter how many mistakes they make, how many people they hurt, how many times they almost give up. Despite being on one level a book about sex, Swung seems to me be more about how people cope with growing older and realising they won’t achieve the perfect life they once hoped for. It is as much a soft lament as an ecstatic howl.” - Rodge Glass. Author: No Fireworks

“The Self confessed ‘erudite purveyor of filth’ certainly knows how to make a buzz. With this novel about Glasgow swingers that sound should turn into a veritable cacophony.” – THE LIST Magazine

SWUNG OPTIONED BY SIGMA FILMS

Swung has been optioned by Gillian Berrie and (The Director) David Mackenzie’s independent Glasgow based production company Sigma Films. David’s new film Hallum Foe (another literary adaptation starring Jamie Bell) has just premiered to rapturous reviews at the Berlin Film Festival, and Red Road written and directed by Andrea Arnold and winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2006, was a recent Sigma Films production with Lars Von Trier’s Company. David Mackenzie’s first feature film was Young Adam (adapted from the novel by Alexander Trocchi and starring Ewan McGregor) The deal was handled by Lesley Thorne on behalf of Lucy Luck Associates.

“A mini masterpiece. I loved every story. Beautifully, wittily, ferociously and tenderly written. Fantastic.”
Chris Dolan, Author: Ascension Day

“The Last Book You Read and Other Stories’ skilfully evinces the spiritual desolation and desperation, the intense sexual parabolae, of life in the echo chamber that is advanced capitalist society. Yet sewn subtly through the fourteen stories linked narratives are the glistening threads of hope, connection… maybe even of love.”
Suhayl Saadi, Author: Psychoraag

“Although prominantly adorned with a blurb from the Sunday times designating it as ‘the most compelling Scottish literary debut since Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting’, Ewan Morrison’s The Last Book You Read could not be more different from Welsh’s debut both stylistically and thematically. What the texts do have in common is that both oscillate generically between constituting a novel and a collection of short stories, Trainspotting representing the former forever on the brink of irreparable self-dispersal, whereas Morrison’s narrative appears only minutely removed from aggregating into a larger whole. Similair to ambitious American film projects such as Robert Altman’s Short Cuts (1993), Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999) or Paul Haggis’s Crash (2005)…Morrison is concerned with the indispensible necessity of personal relationships, the heroic effort it takes to initiate, trust and maintain them as well as the common everyday trials inherent in being generally human in our globalised twenty first-century world…undeniably Morrison’s collection of short stories makes a contribution to contemporary world literature.”

Bertold Shoene. Going Cosmopolitan: reconstituting Scottishness in post devolution criticism. From the forthcoming book: The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature.