Queer Debut Showcase: Elspeth Wilson, Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin & Selali Fiamanya

There is some astonishing literary talent emerging in Scotland and we need more occasion to celebrate it - join us in toasting not one, but THREE debut sensations, by queer writers in Scotland!

Before We Hit the Ground - Selali Fiamanya

He wants to feel understood – by his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his self-assured partner Ben, and his boisterous friends – but he never knows the right thing to say. Set across Ghana and Scotland, this is an intimate portrait of one man’s search for belonging, a family’s attempt to love, and the choices that make a life.

Selali Fiamanya was born and raised in Glasgow, with a couple of years spent in Accra, Ghana. He won a place on the inaugural Breakthrough Novel-Writing Course for Black Writers run by Curtis Brown Creative. He is currently undertaking his GP training in Scotland. Before We Hit The Ground is his first novel.

These Mortal Bodies - Elspeth Wilson

A richly atmospheric campus novel, perfect for fans of The Secret History and dark academia, These Mortal Bodies is an intoxicating story of obsession, infatuation and toxic friendship in the world of the elites, where rules are made to be broken.

Elspeth Wilson is a Scottish writer and poet. These Mortal Bodies is her debut novel. Her poetry pamphlet Too Hot to Sleep was published in 2023 and shortlisted for the Saltire Society's Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award. Elspeth's work has been shortlisted for Penguin's WriteNow scheme and she curates a newsletter where she interviews other neurodivergent writers about their work.

When she's not writing, she can usually be found in or near the sea.

Ordinary Saints - Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin

Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself . . .

Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin was the winner of the inaugural PFD Queer Fiction Prize and was also shortlisted for the Women’s Prize Trust Discoveries Prize in 2022. Her début literary novel is Ordinary Saints.