21st Century Scottish Authors You Need To Read

She is one of my favorite current contemporary 21st century thriller writers. Her books are so compelling with the most phenomenal twists. The first book I ever read by Harriet Tyce was her book Blood Orange, which is actually set in London.

Hazel McBride is a fantasy author that debuted in 2025 with the first book in her high fantasy series called A Fate Forged in Fire... this is such a rich and compelling fantasy world, which does, in fact, feature a good old-fashioned enemies-to-lovers romance.

But if you know me, you know I love a fantasy novel that draws on various different folklores and mythological traditions, and I love seeing the way Elize Chan brings both of those cultures together, whilst also creating something all of her own in her fantasy novels.

She's investigating accusations of corrupt officials within the prison, and crime that is happening inside the prison, which I think is a really interesting setting for a thriller novel, something a little bit different. And I also very much appreciate that it has sapphic representation.

And it is a beautiful ode to the women who were murdered during this period of history. Jenny Fagan is well known for her beautiful prose, and rightly so.

But The King's Witches is about the early days of the witch trials in Scotland during the early days of James the VI's rule... it is such a wonderful exploration of different women's experiences of that time period.

So, her debut historical fiction novel, The Maiden, was a fictionalized account of a 17th century murder that took place in Edinburgh. So, it's got a little bit of historical fiction, and it's got a little bit of crime, as well as again having some fabulous female perspectives in there.

And most recently, a novel, Mockavarga, which is set on an isolated island where a father and son are tending a lighthouse, and a mysterious third person turns up on the island. Very mystical and mysterious, and feels that kind of eerie, isolated atmosphere that I know a lot of people look for in their Scottish literature.

So, their debut Need Fire also came out very recently and is another one with a sapphic representation, which again, I adore. and there is a gothic novel, so you know, we have a woman going into a mysterious house in the 19th century, only to find herself embroiled in something strange and mysterious.

I absolutely love her content, but I also adore her poetry. Her collections include poems and poems and a', and again, they incorporate a lot of Scots language in a beautiful contemporary way.

It is such a phenomenal concept, and Anum Bashir Salam is such a phenomenal writer.

So, Kirsty Logan's debut novel was The Gracekeepers, which is a light fantasy story set in a far-flung future where everybody either lives on tiny, tiny, small pieces of land, or on boats... and it's it's so beautiful.