MESSING WITH THE MIND  Saturday 8th October 2.45-4.15pm     LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Mary Paulson-Ellis, debut author of The Other Mrs Walker,  joins Graeme Macrae Burnet, whose His Bloody Project has been short listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, to talk about what inspired them to write their novels. They’ll discuss how they got into the mysterious minds of their characters and the appeal of psychological thrillers and the exploration of secrets, lies and deception. 

Chair: Graeme Howard

Mary Paulson-Ellis is a writer living in Edinburgh, Scotland. She likes to write about what she call the ‘murderous’ side of family life – the dark, the quirky and the strange. Her debut novel, The Other Mrs Walker, about a woman who finds families for dead people, is published by Mantle/Pan Macmillan. You can read a review of The Other Mrs Walker on Portobello Book Blog by clicking here

Graeme Macrae Burnet was born and brought up in Kilmarnock and now lives in Glasgow, Scotland. His first novel, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, was called ‘a captivating psychological thriller’ by The Herald. His second novel, His Bloody Project, concerns a triple murder a crofting village in 1860’s Wester Ross. ‘A gripping crime story, a deeply imagined historical novel, and gloriously written,’ said The Sunday Herald Books of the Year, 2015. ‘A fine achievement from an ambitious and accomplished writer,’ said The National.