We are delighted to be hosting the only Scottish event to celebrate the publication of Max Porter’s new novel, Shy. Many of our booksellers are huge fans of Max Porter’s previous books so we can’t wait for another work of fiction from the author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny. Max will be discussing the themes of guilt, rage, imagination and boyhood in Shy with fellow writer Heather Parry.

Venue Accessibility: There is step-free access to the venue on arrival. There is also an accessible toilet located on the same floor with level access.

We’re so excited about Shy that we have even collaborated with Faber & Faber to produce an exclusive The Portobello Bookshop Edition!

About Shy:

This is the story of a few strange hours in the life of a troubled teenage boy. You mustn’t do that to yourself Shy. You mustn’t hurt yourself like that.

He is wandering into the night listening to the voices in his head: his teachers, his parents, the people he has hurt and the people who are trying to love him.

Got your special meds, nutcase? He is escaping Last Chance, a home for ‘very disturbed young men’, and walking into the haunted space between his night terrors, his past and the heavy question of his future.

Please note that there will not be a livestream of this event but there will be a book signing after the event.

Max Porter is the author of Lanny, longlisted for the Booker Prize, and Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, winner of the International Dylan Thomas Prize. He is the recipient of the Sunday Times/Peter, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year award. His work has been translated into thirty languages.

Heather Parry is a Glasgow-based writer, editor, and publisher. She is the co-founder and Editorial Director of Extra Teeth magazine, co-host of the Teenage Scream podcast and the Scottish Senior Policy & Liaison Manager for the Society of Authors, a trade union for writers. In 2021 she created the free-access Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide with artist Maria Stoian. Her short stories and nonfiction have been published internationally, and her debut novel, Orpheus Builds a Girl, was published in October 2022 with Gallic Books.