Open Book Unbound
Episodes
April 2026: Curiosity
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
On this month's podcast we discuss 'What has been removed' by Amy Moreno and 'Miss Heath' by Helen Mort. Photo by Hasse Lossius on Unsplash. This po...
March 2026: Growing
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Marjorie and Claire discuss 'Phone calls from my mother' by Anna Martin and 'Two Trees' by Don Paterson. Photo by Lawrence Aritao on Unsplash. This...
February 2026: Caring
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jess and Marjorie discuss 'Closet' by Nick Fogg and 'The Word' by Zaffar Kunial. Content warning: this episode contains discussions concerning grief ...
January 2026: Rediscovery
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Claire and Marjorie discuss 'Resonance' by Anna Levin and 'The Acceptance' by Raymond Antrobus. This podcast is supported by Creative Scotland. Phot...
December 2025: Measuring Time
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode Jess and Marjorie discuss 'Measuring Time' by LG Thomson and 'Bed' by Jackie Kay. This podcast is supported by Creative Scotland. Ph...
November 2025: Comfort
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jess Orr and Marjorie Lotfi discuss 'Soft Things on Hard Days' by Micaela J. Ralph and 'My Wife's Whistle' by Jim Carruth. Photo by lilartsy on Unsp...
October 2025: Last Time
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jess Orr joins Marjorie Lotfi on this month's episode where we read the story "One Last Time" by Melissa Ganendran and the poem 'Flame Heart' by Claud...
September 2025: Obsolete
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read ‘A Trip Doon the Memories’ by Roddie McKenzie and ‘Text Message’ by Anthony Anaxagorou Photo by Yueshan Jiang on Unsplash. This podca...
August 2025: Envy
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read ‘Television’ by Lynn Gee and ‘Sue Speaks To Me In The Swan Room’ by Malika Booker. Photo by Negar Nikkhah on Unsplash. This podcast w...
July 2025: White Lies
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read ‘It’s a sin to tell a lie’ by Helen Bang and ‘The Charming Nancy’ by Miriam Gamble from ‘Squirrels are Dead’. Photo by Jan Cant...
June 2025: The Road Less Travelled
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read ‘There’s no after school club for the moons of Jupiter’ by Britta Benson and the poems ‘The Train’ and ‘Traivel’ by Colin Bramwe...
May 2025: Constellations
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this month's podcast we discuss ‘Bright Star’ by Tom Murray and ‘Return’ by Cáit O’Neill McCullagh. Photo by Nicole Avagliano on Unspla...
April 2025: Friendship
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read 'Dressing my Daughter' by Juliet Wilson and 'Long Years apart—can make no' by Emily Dickinson. Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash. This ...
March 2025: Bark
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read 'Its bark', a non-fiction piece by Tessa McWatt, and 'Living Space / One Breath', a poem by Imtiaz Dharker. Photo by Nate Bell on Unsplash
February 2025: Biscuits
11 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We read 'A Life in 5 Biscuits', a story by LG Thomson, and 'the day i stopped nicking tea bags from hotels (or granny, forgive me)', a poem by Hollie ...
January 2025: Interview
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the short story "Bacon Butty" by Kevin Crowe and "The Job Interview", a poem by Ross McCleary. Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash
December 2024: Magic
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We read the short story "Walking on Air" by Maureen Myant and a poem from Alice Tarbuck, "Impetrative and Oblative". Photo by jasper benning on Unspl...
November 2024: Apprentice
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We read "Building Badger’s Cairn", a short story from Dorothy Lawrenson, and the poem "Wit is it" by Billy Letford. Photo by Juhani Pelli from Unsp...
October 2024: Sewing
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story 'Straight First Time: Sewing Lessons" by Jay Whittaker and the poem 'Instruction' by Hazel Hall. Photo by pina messina on Unspla...
September 2024: Our Earth
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This month, Claire and Marjorie discuss Open Book's latest theme, Our Earth. Reading Katharine Macfarlane's short piece 'Tethered to the Earth' and a ...
August 2024: Inheritance
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This month, Claire and Marjorie delve into Open Book's latest theme of Inheritance. Reading Helen Lyttle's 'Arthur's Gift' and A E Housman's 'Soldier ...
July 2024: George Mackay Brown
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Claire and Marjorie as they welcome summer with a joyful celebration of George Mackay Brown's life and works. This month, they read Ros Taylor's ...
June 2024: Defiance
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Claire and Marjorie are back with another delicious episode of Open Book Unbound. This month, they take a bite out of Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin's short sto...
May 2024: Fragments
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're excited to host a world premiere of new writing in this month's Open Book Unbound. Claire and Marjorie read an excerpt from Alycia Pirmohamed's ...
April 2024: Hope
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Spring has arrived, bringing chattering birds back to our gardens. Inspired by Scottish Book Trust's 2024 Book Week Scotland theme of 'Hope', Claire a...
March 2024: Roots
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Step into the wild with Open Book Unbound. Reading 'Roots' by Sarah Whiteside and 'Camping at Bearna' by Jane Clarke, Claire and Marjorie explore them...
February 2024: Night Sky
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This month, we're taking a moment to relax and explore the Night Sky. Reading 'Lying Down to Look Up' by Anna Levin and 'I saw no Way–The Heavens we...
January 2024: Machines
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back to Open Book! Claire and Marjorie kick off 2024's podcasts by exploring Open Book's latest theme, Machines. Reading Ruth Gilchrist's sho...
New Year 2024: Sea
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year from Open Book! Celebrate the start of a new year with this special bonus episode as Claire and Marjorie discuss the peaceful and the ...
December 2023: Postcards
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Claire and Marjorie usher in December with warm, poignant readings of Adrija Ghosh's short story 'Satsuma' and Tim Tim Cheng's poem 'Sonnet with Skyli...
October 2023: A Life in Protest
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by Glasgow Women's Library's 30th anniversary celebrations and their Open the Door Literary Festival, Open Book's latest theme is Protest. R...
September 2023: Tortoise
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month, Claire and Marjorie dive into Open Book's latest theme, Lost and Found. Reading Lynn Gee's short story 'Tortoise' and John Burnside's poe...
August 2023: Reverie
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is nostalgia, and what happens when our memories aren't accompanied by the rose-tinted memories typically associated with the feeling? As Open B...
July 2023: Plague, Princes and Political Embarras
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This month, Claire and Marjorie examine the letters of Henrietta Liston, a British botanist, world traveller and wife of diplomat Robert Liston. Listo...
June 2023: The Race
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss 'The Race' by Tom Murray and the poem 'Us' by Zaffar Kunial.
May 2023: Gardening
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss 'The Allotment' by Morgan Melhuish and 'Catalogue of my grandmother’s sayings' by Claire Askew
April 2023: Blue
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We read ‘Blue’ by Liz Holliday and 'Song of the Mainland’ by Miriam Nash.
March 2023: Practising
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We read the story 'Practising' by Priscilla Thomas and the poem 'I Wanted Music' by Sarah Ruhl
February 2023: Dinnerplate Identities
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story 'Dinnerplate Identities' by Britta Benson and the poem 'A Tray of Frozen Songbirds' by Pascale Petit.
January 2023: Shipbuilding
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story 'Shipbuilding' by LG Thomson and the poem 'Not Unequal to Many' by Jay Gao.
December 2022: Sunday Surprise
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story 'Sunday Surprise' by Sarah Tinsley and the poem 'Twenty-two' by Theresa Muñoz.
November 2022: Waiting
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We read the story 'Waiting' by Alexa Kellow and the poem 'a pint for the true shepherds' by Helen Mort
October 2022: Carnival Night
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We feature Victoria Kennefick's poem 'A Young Girl Discovers Her Reflection' and the short story 'Carnival Night' by Rebecca Savage.
September 2022: How to Read the Lace
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We read the story story 'How to Read the Lace' by Alex Penland and the poem 'Imitating Rousseau' by Georgi Gill
August 2022: New Beginnings
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story 'New Beginnings' by Helen Lyttle and the poem 'Early Morning, West Hartlepool, 1963' by Eddie Gibbons. Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbé...
July 2022: Guerrilla Tactics
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the short story 'Guerrilla Tactics' by Anne Hay and the poem 'The Only Black Girl' by Hannah Lowe. Photo: Susan Torkington
June 2022: How to Have the Perfect Picnic
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we discuss ‘Elsewhere’ by Alycia Pirmohamed and the short story 'How to Have the Perfect Picnic' by Claire O' Connor.
May 2022: Going Somewhere
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the story "Going somewhere? What happens when the story ends?" by Amy Moreno and the poem 'Bladerunner' by Rob A. Mackenzie.
April 2022: A Story in Nine Rooms
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss 'A Story in Nine Rooms' by Dizz Tate and the poem 'Wetheral' by Claire Askew.
March 2022: Barriers
07 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Featuring the story 'Grass is Greener?' by Tom Murray and Gerald Manley Hopkin's poem 'The Caged Skylark'.
February 2022: Telling Stories
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we read the story 'Herzoggies' by Lynnda Wardle and the poem 'Scotland You're No Mine' by Hannah Lavery. Note: the poem in this episo...
January 2022: Hazy Shade of Blue
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome in the new year with the story 'Hazy Shade of Blue' by Lorraine Thomson and a poem by John Glenday, 'Bird Sighs for the Air'
December 2021: To Table
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we read Heather Parry's short story ‘To Table’ and the poems ‘Who goes to dine must take his Feast’ by Emily Dickinson and ‘...
November 2021: The Serpent
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the short story 'The Serpent' by Rafael Torrubia and two group poem by members of the Oasis Group at Maryhill Integration Network, 'What Ev...
October 2021: Histogram
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the story 'Histogram' by Katharine Macfarlane and 'Crossing The Loch', a poem from our new Scottish Makar Kathleen Jamie.
September 2021: The Forthcoming Me
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the short story 'The Forthcoming Me' by Catherine Wilson and the poem 'Piano' by DH Lawrence. Photo credit: Heshani Sothiraj Eddleston.
August 2021: Preserving History
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we discuss the story 'Preserving History' by Angi Holden and the poem 'The Matchsafe' by John Glenday.
July 2021: Horses for Courses
26 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we discuss the short story 'Horses for Courses' by Judy Upton and the poems 'I would not paint — a picture —' (348) and 'Success i...
June 2021: Inside Her Leg
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss the story 'Inside Her Leg' By Lorraine Thomson and the poem 'Bird-House' by Em Strong.
May 2021: There Were Always Roses
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Claire and Marjorie discuss 'Adelstrop' by Edward Thomas and the story 'There Were Always Roses' by Cath Barton.
April 2021: The Change
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss 'The Change' by Ruth Gilchrist and the poem 'Selkie' by Rachel Plummer on this episode of our monthly podcast series. Photo: Heshani Sothi...
March 2021: On The Ship
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we read the Edwin Morgan poems 'When you go', 'One cigarette' and 'The picnic' and the Morgan inspired story 'On The Ship' by Alice As...
February 2021: Someone else’s house
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss the short story "Someone else’s house" by Jane Archer and the poem "The House" by Emily Dickinson.
January 2021: A Visit from Niven and Flynn
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode Marjorie and Claire discuss "A Visit from Niven and Flynn" by Dorothy Lawrenson and "Flying Inside Your Own Body" by Margaret Atwood.
December 2020: The Christmas Box
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We return with the first of our new monthly podcasts and this one features a new story 'The Christmas Box' by Liz Treacher. We also read the poem 'The...
Unbound Episode 23: I took my troubles for a walk
06 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this, the last of our podcasts featuring our commissioned pieces of writing, we discuss 'I took my troubles for a walk (A grown-up fairy tale)' by ...
Unbound Episode 22: A ring with a blue plastic duck
30 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss our commissioned story 'Unbound' by Iain Matheson and the poem 'Daisy' by Alice Oswald.
Unbound Episode 21: The Bench
23 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss our commissioned piece 'The Bench' by Beth Godfrey and the poem 'Once Upon a Time' by Gabriel Okara.
Unbound Episode 20: Orange Peel
16 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss our commissioned piece 'Orange Peel' by Sophie Law and the poems 'A Birthday' by Edwin Muir and 'The Orange' by Wendy Cope.
Unbound Episode 19: The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree
09 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We take a break from our commissioned pieces of writing on this episode to read an abridged version of the first chapter from The Enlightenment of the...
Unbound Episode 18: The Happy House
02 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we discuss our commissioned piece 'The Happy House' by Kathryn Koromilas and the poems 'Little Sea House' by Hamish MacLaren and 'Home...
Unbound Episode 17: Gathering Threads
26 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss our commissioned piece ‘Gathering Threads’ by Lisa Williams and ‘The Knitter’ by Jackie Kay.
Unbound Episode 16: There is tomorrow
19 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we feature our Unbound commissioned piece by Elspeth Wilson and two of the poems she chose to accompany it - 'Early April Heatwave' by...
Unbound Episode 15: Confluence of Years
12 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Claire Urquhart and Marjorie Lotfi Gill discuss our commissioned piece 'Confluence of Years' by Linda Cracknell and the poem 'Crossing...
Unbound Episode 14: Gazing
05 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode we continue our discussion of our commissioned pieces with 'Gazing' by Russell Jones and the poem 'Unwittingly' by John Burnside. Fin...
Unbound Episode 13: Essential
28 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing our commissioned pieces, we feature 'Essential' by Siân Bevan and one of her chosen poems, 'One Art' by Elizabeth Bishop. Find out more ...
Unbound Episode 12: All at Sea
21 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We present the first of our commissioned pieces in this episode and feature a poem chosen by its author. Marjorie Lotfi Gill and Claire Urquhart rea...
Unbound Episode 11: The night sky takes no credit
14 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Open Book Unbound Marjorie Lotfi Gill and Claire Urquhart discuss the poem 'So Much Happiness' by Naomi Shihab Nye and the essay by...
Unbound Episode 10: Curtain Twitchers
07 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we read 'Child of the Moon' by Heather Parry and 'No.115 dreams' by Jackie Kay. For more information about Open Book visit our websit...
Unbound Episode 9: Temptation
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss the poems 'Temptation' by Nina Cassian and 'Lightness' by Meg Bateman, as well as the short story 'Hebridean Lovesong' by J...
Unbound Episode 8: Imagine the otherwise
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Claire Urquhart and Marjorie Lotfi Gill discuss the story 'Gunter' by Helen Sedgwick and the poem 'Otherwise' by Jane Kenyon in this episode. Find o...
Unbound Episode 7: What work is
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hosts Marjorie Lotfi Gill and Claire Urqhuart discuss Leila Aboulela's short essay from the book Imagine A Country: Ideas for a Better Future (ed. Val...
Unbound Episode 6: Blown open to a blank page
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We read 'At Sea' by Karen Lord, one of the Freedom Papers commissioned by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and the poem 'Dawn Revisited' by ...
Unbound Episode 5: The Future
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by the Scottish Book Trust's theme this year, we explore two pieces that consider the future in very different ways - "The Egg", a short stor...
Unbound Episode 4: Edwin Morgan at 100
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of Edwin Morgan 100 on Monday 27 April 2020 we bring you an episode filled to the brim with poetry. Marjorie Lotfi Gill and Claire Urqu...
Open Book Unbound: Episode 3
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode Claire Urquhart and Marjorie Lotfi Gill read and discuss ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Yiyun Li, ‘Harlem’ by Langston Hughe...
Open Book Unbound Podcast: Episode 2
11 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we explore poems and stories with a musical theme. Claire Urquhart and Marjorie Lotfi Gill read and discuss the poems 'Another Reason ...
Open Book Unbound Podcast: Episode 1
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our first episode features Marjorie Lotfi Gill and Claire Urquhart taking part in their very first Open Book discussion as a podcast. We discuss 'An A...