Kirsty Logan - The Unfamiliar
A Queer Motherhood Memoir
WithKirsty Logan
In conversation withChitra Ramaswamy
On:20th July 2023, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
We're delighted to be hosting the launch for Kirsty Logan's fantastic new memoir, The Unfamiliar. In this work, Logan explores queer motherhood, challenging and disrupting assumptions about family, parenthood and gender roles with wit and wisdom. We were lucky enough to host the launch for Kirsty's novel, Now She is Witch, back in January so it's great to be able to welcome her back so soon! Kirsty will be in conversation with journalist and author Chitra Ramaswamy.
This event will take place in the bookshop with an in-person audience, as well as a livestream for attendees watching from home. There will be a signing after the event.
In-person vouchers can be redeemed on the night of the event against a single copy of The Unfamiliar – we will have a list of attendees with vouchers to be redeemed. Please note that only one voucher can be redeemed per book. Livestream vouchers are valid until the day after the event and can be used on the website against the price of The Unfamiliar.
About The Unfamiliar:
An unconventional, unexpectedly funny, brutally honest memoir about infertility, pregnancy and motherhood
'You and your partner want a baby. But your two bodies can't make a baby together.'
If you want a baby but your body says otherwise -
If you don't know the polite way to say thank you for the sperm -
If you're waiting for the sound of a brand-new heartbeat -
If you know it takes a village to raise a baby but have no idea who should be doing what -
If you're lurching between bliss and bewilderment -
If you don't fit the shape of what you've been told a mother should be -
Reach for The Unfamiliar and don't let go.
Moving and immersive, and written with wisdom, disarming humour and raw honesty, The Unfamiliar casts a fresh eye on motherhood and challenges our assumptions about pregnancy, gender roles, queer identity and what it means to be a parent.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Kirsty Logan Author
Kirsty Logan is the author of the novels Now She is Witch, The Gracekeepers and The Gloaming, the short story collections A Portable Shelter and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales, the flash fiction chapbook The Psychology of Animals Swallowed Alive, and the short memoir The Old Asylum in the Woods at the Edge of the Town Where I Grew Up. Her books have won the LAMBDA Literary Award, the Polari First Book Prize, the Saboteur Award, the Scott Prize and the Gavin Wallace Fellowship, and been selected for the Radio 2 Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club. She lives in Glasgow with her wife and their rescue dog.
Chitra Ramaswamy Chair
Chitra Ramaswamy is a journalist and author from London. Her latest book, Homelands: The History of a Friendship (Canongate) is a work of creative non-fiction exploring her friendship with a 99-year-old German Jewish refugee called Henry Wuga. It won the Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year and was included in The Guardian’s top memoirs and biographies of 2022. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy (Saraband) won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize. She has contributed essays to Antlers of Water, Nasty Women, The Freedom Papers, The Bi:ble, and Message From The Skies and recently completed a commission from the Alasdair Gray Archive. She is a freelance writer for The Guardian, the restaurant critic for The Times Scotland, and broadcasts for BBC radio. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner, two children, and rescue dog.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.