Max Porter – Shy
Doors open at 7pm.
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.
This event will take place at the Assembly Roxy in the centre of Edinburgh. There will be a book signing after the event.
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!
Please note that there will not be a livestream of this event.
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: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Max Porter Author
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 Chair
Heather Parry is a Glasgow-based writer and editor, originally from South Yorkshire. Her debut novel, Orpheus Builds a Girl, was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year Award and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. She is also the author of a short story collection, This Is My Body, Given For You, and her first nonfiction book, Electric Dreams: On Sex Robots and the Failed Promises of Capitalism, was released in 2024 as part of 404 Ink’s Inklings series. Her second novel, Carrion Crow was published by Doubleday in February 2025. Heather writes the substack general observations on eggs, and lives in Glasgow with her partner and their cats, Ernesto and Fidel.
The venue
Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place
Edinburgh
EH8 9SU
Telephone: 0131 623 3001
Website: assemblyfestival.com/roxy/about-assembly-roxy
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.