New Writing Scotland is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland today. Every year it publishes the very best from both emerging and established writers, and lists many of the leading literary lights of Scotland among its past (and present) contributors. Break in Case of Silence: New Writing Scotland 39 is the latest collection of excellent contemporary literature, drawn from a wide cross-section of Scottish culture and society, and includes new work from forty authors - some award-winning and internationally renowned, and some just beginning their careers.

New Writing Scotland is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland today. Every year it publishes the very best from both emerging and established writers, and lists many of the leading literary lights of Scotland among its past (and present) contributors. The Last Good Year: New Writing Scotland 38 is the latest collection of excellent contemporary literature, drawn from a wide cross-section of Scottish culture and society, and includes new work from forty authors - some award-winning and internationally renowned, and some just beginning their careers.

New Writing Scotland is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland today. Every year we publish the very best from emerging and established writers, and list many of the leading literary lights of Scotland among our contributors.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WATER RUNS OUT? THE WORLD IS RUNNING OUT OF WATER. With supply in the Scottish cities drying up, Aida is forced back home to live with her mum at their rural farm. For now, they are safe with just enough to get by. Yet at the border, tensions are close to breaking point as more and more southerners chase the delusion that Scotland is an eternal spring - while fewer and fewer are allowed through. The service station where Aida works grows emptier with every day. Then, when suspicious strangers arrive at the farm asking for help, Aida and her family face a terrible decision. How much water can they afford to share? AND THEN THE TAPS ARE TURNED OFF. Now they must survive long enough for the rain to come. Completely compelling, devastating and thought-provoking, Thirsty Animals takes us on a captivating journey of survival and self-discovery. 'Original, timely, terrifying. Thirsty Animals takes a brutal yet deeply heartfelt look at survival, and kindness, and just how difficult it can be for the two to coexist at the extremes' CHRIS WHITAKER 'Thirsty Animals is a hard-hitting speculative thriller, equal parts terrifying and compassionate. Beautifully written, vivid and unflinching, it confirms Atalla as a real talent' DOUG JOHNSTONE 'Rachelle Atalla's second novel has shown her once again to be a master of slow-burning tension and unease . . . The pace of the story builds to an unputdownable conclusion, and the characters will stay with the reader for a long time' CAILEAN STEED

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTTISH FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR*** 'This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny, stolen pleasures' DAILY MAIL 'There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own' THE HERALD 'A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next' KIRSTIN INNES, AUTHOR OF SCABBY QUEEN 'Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation' CULTUREFLY THE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE. In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She's safe and employed as the bunker's pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER? But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped. How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive? Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published. 'An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times' HELEN SEDGWICK 'Though set in a speculative future, The Pharmacist is very much a book for our own broken times. Its story grips and never lets go, unflinching in its portrayal of abused power, moral confusion and betrayal, but also fully alive to the redemptive possibilities of compassion, resistance and love. This is a powerful and memorable debut from an exciting new voice' WAYNE PRICE 'A triumph of a book. Character-led but taut and purposeful with action' LIAM MURRAY BELL

THE WORLD IS RUNNING OUT OF WATER. With supply in the Scottish cities drying up, Aida is forced back home to live with her mum at their rural farm. For now, they are safe with just enough to get by. Yet at the border, tensions are close to breaking point as more and more southerners chase the delusion that Scotland is an eternal spring - while fewer and fewer are allowed through. The service station where Aida works grows emptier with every day. Then, when suspicious strangers arrive at the farm asking for help, Aida and her family face a terrible decision. How much water can they afford to share? AND THEN THE TAPS ARE TURNED OFF. Now they must survive long enough for the rain to come. Completely compelling, devastating and thought-provoking, Thirsty Animals takes us on a captivating journey of survival and self-discovery.

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTTISH FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR*** 'Rachelle Atalla nails the claustrophobic atmosphere and brings this world to life convincingly in her impressive debut' THE SUNDAY TIMES, PAPERBACK OF THE WEEK 'This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny, stolen pleasures' DAILY MAIL 'There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own' THE HERALD 'A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next' KIRSTIN INNES, AUTHOR OF SCABBY QUEEN 'Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation' CULTUREFLY THE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE. In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She's safe and employed as the bunker's pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER? But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped. How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive? Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published. 'An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times' HELEN SEDGWICK 'Though set in a speculative future, The Pharmacist is very much a book for our own broken times. Its story grips and never lets go, unflinching in its portrayal of abused power, moral confusion and betrayal, but also fully alive to the redemptive possibilities of compassion, resistance and love. This is a powerful and memorable debut from an exciting new voice' WAYNE PRICE 'A triumph of a book. Character-led but taut and purposeful with action' LIAM MURRAY BELL

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTTISH FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR*** 'This horrendously claustrophobic, utterly absorbing debut. The fiercely controlled narrative beautifully translates the horrendous grip of dismal routines and tiny, stolen pleasures' DAILY MAIL 'There are shades of George Orwell in this stunning writing debut, but Rachelle Atalla's voice is highly original. And wholly her own' THE HERALD 'A compulsive, claustrophobic but wonderfully compassionate read, beautifully written and set within a brilliantly realised world. Rachelle Atalla is a major talent and I can't wait to see where her mind goes next' KIRSTIN INNES, AUTHOR OF SCABBY QUEEN 'Atalla's speculative literary thriller debut draws you in with its mounting sense of tension, disquiet and desperation' CULTUREFLY THE BUNKER IS DESIGNED TO KEEP THEM ALL SAFE. In the end, very few people made it to the bunker. Now they wait there for the outside world to heal. Wolfe is one of the lucky ones. She's safe and employed as the bunker's pharmacist, doling out medicine under the watchful eye of their increasingly erratic and paranoid leader. BUT IS IT THE PLACE OF GREATEST DANGER? But when the leader starts to ask things of Wolfe, favours she can hardly say no to, it seems her luck is running out. Forming an unlikely alliance with the young Doctor Stirling, her troubled assistant Levitt, and Canavan - a tattooed giant of a man who's purpose in the bunker is a mystery - Wolfe must navigate the powder keg of life underground where one misstep will light the fuse. The walls that keep her safe also have her trapped. How much more is Wolfe willing to give to stay alive? Beautifully written and utterly gripping, The Pharmacist will be a guaranteed conversation starter when it is published. 'An unflinching portrayal of what we might all be capable of, Atalla's stunning debut is essential reading for our times' HELEN SEDGWICK 'Though set in a speculative future, The Pharmacist is very much a book for our own broken times. Its story grips and never lets go, unflinching in its portrayal of abused power, moral confusion and betrayal, but also fully alive to the redemptive possibilities of compassion, resistance and love. This is a powerful and memorable debut from an exciting new voice' WAYNE PRICE 'A triumph of a book. Character-led but taut and purposeful with action' LIAM MURRAY BELL