Alexander’s book, The Private Life of Spies, has been swooped on by the The Australian newspaper as a ‘recommended book for ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] boss Mike Burgess… to give to hostile embassies’. A delightful review, written by Charles Wooley (a journalist who lives on a beach in Tasmania), points out that unexpected events […]

Alexander McCall Smith is heading ‘down under’  to Australia this month (March 2023), one of his favourite countries in the world. While there he is looking forward to meeting readers at a series of events, talking about all of our favourite characters. Take the opportunity to catch up with the great writer’s lastest books and […]

A treat for a loved one or for yourself on Valentine’s Day. Available now as instant purchase for your phone or ebook reader. Alexander has embarked on a brand new series – and it is creating great excitement amongst the team. Join us as on a new adventure with The Perfect Passion Company. This time, the […]

Tonight, 8 December 2022, Alexander was presented in absentia with the Saltire Society’s Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts. The award ceremony took place at the Traverse Theatre in the centre of the city of Edinburgh as part of Scotland’s National Book Awards. The event was attended by the great and […]

Where is Alexander this week? On the high seas between New York City and Southampton in England on the stunning Cunard ship, ‘Queen Mary 2’. He is crossing the ocean as part of The Times/Cheltenham Festival on the Waves. He reports that all is going well on the voyage and he is delighted to spend […]

A visit to Sweden Alexander has just returned from a visit to Sweden. A series of poems he wrote on the subject of trees has been used by a group of young composers as the basis for various compositions. The composers were all senior students of the Lilla Academien, Sweden’s most distinguished school for musically […]

Alexander McCall Smith is back out on the road. He has been in America and Canada over the last ten days or so, meeting readers and promoting A Song of Comfortable Chairs. This was his first return to both countries since the start of the pandemic and he very much enjoyed being back doing what he […]

‘A Day in September’ is a poem, written by Alexander McCall Smith, to mark the the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. This poem was carried on the front page of the Sunday Times, London, on 11 September You can listen to Alexander read his poem at the link below: A Day in […]

The World is full of suffering: I am writing this on Sunday evening, after a day of sun here in Edinburgh. Spring is knocking on the door – just – although the air is still a bit cold. This afternoon at three o’clock, I wrote the final sentence of the new No 1 Ladies’ Detective […]

In celebration of World Book Day and recognition of those suffering in Eastern Europe, Alexander shares this new poem: In troubled times A poem for World Book Day, 2022 Somewhere as I write these lines Armies clash, the speechless innocent flee, The rumbling armour and the fire, And skies, once clear and optimistic, Darken with […]

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency author can turn out five novels a year – but there’s one piece of kit he needs, he tells the Penguin Podcast. Few authors are as prolific as Alexander McCall Smith. The creator of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, he has written dozens of novels across eight series, along with children’s […]

Best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith is joining forces with St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh to spearhead a major two-year music, literary and education project inspired by the city’s seven hills. Seven young composers will be creating new musical works inspired by words McCall Smith has penned in tribute to the much-loved landmarks and beauty […]