Story Calendar

Every month, a new piece of writing by Alexander will be posted here on this site making up a calendar of stories every year. Some will be short stories, some will be articles, and some will be sneak previews from books not yet released. Perfect to read with your morning coffee!

Check back to this page regularly to see what has been added or sign up below.

Latest Stories

A Story for February: ‘Zeugma’ from Pianos and Flowers

She is smiling, the young woman perched on the cross-bar; she is smiling broadly as they follow the tram lines. Behind them, the morning mist is lifting slowly, although the figures within it are ghost-like and the trees still harbour lingering pockets of darkness. She did not know what possessed her to accept a ride […]

A Story for January: ‘Monty, Tiger, Rose, etc’ from The Exquisite Art of Getting Even

Rose first saw Colin at the thirtieth birthday party of her vivacious, redhead friend, Vicky. It was a large party, held in Edinburgh, at Vicky’s father’s golf club. “Vicky has countless friends,” somebody once said to Rose. “It’s something to do with being a redhead. You speak to virtually anybody – anybody – and they’ll […]

A Story for December: The Enigma of Garlic

Domenica Macdonald, anthropologist, resident of Edinburgh, observer of humanity and believer in the old-fashioned and increasingly rare virtue of tolerance, looked out of her window onto the cobbled street below and wondered what to cook for dinner. It was not a question on which she would spend much time – nor was it one with […]

A Story for October: ‘By Post’ from Tiny Tales

An extract from Tiny Tales, an illustrated short story collection by Alexander McCall Smith, illustrated by Iain McIntosh.

A Story for September: A Song of Comfortable Chairs

An extract from the latest novel in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

A Story for August: Larry Fox of Fox and Co.

This is an excerpt from a new children’s book that Alexander is currently writing.

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