Alexander McCall Smith

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

November 2019

A Story for November: Sphinx

This story is published in the UK as part of a new book called Pianos & Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind, a collection of short stories inspired by photographs from the Sunday Times archive.

October 2019

A Story for October: The Generosity of Wine

First appearing in the Berry Bros & Rudd newsletter in 2017, this story is a delightful tale of friendship, fortune, and wine.

September 2019

A Story for September: To The Land of Long Lost Friends

A preview of the first chapter from the upcoming twentieth book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.

August 2019

A Story for August: The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

A little preview of the soon-to-be published The Peppermint Tea Chronicles, the thirteenth book in the 44 Scotland Street series.

July 2019

A Story for July: The Summer Cruise

The delightful and dramatic tale of a Gardening Club Summer cruise party. This story originally appeared in Good Housekeeping.

June 2019

At the Olive Pressing

“Your job!” people said to Robert. “How do you get something like that?” Robert always smiled at the question. He was used to people asking him this, and he invariably gave the same answer. “It just came my way, as it happens. They offered it to me.” Which was perfectly true. He had never set […]

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