What is a city? Do people make cities or do cities make people? And can cities have second lives? We all inhabit cities, but what do they mean to us? What do we mean to them? Is the city a real thing in the 21st century? How do we integrate their pasts to their futures? What are the threats facing cities in the western world? These are just some of the questions posed by the fascinating studies in this book. Through essays, poems, psychogeography, short stories, and more, an array of today’s leading writers and thinkers join together to look at cities in the western world. Focusing on the two former industrial heartlands of Glasgow and Pittsburgh, this international and diverse collection is asking the big questions and getting the most creative answers. From Will Self’s psychogeography of Glasgow, to National Book Award winner Terrance Hayes’ stunning poetry, this collection will make you think, feel, fear, and fight for what part cities play in our daily lives. Bold, diverse, and daring, these pieces are a must for anyone who cares about where we live and what it means to live in the urban sprawl of now. Featuring: Will Self, Jane Mccaffery, Edwin Morgan, Ewan Morrison, Terrance Hayes, Allan Wilson, Louise Welsh, Kapka Kassabova, Gerald Stern, Doug Johnstone, Lori Jagielka, Hilary Masters, David Kinloch, Yona Harvey, Sharon Dilworth, Lee Gutkind, Richard Wilson, and many more.

An exciting assembly of Scotland's most promising new writers, with a foreword by Irvine Welsh, and exclusive artwork by Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap Such authors as Sophie Cooke, who was shortlisted for the Saltire First Book award; Suhayl Saadi, who was nominated for the James Black Tait Memorial Prize; acclaimed novelist and poet Kevin MacNeil; and renowned performer and novelist Alan Bissett all contribute stories on contemporary Scotland. Throw in renowned international authors like Kapka Kassabova and Jason Donald as well as esteemed figures of Scottish literature like Duncan McClean, and you have a collection that aims to show a changing and dynamic new Scotland. Brand new, unpublished authors are also featured; quite simply, if you want to read the best new talent in Scottish fiction, you've come to the right place.