Amy Liptrot with The Outrun

We are delighted to welcome to St Andrews one of nature writing’s most exciting new talents, Amy Liptrot. The Outrun charts her life through the trials and tribulations of city living, and how a return to her native Orkney brought a new found appreciation of the natural world.

Growing up just off the north-east coast of Scotland, Amy longed for the thrills of city life, and soon moved to London. The move gave her a new outlook on life and, although it provided the glitz and excitement that she had craved, she soon fell on hard times, her life torn apart by addiction. Hence, aged thirty, she moved back to her home island and started a journey which would lead her to re-discover the love for nature which she had left behind.

Spending early mornings swimming in the bracingly cold sea, the days tracking Orkney’s wildlife – puffins nesting on sea stacks, arctic terns swooping close enough to feel their wings – and nights searching the sky for the Merry Dancers, Amy slowly makes the journey towards recovery.

The Outrun is a fantastic debut and is set to be BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week from the 18th of January 2016, having already received rave reviews; Olivia Lang called it “a luminous, life-affirming book” and Jenni Fagan declared it to be “Beautiful, stark and unflinching”. A work set to charm and captivate fans of Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk and Malachy Tallack’s Sixty Degrees North. Join us for an illuminating discussion about the restorative powers of nature with this touching, heartfelt book from a rising star of the nature writing scene.