Reviews

BLUE: A LAMENT FOR THE SEA

A Poetry Pamphlet published by Stewed Rhubarb Press, 2025.

“In haunting, melodic lyric, MacWhirter turns language itself into a ‘thin place’ of remembering, reckoning and renewal.”  Professor of Creative Writing Jenn Ashworth, author of Notes Made While Falling, Ghosted and The Parallel Path

“As our world grows bluer, through sea level rise, floods, and storms, we need to listen to poets. In phrases that capture oceanic movements and both medieval and contemporary seascapes, Liz MacWhirter’s ‘Blue: a lament for the sea’ charts our ecological grief and abiding connections to water and rock, humans and seabirds, surf and tides. Listen to these voices!” Professor of Blue Humanities, Steve Mentz, author of Sailing without Ahab

“Blue: a lament for the sea is a powerful work of mourning and hauntings. At once elegy and call to arms, this is a spellbinding meditation on margins and oceanic longing that leaves the reader changed.” Poet and novelist, Dr Carolyn Jess-Cooke

“‘Blue’ carries its weighty material easily, in a free, slim, slender verse, immediately accessible, emotionally buoyant in a challenging narrative of discovery and disclosure… The lyrical exploration that the poem enacts is fraught and yet beautiful: its tone is exactly as its subtitle discloses, a ‘lament’, a keening, and yet it is wide-eyed at the colour and vividness of the visual, and the spiritual substance Iona provides.” Professor of Scottish Poetry, Alan Riach

BLACK SNOW FALLING

A gothic novel, nominated for three book awards including the 2019 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Still available in hardback and paperback from Waterstones, Blackwell’s, Amazon (& Kindle) and Foyles .

“Black Snow Falling is beautifully written and is an enchanting work of magical realism. Exploring themes of loss, hope and resilience, this book would be an excellent choice for groups looking to explore these issues.” Scottish Book Trust

“Black Snow Falling by Liz MacWhirter is a historical novel with a dark streak of fantasy running through it…. The world-building in this book is exquisite, from the finely textured tapestries to the deadening blackness of the ship of shadows… It’s a tale which will haunt readers’ dreams long after the final page.”  The Scotsman

“For a novel of such capacious imagination, Black Snow Falling also has a deep sense of history and its characters are satisfyingly complex. It’s rare to find all three at once, let alone fused together so effectively, and in all my time as The Scotsman’s books editor (15 years and another 10 as deputy) I don’t think I ever have.  I recommend it highly.” David Robinson. Literary Critic. 

“Wildly original… Deliciously creepy.” Elizabeth Wein. Award-winning author of Code Name Verity.

“Black Snow Falling had me from the very start. The language is rich and lyrical, the characters empathetic and real, the ideas strong enough to get under the skin — and MacWhirter’s dream-thieves filled the room with their stink. This is a story with classic bones, told in a new and exciting way, crossing genre-boundaries with effortless strides. Highly recommended.” Martin Stewart. Author of Riverkeep and The Sacrifice Box.

“Very imaginative debut” Agnes Guyon. Senior Librarian and 2015 Chair of Judges for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards

“Superb debut. A richly textured tale full of vivid history and fantastic imagination.” Keith Gray. Award-winning author of The Ostrich Boys.

“A powerful new mythology.” Anna Claybourne. Award-winning author of I Love This Tree.

“A strange and enchanting tale, full of dark mystery and steeped in history.” Kathy Evans. Award-winning author of More of Me