Hero's Return: James Yorkston

James Yorkston is becoming something of a fixture in the Jura Unbound programme. Fife’s finest takes up residence for the Edinburgh launch of his new album The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society, which features contributions from The Pictish Trail and KT Tunstall.

Yorkston went down a storm when he first performed at the Book Festival with The Pictish Trail and Lisa O’Neill. Earlier that day he chatted with Ian Rankin about his excellent It's Lovely To Be Here: The Touring Diaries Of A Scottish Gent, a humorous, intimate account of the aches and absurdities of life on the road. He returned last year in Jura Unbound to celebrate Vic Galloway’s book documenting the life of the Fence Collective. James, Vic and King Creosote sang, talked and entertained audiences late into the evening, sharing tales and rude jokes until chucking out time.

Musicians like Yorkston encapsulate the strong bonds between literature and music in Scotland, a nation steeped in storytelling regardless of the format. Many an author has been known to take up the guitar and record an album. Yorkston’s songs are crafted like short stories and if you have read the epilogue of It's Lovely to be Here, you will see an astute short story-writer-in-waiting. So for this one-off Jura Unbound night Yorkston is joined by some of the album contributors and specially invited poets and performers to play, tell tales and no doubt further the festival merriment.