Born in 1958, James Robertson grew up in Bridge of Allan in Stirlingshire. His novels include The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack and And the Land Lay Still. The Testament of Gideon Mack was longlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, picked by Richard and Judy’s Book Club, and shortlisted for the Saltire Book of the Year award. And the Land Lay Still was the winner of the Saltire Book of the Year Award 2010. His latest novel, The Professor of Truth, inspired by the Lockerbie bombing, was published by Hamish Hamilton in June 2013.
With Matthew Fitt, in 2002 James Robertson launched the publishing imprint Itchy Coo, which produces books in Scots “mainly but not exclusively for children and young readers”.
The Dictionary appears in Republics of the Mind, a collection of short stories by James Robertson (Black & White Publishing, 2012).
