ONE of the rising stars of Scottish literature is pulling up a seat at Selkirk Library later this month.

Daniel Gray has already thrilled readers with his homages to his adopted nation as well as the beautiful game.

But now the Edinburgh-based scribe has returned to the charts with a beautifully realised love letter to everything bookish.

Scribbles in the Margins: 50 Eternal Delights of Books is a delightful collection of essays and prose.

On Monday, November 27 Daniel will read extracts from his latest best-seller as part of Scottish Book Week.

He will also partake in conversation with Borders poet Thomas Clark as the duo reflect on the joys of reading and discuss Daniel’s travels across Scotland in pursuits of football, historical tales and good bookshops.

Daniel said: "I've found myself in the Borders a lot in recent years, and can't wait to come back armed with words.

"I hope people will come along on a dark winter's Monday for us to bring a bit of cheer.

"This will be a night to celebrate all the wee things that make escaping into a book such an incredibly comforting thing.

"We'll hopefully have people nodding and laughing along. It means a lot to me that the event is taking place in a library, as libraries are where everything began for me."

Daniel hosts STV’s People’s History Show and has written several books including, Stramash, Saturday 3PM, Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters, and also Homage to Caledonia: Scotland and the Spanish Civil War, which was turned into a documentary by STV in 2009.

In 2015 he was nominated for a prestigious Saltire Award for his book This is Scotland, which saw him collaborate with photographer Alan McCredie and visit places across Scotland, including Galashiels and the Carter Bar.

His latest release, Scribbles in the Margins, is a celebration of books and was inspired by J B Priestley.

It is a love letter to libraries, books and bookshops, rejoicing in the many universal and sometimes odd little ways that reading and the rituals around reading make us happy.

Warm, heartfelt and witty, it contains 50 short essays of prose poetry. with titles including Impromptu Bookmarks, Reading in a Pub and Finishing a book, putting it down and thinking about it.

Host Thomas Clark added: "Borders book fans are in for a real treat - I can’t think of a more appropriate book to be reading this Book Week Scotland than Daniel Gray’s lovely Scribbles in the Margins, or a better place to talk about it than Selkirk Library.

"Like no other writer, Daniel gets right to the heart of what is special and important about a lifelong love of reading, from the smell of old bookshops to reading aloud to a child.

"It’s going to be a fantastic event, and I’m absolutely delighted to be involved."

Daniel Gray at Selkirk Library kicks off at 7pm and admission is free thanks to support from the Scottish Book Trust and the Nil by Mouth charity.