YA author John Young to cycle Scottish book tour

John Young, who is shortlisted for Scottish Book Trust’s Teenage Book Prize, is cycling around Scotland for the book tour of his novel Farewell Tour of a Terminal Optimist (Kelpies). 

Starting on 3rd September, Young will be cycling from Stornoway to Shotts, a distance of almost 300 miles, following the route taken by two protagonists in his novel, Connor and Skeates.

In the novel, terminal cancer patient Connor Lambert has had enough of people being sympathetic to his illness so, with his friend and juvenile delinquent Skeates, sets off on a tour across Scotland. The pair head to Shotts, where Conor’s dad is in prison, dodging the police along the way.

Young will take breaks along the way to host book events, stopping at AnLanntair arts centre in Stornoway on 3rd September, Ullapool High School on 4th September, Kingussie High School on 5th September and Perth Academy on 6th September, before arriving at Shotts on 7th.

Young is a debut author and former lawyer who started writing in hospital wards when his daughter had a terminal illness. 

He was a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award winner in 2013 and is shortlisted for the 2019 Scottish Teenage Book Prize alongside S M Wilson and Kerr Thomson.