Salamander Street to publish history of 'iconic' Glasgow venue

Independent publisher Salamander Street has acquired Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches, a history of Glasgow venue The Arches co-authored by two of its former employees, Kirstin Innes and David Bratchpiece.

Publisher George Spender acquired world English language rights from Charlie Brotherstone of Brotherstone Creative Management. The book will be published in November 2021, six years after the venue closed to the public.

Described as "sitting somewhere between oral history, retrospective and memoir", the book will be composed of interviews with those who contributed to the venue over 24 years, examining the events held there and those behind them. 

Spender said: "The Arches is an iconic venue in UK theatre and clubbing history. Former artistic directors Andy Arnold and Jackie Wylie nurtured a wealth of emerging talent who have since gone on to have an extremely influential impact on contemporary theatre. Brickwork will compile the memories, anecdotes and testimonies of the people who made The Arches what it was – a club, a theatre, a meeting space, a place for artists, clubbers, musicians and performers to find themselves."

Innes commented: "I worked at The Arches in my early 20s as the press and publicity manager. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the venue made me who I am, and collecting these stories together is my way of saying thank you. I’m delighted to be writing this book with David, an Arches stalwart in so many ways, who has a wealth of knowledge about the venue."

Bratchpiece added: "I was a regular customer of The Arches from its early days, during which time I quickly fell in love with the venue. Later I would go on to start working in the cloakroom there, and little did I know that 15 years later I would still be there, as a manager. I always felt its impact on Scottish culture deserved to be documented, and I’m honoured to be playing a part in that."

Innes is the author of Fishnet (Black and White Publishing, 2018) and Scabby Queen (Fourth Estate, 2020). Bratchpiece is a comedian and has written short plays for BBC Radio as well as for publications including Empire, Mixmag and The List.