Alexander McCall Smith

Listen to the new Alexander McCall Smith Podcast- click here

Press, Screen, Virtual, Podcast & Radio

Highlights The Positive Distraction Podcast The Great Tapestry of Scotland Stage & Music Quotes Press, Screen, Virtual, Podcast & Radio In the Press

Alexander McCall Smith is in demand across the world. He has appeared on radio and TV shows in the UK, America, Australia, Canada, India and many other countries and has had his bestselling books adapted for screen and radio. Below are links to some of his television and radio programmes, adaptations and interviews.

Video Interviews

Library of Congress National Book Festival- November 2019
Alexander McCall Smith discusses his new book, "To the Land of Long Lost Friends: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series."

Isle of Wight Literary Festival- October 2019
Author of the acclaimed #1 Ladies Detective Agency talks about his latest book Pianos and Flowers and first book in the news series, The Department of Sensitive Crimes while appearing at the Isle of Wight Literary Festival.

Books on Toast, Jaipur Literary Festival- March 2019
Anuya and Sharin get the chance of a lifetime; interviewing Alexander McCall Smith, the force behind several of their favourite series, including the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the Sunday Philosophy Club and his wonderful modern day retelling of Emma.

Authors Revealed- June 2017
Join host Becky Anderson as she talks with author Alexander McCall Smith about his new book, "My Italian Bulldozer."

Alexander McCall Smith at the Royal Opera House
Alexander McCall Smith addresses guests at the Royal Opera House during the launch of the most exclusive whisky in the world, Generations Mortlach 75 Years Old by Gordon & MacPhail, on the 2nd of September 2015.

Daily Telegraph , Hay Laughter- May 2015
At Hay festival 2015, Alexander McCall Smith meets the pig named after his Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize winning novel, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party.

The Guardian, Literary Edinburgh, with Alexander McCall Smith- August 2012
As the Edinburgh international book festival gets under way, the writer Alexander McCall Smith and Gillian Robertson of Looking Glass Books reflect on the importance of literature and the arts to the city. This is the second in a series of films about landscape and literature produced in association with National Book Tokens

The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Sydney Opera House- October 2013
Ideas at the House: 'Alexander McCall Smith - Society is Broken'

Daily Mail, A Thoroughly Modern Emma- October 2014
Why Jane Austen always hits the spot: Alexander McCall Smith on why the novelist has the answer to all of life's problems.

Newspaper, Magazine & Online Interviews

All Videos Audio

ABC Big Adventures – April 2020
A wide-ranging conversation in Australia - from sailing to writing to inspiration.

Mail Online Interview – March 2019
No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency made him rich. He’s written over 100 books and sold more than 30m copies of them. But at 70, Alexander McCall Smith is not easing up: he still writes 3,000 words a day and even works in his sleep... Meet Britain’s hardest working author!

Washington Post Interview- December 2019
Alexander McCall Smith published his first hit novel at 50 and hasn’t stopped. How does he do it?

The Globe & Mail- November 2018
I had chanced to meet McCall Smith in 2008, when he was in Canada to accept an honorary degree from Queen’s University. The writer was intrigued when I mentioned that my paternal grandfather was a Scottish Home Child, an orphan who’d been shipped to Canada in the 1890s. I explained that I was planning to visit Scotland and trace my family roots. “When you do, please let me know when you get to Edinburgh. We’ll have tea,” McCall Smith said.

People's Friend- November 2019
The number of short stories the “Friend” must have published over our 150 years is enormous, but one author who is fast catching up with us is Alexander McCall Smith.

Sandy, to his friends, is one of the world’s most popular and prolific writers, with over 100 books in print – including series, non-fiction and children’s books – and when I caught up with him recently at only ten o’clock in the morning, he’d already written over 3,000 words on his latest
project.

Hindu Business Line- December 2019
The Scottish author says the iconic Indian writer, RK Narayan, was the inspiration for his bestselling series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

The Hindu- January 2016
Alexander McCall Smith, who will be at The Hindu Lit for Life 2016, insists that he is about much more than just his insanely famous No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
I catch up with Alexander McCall Smith just as he is packing his bags to fly to India — a trip he is very much looking forward to, he explains, since the Indian hotel industry “really knows how to do hospitality in a stylish way”.

BookPage Interview- April 2019
Lighten up! No one dies in this one!

The somber, serious Scandinavian noir craze gets a much-needed kick in the funny bone with The Department of Sensitive Crimes, another laugh-out-loud series premiere from confirmed smart alec Alexander McCall Smith.

FountainInk Interview- March 2016
"I am not a politically engaged writer".
Alexander McCall Smith chats about philosophical detectives, colonialism, and children who stay the same age for eight years.

Crimereads Interview- April 2019
The beloved writer on humor, philosophy, and his endless stream of new ideas.
The Colours of All the Cattle

Star Tribune- November 2018
Novelist Alexander McCall Smith comes to Minnesota: 'I love writing people's conversations'.
The prolific author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series doesn't need "a high body count."

Radio Interviews

BBC In Tune- May 2019
Katie Derham presents highlights from In Tune, including an interview with Alexander McCall Smith. With performances from Nicky Spence, Julius Drake, and Angélique Kidjo.

BBC Front Row- August 2016
Is The Really Terrible Orchestra still really terrible?
Alexander McCall Smith tells Kirsty Lang whether the RTO has improved in its 20 years.

BBC Talking Books- July 2018
Internationally acclaimed writer Alexander McCall Smith speaks to Gavin Esler at the Hay Festival about what motivates his work.

BBC Radio 4 Bookclub- January 2010
World-wide bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith meets readers to discuss the first in his series of humorous novels set in Edinburgh - 44 Scotland Street. The presenter is James Naughtie.

BBC Radio 4 Character Studies- December 2014
Alexander McCall Smith explores the work of writers and their popular characters from literature, drama and comedy.

BBC Radio 3, In Tune- May 2015
Author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series, Alexander McCall Smith, talks to Sean Rafferty at the Hay Festival about his recent book The Novel Habits of Happiness, and about winning a pig as a prize for his latest work of comic fiction, Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party.

BBC Radio 3, My Classical Favourites- July 2014
Writer Alexander McCall Smith talks to Sarah Walker

BBC Radio 4, Inheritance Tracks- April 2015
Creator of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, author Alexander McCall Smith, chose 'We'll Meet Again' by Vera Lynn and Terzettino 'Soave sia il vento' from Cosi Fan Tutte.

BBC World Book Club- March 2006
From the British Library in London, Alexander McCall Smith talks to the programme as well as an audience for a question and answer session. Presenter: Harriett Gilbert

The Irish Times, Books in Bars- May 2015
Award-winning author Alexander McCall Smith joins Gary Quinn on a whiskey tasting in The Palace Bar in Dublin.

New Hampshire Public Radio- June 2016
Today on Word of Mouth it's Writers on a New England Stage with Alexander McCall Smith, recorded live at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. Best known as the author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, McCall Smith made his living for many years as an esteemed lawyer, medical law professor, and international authority on medical ethics and bioethics.

Television Interviews

BBC Novels that Shaped Our World- November 2019
Jo Whiley & guests reveal the Novels That Shaped Our World, live from the British Library.

Expresso Show- November 2016
Alexander McCall Smith chats to Expresso about his latest book.

Sky Arts Books Show- June 2010
The creator of Precious Ramotswe, Alexander McCall Smith, appears on the Sky Arts Book Show and talks to Mariella Frostrup about his detective's latest case, The Double Comfort Safari Club.

BBC News, Meet the Author- November 2014
Nick Higham talks to Alexander McCall Smith.

Radio Adaptations

BBC Radio 4 – Christmas Day and Christmas week specials
Alexander had the top Christmas Day slot in 2019 for stories on BBC Radio 4 (and three other slots in Christmas week). You can still hear them on BBC Sounds - the perfect treat with a cup of tea and slice of cake: 'McCall Smith’s 15-minute stories, each set in a different part of the world, were read by Kelly Macdonald, Thierry Mabonga, Meera Syal, and Adam Courting. Christmas Compass was the overarching title, and as you’d expect from McCall Smith, each story was gentle and humane. They concerned family, emotional changes, all the little things of life. Someone reading you a story well is such a treat, isn’t it?' – The Guardian

The Primatologist
New Christmas stories from around the globe by Alexander McCall Smith.

Meera Syal reads a tale about a grieving woman who finds comfort and companionship in an unlikely setting.

On the Island
New Christmas stories from around the globe by Alexander McCall Smith.

A detective makes a surprising connection when he retires to his hometown.

In the DRC
New Christmas stories from around the globe by Alexander McCall Smith

An intrepid reporter in search of his next big scoop remembers the importance of kindness.