Like Birds in the Wilderness

The building trade in the west of Scotland has slowed and Mac leaves for the oil-rich north to seek his fortune. But he soon finds himself out in the wilderness, chasing the promise of a job. In the meantime, he's fallen for Nancy, but he can't tear himself away from the other love of his life: the drink.

This darkly comic novel is a tale of addiction, masculinity and the precarious nature of employment for working-class men in 1980s Scotland.

Published to celebrate Agnes Owens' centenary year in 2026.



Agnes Owens was always a writer, although for the majority of her life she was preoccupied with making a living and domesticity. She married twice, brought up seven children and variously worked as a typist, cleaner and factory worker. It wasn't until she attended an evening creative writing course that she wrote her first novel Gentlemen of the West that was published in 1984 to widespread critical acclaim; she would go on to write a further six novellas including Like Birds in the Wilderness and A Working Mother. Her short stories were collected and published by Polygon. She died in 2014.

Kirsty Logan is an author of novels, short stories, chapbooks and collaborative projects with musicians and illustrators. Her most recent books are the story collection No & Other Love Stories and the memoir The Unfamiliar. She lives in Glasgow, where she is working on film and TV projects.



'Has something in common with early Billy Connolly . . . in the sense that its observation and timing bring humour to a sad reality'