The first novel by local writer Mandy Haggith is published today by Ullapool-based Two Ravens Press. The Last Bear is a fictional account, set a thousand years ago in the northwest Highlands of Scotland, of the extinction of the brown bear.

“It is a tale of a natural and spiritual crisis, told from the point of view of an extraordinary woman called Brigid,” said Mandy. “There have been lots of books about the last wolf, but I wanted to go further back in history to ask who killed the last bear in Scotland, and with what consequences. A thousand years ago was a fascinating period here, when powerful Viking families clashed with Celts and old pagan beliefs were challenged by Christian faith.”

Mandy, who lives on a croft in Assynt, began writing the book in 2001, and worked on it intensively while studying for a Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University, from 2003 to 2005, earning a distinction. She said, “This novel has been a long time coming, so it’s a thrill to see it finally in print.”

Mandy will read from The Last Bear and sign copies at a launch event at Achins Bookshop, Inverkirkaig, near Lochinver, at 4pm on Wednesday, 26 March 2008.

Mandy’s poetry collection, Castings, was published by Two Ravens Press, in 2007. She won the Northern Lights Festival poetry competition in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Paper Trails, will be published by Virgin Books/Random House in July 2008.

The Last Bear is available from all good bookshops, online (P&P free) at www.tworavenspress.com  or direct from the author.