LESLEY RIDDOCH, writer, journalist and broadcaster, is one of the most popular personalities in Scottish media. She is a weekly columnist for The Scotsman and a regular commentator in other papers. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orwell prize for political writing. During the 1990s, she was founder of the feminist magazine Harpies and Quines, assistant editor of The Scotsman (where she edited a special edition known as The Scotswoman written by its female staff in 1995), and contributing editor of the Sunday Herald. Her latest work is the popular Blossom: What Scotland Needs to Flourish.
EBERHARD 'PADDY' BORT, a graduate in English and German of Tubingen University, is a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh and the Academic Coordinator of the Institute of Governance. His teaching has included Scottish Society and Culture, Contemporary Irish Politics and British Studies. He is currently the Book Reviews Editor of Scottish Affairs.