Ian Stephen is a writer, artist and storyteller from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. After graduating from Aberdeen University he worked for 15 years in the coastguard service, based in Stornoway, where he still lives. Since 1995 he has worked full-time in the arts after winning the inaugural Robert Louis Stevenson award. His poetry and fiction have been published throughout Europe and North America, and his first non-fiction book,Waypoints, was published to critical acclaim by Bloomsbury in 2017.
'Wonderful... a rich compendium of the Scottish engagement with the sea' -- Adam Nicolson, author of Life Between the Tides 'The small boats that made Scottish history have never seemed so charismatic and characterful as in Ian Stephen’s gorgeous, vivid prose. A writer uniquely attuned to the water, and to the relationships each boat shares with the places it shaped, his stories restore past sea roads and river routes to life' -- David Gange, author of The Frayed Atlantic Edge '[Boatlines] tells of the compelling bonds between humans and nature, along with copious anecdotes about the vessels, who built them, sailed in them, and the communities they served... an evocative love letter to the sea' -- Neil Drysdale * Press and Journal * 'A magisterial flight across 30 or 40 different vernacular vessels... it is fascinating' * West Highland Free Press * 'Ian Stephen's fascinating new book explores Scotland's deep relationship with boats, the talented people who built them and the many communities that still depend on them' * The Herald * 'A wonderful book about...the small boats that do so much to give individual stretches of the coastline of Scotland such distinctive characters' -- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland * 'Although there's an incredible density of nautical information, Stephen also packs in anecdotes and has a light writing style' * Scottish Field *