As a part of the upcoming Litquake festival, and in honor of the release of his new novel, Skagboys, Irvine Welsh will be making an exclusive appearance at Z Space for a reading and conversation about his latest work.

Welsh is well-known for his darkly funny modern tales of the alienation and the absurdity of modern life in Scotland and his colorful depictions of the seedy underbelly of Edinburgh using the common idioms and slang of the streets.

Skagboys is the prequel to the Scottish author’s hit novel and screenplay Trainspotting; it follows the university life of Mark Renton and his coterie, expatiating on the wider travails of the Scottish working-class during and following the Margaret Thatcher years and the turn to heroin use by disillusioned and angry young men lacking economic opportunity and creative outlets.

Welsh will be interviewed by San Francisco Chronicle soccer commentator and columnist Alan Black on September 17, 2012 at 7 p.m. at Z Space. Tickets will be $12.

• Tag: Booksmith, in conversation, Irvine Welsh, literature, Litquake, the booksmith, z space