Billy Kay was born in Galston, Ayrshire, in 1951 and was educated at Kilmarnock Academy and Edinburgh University. Much of his work has been devoted to creating an awareness of Scottish culture. A writer and presenter for both radio and television, he is also the co-author of Knee Deep in Claret- A Celebration of Wine and Scotland, while his new book The Scottish World details the remarkable contribution the Scots have made to the modern world. He lives in Fife.
""The Scots tongue, like most of the world's minority languages, is under pressure and Billy Kay in this excellent and cogent survey draws together the strands of our concern"" Daily Express ""Kay is the best writer on his own language I have read since Burchfield on English; his book should be put in schools, for it is capably seditious"" The Herald ""Moving, delightful, even inspiring"" Edinburgh Review ""It is not the kind of dry academic tome so cherished by linguistic nitpickers, but a bright, radical examination of the language which is at the heart of our existence"" Aberdeen Press and Journal ""A fresh and invigorating overview of a fascinating subject"" Stirling Observer