It’s been more than 20 years since Irvine Walsh’s first novel, the hugely influential Trainspotting, was published, and he’s continued in the same gritty literary vein ever since.

New novel The Sex Lives Of Siamese Twins has just been released and it’s this tale he discussed as part of the Brighton Festival, in conversation with John Niven.

It was an inspired pairing, and the chemistry and mutual respect between the two was obvious to see – Niven is also one of the foremost Scottish writers and the two share a lot of common themes in their work, including a sharp, biting view of modern society. Both enjoy cult followings and a lot of their fans were in the audience, raptly following the quick discussion.

The conversational topics were broad and witty, ranging from initial inspiration for Walsh’s new book (two women shouting in the gym, if you’re interested) to how social media has opened up access to the world’s strange and interesting characters. Walsh detailed his perverse relationships with Twitter trolls, to peals of laughter and nodding heads.

He’s Scotland’s reluctant national treasure, but we wish he was ours.