Diana Gabaldon (above), author of the hit Outlander series, now a major TV series, will join top authors Val McDermid, Michael Faber, A. L. Kennedy, Vic Galloway, Juno Dawson and Kirsty Logan for the Saltire Society’s first ever virtual literary festival, taking place from 24 – 26 June. Continue reading Outlander author joins stellar line-up for Saltire Society’s first ever virtual literary festival
The Edinburgh International Book Festival has announced the world premiere of a specially commissioned theatrical adaptation of Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro’s moving and enigmatic short stories. Continue reading The View from Castle Rock: world premiere announced
EUPROPEAN LITERATURE NIGHT: FRIDAY 13 MAY
North Edinburgh Arts 5 – 6.30pm
‘With the media spotlight shining so squarely on the politics of the EU referendum,’ says poet Colin Herd, ‘We think it’s important to also make space for a cultural expression of European experiences.’
Tonight, Edinburgh will welcome contemporary poets from across Europe for two events in celebration of European Literature Night.
Co-curated by Herd and Theodora Danek, in association with Edinburgh City of Literature and The Enemies Project, the poets represent some of the most exciting of cutting-edge contemporary European writing.
‘I think of Europe itself as a long never-ending poem, always emergent and always surprising, its meanings and its resonances never fixed,’ Herd says.
Following on from the success of European Literature Night 2015, this year’s celebration features 10 European and Scotland-based writers, including: Billy Ramsell, Christodoulos Makris, Nurduran Duman, Efe Duyan, Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, Alexander Filyuta, Alessandro Burbank, Heather O’Donnell, Graeme Smith and Dominic Hale.
There will be an introductory taster event at North Edinburgh Arts Centre from 5 – 6.30pm followed by an evening extravaganza at Summerhall’s Red Lecture Theatre from 8 to 10.30pm.
As will reflect the diverse languages of Europe, some poets will choose to read in their own language (with translations) while other poets will read in English. There will also be some poets working in new media, sound and video.
Newly developed for this year, the events will also see the launch of #EuroPoem, a collective international poetry initiative, which poets and poetry-fans from across Europe are encouraged to contribute to. #EuroPoem responds to a need to explore what Europe is, means, and can be ahead of the UK’s referendum on EU membership. European writers are invited to submit two lines of poetry to the collective poem; contributions are of equal value, with no one poet setting the agenda of the poem and it will be polyvocal and multilingual.
Following its launch in Edinburgh at Summerhall, the poem will continue to emerge and evolve online through the Twitter hashtag #EuroPoem. No two versions of the poem need be the same, as poets from across Europe continue to add to this collaborative work. To join in with this unique poetry event, tweet your two lines of poetry to @edincityoflit using the hashtag #EuroPoem as part of European Literature Festival on 13th May, or email Colin Herd on europoem2016@gmail.com.
For more information and to book free tickets, follow these links:
North Edinburgh Arts Event (5 – 6.30pm)
Summerhall Event (8 – 10.30pm)
Europe, future dream!
Europe, morning to come,
borders without watchdogs,
nations with his frank laughter
thrown wide open!
‘Europa’, Adolfo Casais Monteiro
Saltire Society unveils 80th anniversary programme
A £50,000 ‘Inspiring Scotland’ funding programme for emerging Scottish talent and Scotland’s first ever online literary festival are just two of the eye-catching initiatives revealed today as part of a busy programme of activities to mark the Saltire Society’s 80th anniversary year. Continue reading A year to celebrate
Scottish Book Trust launches new writing campaign
Are you ready to ‘fess up? Scottish Book Trust is looking for your secrets and confessions in a brand new writing campaign! Continue reading Share your Secrets and Confessions!
Two Edinburgh teenagers have been selected by Scottish Book Trust to work on a project aimed at increasing opportunities for young people to access and contribute to literary culture across Scotland. Continue reading Edinburgh teenagers chosen for national writing project
It’s ‘Literary’ a hat trick for city authors!
A trio of Edinburgh writers have each won a prestigious award as part of the 2015 Saltire Literary Awards.
Edinburgh City Libraries’ Poet in Residence Ryan Van Winkle has won the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award supported by the Scottish Poetry Library for his latest collection The Good Dark.
Edinburgh-based writer Helen McClory has won the 2015 Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award for On the Edges of Vision, a collection of dark short stories and prose poetry about the limits of the conscious and the darkness within.
And the Saltire Society Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award has gone to Adventures in Human Being, a book that takes the reader through surgery, blood, dissection and much besides that keeps the human being ticking over, written by Edinburgh physician Gavin Francis, whose book Empire Antarctica was previously shortlisted for the 2013 Saltire Literary Awards.
Now firmly established as Scotland’s most prestigious annual book awards, the Saltire Society Literary Awards celebrate and support literary and academic excellence across seven distinct categories with the winner of each of six individual book categories going forward to be considered for the Saltire Book of the Year award.
The winner of this year’s headline award was “The Book of Strange New Things”, the latest work from Dutch-born, Scotland-based writer Michel Faber. The Saltire Book of the Year Award is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Faber is a past winner of the Saltire First Book of the Year award for his 2000 debut novel Under the Skin, which was later adapted into a 2013 feature film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. His 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White was dramatised as a four part BBC television series starring Romola Garai and Richard E. Grant in 2011.
Set in a not-so-distant future where a global corporation has successfully colonised a planet in a neighbouring galaxy, Faber’s latest book is a genre-defying novel that tells the story of Peter, a Christian pastor sent to carry out missionary work amongst the aliens native to the planet. As the story progresses, Peter becomes increasingly uneasy about his situation and the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor and finds it more and more difficult to relate his experiences to his wife back home on Earth.
“The Book of Strange New Things” is a powerful examination of humanity and how a failure to communicate can gradually erode marital intimacy. Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell has called it “Michel Faber’s second masterpiece”. Others have variously described it as “gripping”, “heartbreaking”, and “desperately beautiful, sad and unforgettable”.
Commenting on winning the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year award, Ryan van Winkle (above) said: “Having chosen Scotland as my adopted home, this is a very special honour for me. I did not expect this at all and am proud that the Saltire Society found ‘The Good Dark’ worthy. I am flattered and grateful for this distinction.”
Winner of the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award Helen McClory (above) said: “I am utterly delighted that On the Edges of Vision has won this year’s Saltire First Book of the Year Award. That On the Edges of Vision was published at all seems to me a minor miracle — a case of the right editor at the right moment. Erin McKnight, the Scotland-born American founder of Queen’s Ferry Press, took this collection of flashes, dusted and sharpened them where they needed to be, and ushered them into the world. For the collection to then win this prize is a huge boost not just to myself but the press as well, highlighting QFP’s innovative mission. Sparklers in both hands, quite honestly.”
Andrew Franklin, Managing Director at Profile Books, who published Gavin Francis’ (below) Saltire Society Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Adventures in Human Being, said: “From the bottom of our hearts, lungs, livers, brains, feet and all the other body parts that Gavin writes so brilliantly about, we’re absolutely delighted that the Saltire Prize have chosen Gavin’s wonderfulAdventures in Human Being as the winner of the 2015 prize. Welcome Collection and Profile have always been Gavin’s biggest fans, and it’s fantastic to see his work recognised by such a prestigious prize.”
Executive Director of the Saltire Society Jim Tough said: “Given the sheer breadth and variety of writing talent on display, this has been a vintage year for the Saltire Literary Awards. I think our decision to split the Literary Book Award into two separate categories for fiction and non-fiction has been vindicated. These and indeed every one of the individual book awards were hotly contested, making the judges’ decision a particularly challenging one.
“The same was also true of this year’s Publisher of the Year Award. My congratulations to all of the winners and my heartfelt thanks to the judging panel and to all of our partners and supporters who helped to make the 2015 Saltire Literary Awards such a resounding success.”
Janet Archer, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “The list of winners takes readers on a journey from the diaspora of Scotland to the horrors of the First World War and out to the ends of the universe. The strength of this year’s shortlist is testament to the quality and scope of Scotland’s rich literary scene. These awards are important as they celebrate and recognise literary excellence in Scotland and highlight established and emerging authors to readers across the country. Huge congratulations to each of the category winners.”
Friday 13 November is Robert Louis Stevenson Day and a week-long programme of events has been planned to celebrate the great Edinburgh writer’s birthday (see Event Guide below).
LEAFLET-RLSDay2015-Events-Programme-edinburghcityofliterature.com_
Harry Potter competition launches at the magical Museum of Childhood today
Visitors to the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh will picture the magic of Harry Potter as part of a nationwide competition with Bloomsbury Children’s Books.
Launching today to celebrate the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay, the competition will challenge people of all ages to seek out and photograph an image from the new book placed in locations around the country and share via social media.
Working with children’s charity Kids in Museums and The Telegraph newspaper, Bloomsbury has placed 12 Jim Kay prints in 12 different museums around the UK and Ireland, including the City of Edinburgh Council owned and managed Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile.
With a clue to solve at each venue participants must find these images, take a photo of themselves with it and share via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #HarryPotterSpotter.
Jim Kay has always been a fan of museums, saying: “Museums are one of my favourite places to visit. The objects they contain tell the story of ourselves and our world, and I find them endlessly inspiring and fascinating. My illustrations owe so much to museum collections, it’s an honour to know they will appear in the places that made me want to become an artist.”
Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Culture Convener, added: “This is a great draw for our free-to-visit Museum of Childhood and a unique chance to celebrate the magic of Harry Potter in Edinburgh. Potter Spotters will find JK Rowling’s hand-prints just a stone’s throw away from the Museum at the City Chambers, and it’s also just a short walk to the Elephant House where she famously penned parts of her novels. With the October School break almost here, this is also a perfect opportunity for families to make a day of it and revisit the Museum.”
One overall winner will receive a family ticket to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter plus a Harry Potter tote bag, a Jim Kay signed print and a copy of the Deluxe Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (RRP: £150). Twelve additional prize winners, one from each museum, will receive a Harry Potter tote bag, a Jim Kay signed print and a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition (RRP: £30). Participants only need to spot one print to enter.
The Harry Potter Spotter competition launches today and closes at midnight on Sunday 1 November.
Click here for full details of the competition or find out more about a visit to the Museum of Childhood.
A poem to celebrate National Poetry Day
LUCOZADE
by JACKIE KAY
My mum is on a high bed next to sad chrysanthemums. ‘Don’t bring flowers, they only wilt and die.’ I am scared my mum is going to die on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums. She nods off and her eyes go back in her head. Next to her bed is a bottle of Lucozade. ‘Orange nostalgia, that’s what that is,’ she says. ‘Don’t bring Lucozade either,’ then fades. ‘The whole day was a blur, a swarm of eyes. Those doctors with their white lies. Did you think you could cheer me up with a Woman’s Own? Don’t bring magazines, too much about size.’ My mum wakes up, groggy and low. ‘What I want to know,’ she says,’ is this: where’s the big brandy,the generous gin, the Bloody Mary,the biscuit tin, the chocolate gingers, the dirty big meringue?’ I am sixteen; I’ve never tasted a Bloody Mary. ‘Tell your father to bring a luxury,’ says she. ‘Grapes have no imagination, they’re just green. Tell him: stop the neighbours coming.’ I clear her cupboard in Ward 10B, Stobhill Hospital. I leave, bags full, Lucozade, grapes, oranges, sad chrysanthemums under my arms, weighted down. I turn round, wave with her flowers. My mother, on her high hospital bed, waves back. Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. Her sheets billow and whirl. She is beautiful. Next to her the empty table is divine. I carry the orange nostalgia home singing an old song.
