Tag: literature

Largo Arts Week returns to Fife’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’ village

MORE than sixty artists will open their studios to visitors as Largo Arts Week kicks off on Saturday July 16 in Fife’s “Robinson Crusoe” village of Lower Largo.

The festival combines art, concerts, free gigs and talks with renowned crime novelists Sir Ian Rankin and Val McDermid each featuring in “an audience with” session.

The third annual Largo Arts Week – www.largoartsweek.com – runs from Saturday July 16 – Sunday July 24 and will also feature appearances by folk music legend Rab Noakes, Americana R&B guitarist Brooks Williams, international sculptor David Mach, singer and broadcaster Richard Jobson and children’s illustrator Jill Calder.

A total of 66 artists – nearly double the number who participated in the festival’s inaugural year in 2019 – will be exhibiting in 36 homes and studios, which will be open to the public throughout the week.

Lower Largo is famous as the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, the man who inspired the story of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. 

Val McDermid and Ian Rankin will take part in “an audience with” events in the village’s Crusoe Hotel, being interviewed by Skids frontman and broadcaster Richard Jobson, who also hails from Fife.

The Crusoe Hotel will be the main ‘hub’ for the Festival with the Upper Largo Hotel and community café The Aurrie as other key venues.

Festival director Andrew Stenson said: “It’s shaping up to be a fantastic week of art and music and we hope there is something for everyone in the programme with the combination of internationally-known artists and writers along with local artistic talent.”

Key highlights of the festival include:

  • Scots folk music legend Rab Noakes, who is making his third appearance at the Arts Week, will join Georgia-born guitarist and Americana songwriter Brooks Williams in a gig at community venue, The Aurrie.
  • Internationally recognised opera singer, soprano Charlotte Whittle, will also give a recital at the community venue.
  • Award winning illustrator and calligrapher Jill Calder, whose work has featured in children’s picture books, huge hospital murals and global advertising campaigns, will be stage a Children’s Workshop at the Community Library.
  • Lower Largo’s harbour, next to its historic pier, will be the location for an open-air free concert for the community on Friday 22nd July, featuring a retro 80’s band.
  • Local bands Astral Suns, Longway, The Passing Stages and The Best Dressed Blues Band will be playing in a series of free gigs at the Upper Largo Hotel.

Full details can be found on the festival’s website, www.largoartsweek.com

Onwards and Upwards: 2021 Book Festival Programme announced

After a universally challenging year, it’s onwards and upwards as EIBF launch 2021’s exciting programme of live, online Book Festival events.

A stellar line-up of over 300 writers, artists and thinkers from around the globe come together this August to share their ideas and stories for a changing world – and all online events are available to book from today.

During the Festival dates, 14-30 August, enjoy more than 250 events for adults, children and families online, all available to watch on a Pay What You Can basis. Online events offer the opportunity to chat with fellow book lovers and connect with authors by asking questions in our live Q&As.

You can also catch up on events at a time that suits, and there’s unlimited ticket availability for the online programme, so you needn’t worry about missing out. Visit our How To Book page for all the information you’ll need.

In this exciting new chapter for the Book Festival, a wide range of the live-streamed events will also have in-person audiences at our new Festival home, the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh College of Art.

Around half of our participants will appear in person in Edinburgh, while others join digitally from their homes around the world. Tickets for socially-distanced in-person events will go on sale from midday on 22 July.

The Book Festival Bookshop will open its doors again during this year’s Festival and you’ll find it located in the beautiful Old Fire Station building at our new site on Lauriston Place. Our online bookshop is open 24/7 and will feature titles from authors in the 2021 programme. Selected authors will be offering book signings online and in-person too.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1412336086332891136

EIBF Director, Nick Barley, said: “We are incredibly excited to produce our first ‘hybrid’ festival with authors and audiences joining us both in person and online.  We welcome a mix of Scottish and international voices to discuss their ideas, hopes and dreams and we aim to explore together how to move ‘Onwards and Upwards’ from this devastating pandemic. 

“In our new home at Edinburgh College of Art we have created three broadcast studios, two of which can accommodate limited audiences. These new facilities enable us to offer author conversations to worldwide audiences and to those closer to home who are unable to join us in person, as well as welcoming a limited In-Real-Life audience.

“The Book Festival is at the forefront of the re-emergence of public events, and we have a duty of care to our authors, audiences and staff.  It is important that we help rebuild confidence and we have therefore chosen to retain 1 metre social distancing for audiences in the studios. This gives us a reduced capacity of 100 in the New York Times Sculpture Court and 60 in the Baillie Gifford West Court.

“Outside in the courtyard we are recreating the ‘village green’ element of the Book Festival that our audiences enjoy with a bookshop, café, family play area, seating spaces and a big screen upon which a number of the live events will be shown.

“The Book Festival has always aimed to be an oasis of calm and, as ever, this will be a space for audiences to chat, relax, read a book and while away the hours in the summer sunshine.”

Although we can’t promise sun, we will be bringing hundreds of the world’s best writers and thinkers to take part in live conversations this August, including events with Nobel Prize winners Amartya Sen and Kazuo Ishiguro, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Booker Prize winners Salman Rushdie, Bernardine Evaristo, Richard Flanagan and Scotland’s own Douglas Stuart (with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon) and many more. You can browse our entire programme now – we’re sure you’ll find plenty to enterain, challenge and inspire.

This year we’re exploring stories and ideas for a changing world, one dealing with the impact of Covid-19, climate change, poverty, inequality and the varied effects of technology, with authors, politicians, doctors and others discussing the overlapping crises we face – and how we can move forward.

Other key themes for 2021 include an interrogation of Britain’s history of colonialism, a celebration of LGBTQIA+ voices, a look at the importance of our bodies in shaping our sense of self, and more – visit our Themes page and explore the programme through the prism of some of this year’s most important and interesting topics.

Of course, the Baillie Gifford Children’s Programme is full of fun for all ages – with 60 events to take part in from home including readings, draw-alongs, and dancing.We’re also excited to launch a new series of pre-recorded, audio-only events, available from the very start of the Festival, and a range of walking tours and family trails around Edinburgh.

Over 60 of our online events offer BSL Interpretation or Live Captions courtesy of StageText – you can find a list of these events in our What’s On section. We’re pleased to once again offer an interactive event designed especially for those with learning disabilities focused on the wonderful new picture book You Can! by Alexandra Strick and illustrator Steve Antony, created with the support of our friends at PAMIS.

There’s plenty more to see and discover in our packed 2021 programme. The Book Festival is for everyone – whether you are in a position to pay for a ticket or not, whether you join us in person or from your sofa – so join the conversation this August as we all try to make sense of our changing world.

Ann Cleeves coming to North Edinburgh Arts

VERA and SHETLAND author in conversation at North Edinburgh Arts

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet the number 1 bestselling author of Shetland and Vera Stanhope novels.

Together with Edinburgh International Book Festival, we’re delighted to present Shetland author Ann Cleeves in conversation on Thursday, 28 February at 11.30am.

Ann Cleeves will chat with novelist Eleanor Thom, writer-in-residence for Citizen – a new creative programme exploring what defines our communities and our city today, led by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, North Edinburgh Arts and other partners around the city.

Find out about the life and inspirations of a writer, what makes a community like Shetland the perfect setting for her grizzly tales, and ask your own questions too. Ann will be available to sign copies of her books afterwards.

Tickets: £5/ £2 (Good Neighbours card holders) available at:

 https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/north-edinburgh-arts

Tea and coffee will be provided. Lunch is available to buy from the North Edinburgh Arts café. Crèche facilities available on request – please email to admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk

Public vote to choose ‘most inspiring writer’ to win Saltire First Book award

The Scottish public is being invited to vote for the most inspiring winner of the Saltire First Book Award, party of the Saltire Literary Awards as the Saltire Society celebrates thirty years since the First Book Award category was first created in 1988. Continue reading Public vote to choose ‘most inspiring writer’ to win Saltire First Book award

Growing Up with Books: open up a world of imagination

From the never-ending adventures of Peter Pan to shipwrecked tales from Robinson Crusoe, Growing Up with Books will chart a magical journey through centuries of children’s books.

Continue reading Growing Up with Books: open up a world of imagination

Scottish Book Trust announces New Writer Award winners

Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, has supported over 90 creative individuals through the New Writers Awards since 2009. Today, Scottish Book Trust announces the 10 new awardees for this prestigious prize, which is supported by Creative Scotland.

The New Writers Awards provide a selection of talented writers who have not yet published a full length book or collection with financial support, to enable them to concentrate on developing their work, as well as professional guidance to help them move towards publication. Former awardees include Graeme Macrae Burnet, who was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2016, and authors Ciara MacLaverty, Olga Wojtas, Juliette Forrest, Kirsty Logan, Malachy Tallack and Claire Askew, who have publications out this year.

Four authors from Edinburgh have been nominated for the 2018 New Writers Awards: Aileen Ballantyne, a tutor at Edinburgh University; Nadine Aisha Jassat, a gender-based violence professional; Beth Cochrane, programme and events coordinator at Scottish Poetry Library and Anne Hughes, a software developer.

Aileen Ballantyne (above) said:

“I feel very lucky indeed to win this award – it’s a terrific opportunity. I hope to use it wisely.”

Nadine Aisha Jassat (above) said: “I am really thrilled to receive this award and have my work recognised, supported, and invested in by Scottish Book Trust. It’s an incredible honour to be selected and I would encourage future applicants to apply, apply, apply!”

Beth Cochrane said: “I cannot wait to get fully immersed in the New Writers’ programme. I’m seeing the award as a turning point: I’m finally going to get The Novel completed and sharpened, no excuses.”

Anne Hughes (above) said: “I’m thrilled, honoured and a little stunned to be a New Writers awardee this year.  Heartfelt thanks to Scottish Book Trust for this opportunity, and for the enormous encouragement it has given me as a writer.”

Each of the 10 recipients of the New Writers Award will receive a £2,000 cash award and support tailored to their needs including mentoring from writers and industry professionals, training in public relations, social media and performance, and the opportunity to showcase their work to publishers and agents. The awards also include the offer of a week-long writing retreat at Moniack Mhor. The retreat provides time, space and the freedom to create new work in idyllic surroundings.

The three judging panels reviewed over 450 submissions which included fiction and narrative non-fiction, poetry and children’s/young adult entries, before selecting the final 10. This year’s judges included Asif Khan, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, and writers Chitra Ramaswamy, Kevin MacNeil, Cheryl Follon, Matthew Fitt, Peter MacKay and Julie Bertagna.

Sasha Thanisch, also from Edinburgh, has been granted the Callan Gordon Award, which was set up to celebrate the life of Callan Gordon, a young Scottish writer, by his family. The Callan Gordon Award generously supports an extra place for the New Writers Awards, and is open to short story writers and poets between the ages of 18 and 35.

Sasha Thanisch said: “I’m utterly overwhelmed to have this opportunity, it’s such an encouragement and I hope to use it well. I’m really grateful to Scottish Book Trust and the Gordon family and everyone who’s supported me in this.”

The Gaelic Books Council provides two additional places on the programme which will support two New Gaelic Writers each year.

The full list of the 2018 New Writers Awardees is as follows:

Poetry

Aileen Ballantyne

Rhona Warwick

Duncan Stewart Muir

Children’s and Young Adult

Anne Hughes

Fiona McKeracher

Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction

Samantha Clark

Beth Cochrane

Mary Fitzpatrick

Nadine Aisha Jassat

Eilidh McCabe

Gaelic

Alistair Paul

Calum MacKinnon

Callan Gordon Award

Sasha Thanisch

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the next batch of New Writers Awardees. Writing can be a challenging process, and the New Writers Awards provides one-on-one support for current projects, as well as guidance for the future. All of us at Scottish Book Trust look forward to the fruits of the New Writers’ efforts and the expansion of the Scottish literary scene.” 

Alan Bett, Head of Literature, Languages and Publishing, Creative Scotland, said: “The New Writers Awards develop our emerging literacy talent through tailored mentoring and training at this crucial stage in their career, and in doing so contributes to the strength of Literature in Scotland. Through winning the award, winners have often grown ever more recognisable and have taken their place amongst the ranks of Scotland’s established and celebrated authors- a list that now includes previous winners; Graeme Macrae Burnet, Kirsty Logan and Helen Sedgwick.”

The New Writers Showcase, a celebration of work by the New Writers Awardees of 2017, will be held tomorrow (18 January 2018) at The Jam House in Edinburgh. The event is an opportunity to hear some of the most exciting new talent in Scotland perform their work, as last year’s awardees mark the end of their year. More details and ticket information can be found here.

Get set for Book Week Scotland

BWS-Logos-CMYK-PinkBWS

Working with a wide range of partners, Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, will deliver a huge range of events and activities across the country for Book Week Scotland. The week-long celebration takes place from 27 November to 3 December, and this year’s theme is Nourish.  Continue reading Get set for Book Week Scotland