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1020

MARCH 2016
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Mervyn King Joan Bakewell Limmy George Monbiot Kate Tempest


Phil Redmond Rev Richard Coles Janet Ellis Alexei Sayle Frances Quinn
A.C. Grayling Irma Kurtz Irvine Welsh Maggie OFarrell Jon Ronson

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Aye Write

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WELCOME

FUNDERS

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A WELCOME FROM COUNCILLOR


ARCHIE GRAHAM
I hope you love the new look Aye Write! and Wee Write! programmes
just as much as we do here at Glasgow Life! Thanks to our supporters
Freight Design for creating such an attractive programme to showcase
our festivals. The programme is still just as fresh and vibrant as ever and
I am sure you will agree there are some really interesting books and
appearances at this years festivals.
We couldnt achieve such a fantastic programme for Aye Write! and
Wee Write! without you and I want to thank you for your continued
support of your book festivals. Our funders, sponsors and partners are
critical to helping us make sure the festivals go from strength to strength
and I want to extend our thanks and acknowledgements to them all on
this page.
Glasgow is a thriving Cultural city and the sheer commitment that
comes from you and our partners to make these festivals as wonderful as
they are truly makes Glasgow a great place to live and visit.
This year we are launching our Wee Write! Reading and Literacy
Fund small change can make a big difference and we can achieve so
much more for our children and young peoples future potential with more
investment in them now. Any contribution you feel you can make would
make a considerable difference to children in our City.
Archie Graham Chair of Glasgow Life

SPONSORS

PARTNERS

Partners: Poetry Ireland, Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival, WOW 24/7, Gaelic Books Council, Doigs, Citizen M,
Play, Talk, Read, St Enochs Centre, SPT Subway, Glasgow Science Centre, Makar Gin, Edinburgh Gin, Mirrorball,
Federation of Writers (Scotland), Scottish Writers Centre, Scottish Opera, Edwin Morgan Trust, Scottish Chamber Orchestra,
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Thanks to the Steering Advisory, Programming and Community Engagement Groups
Jim Carruth, Louise Welsh, Eleanor Logan, Eleanor Bell, David Kinloch, Willy Maley, Chris Dolan, Paul Docherty,
Simon Biggam, Bob McDevitt, Lorraine Wilson, Adrian Searle, Andrew Forteath, James Aldridge, Aly Barr, Andrew Webb,
Jenny Clark, Gordon Boag, Margaret Houston, Dawn Vallance, Alix McDonald, Maria-Elena Heather, Mari Binnie,
Ann-Marie Burns, Katrina Brodin, Laura Tulloch, Zoe Strachan, Andy Robin, Lynda Scott, Jill Miller, David Laing, Andrew Olney,
Gordon Anderson

2 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SPRING SPEAKEASY Scottish Writers Centre


Thursday 10 March| 18.00 19.30| FREE
Dust off those works in progress and put on your best
prose for a night of literary readings in English, Gaelic
and Scots. Submissions will be accepted at info@
scottishwriterscentre.org.uk with Speakeasy as a subject
line. An SWC member of staff will contact you to set up
your time slot.

LAUNCH OF FROM GLASGOW TO SATURN


Friday 11 March| 16.00 17.00 | FREE

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

RESTART SHOWCASE
Wednesday 16 March
10.00 12.00| FREE
Playwright and director John Binnie has been working
with Restart groups in Bridgeton and Maryhill. With this
event the participants will share some of their personal
writing with family, friends and guests.

ST MUNGOS MIRRORBALL POETRY OPEN MIC


Thursday 17 March| 18.00 19.00| FREE
Glasgows Poetry Network host their popular open mic
session, an opportunity for budding and established
poets to read their own work. So whether you have a
number of poetry collections out or are reading in public
for the first time this is for you.

INFORMATION FOR ALL


Friday 11 March| 17.00 18.30| FREE

READING FOR HEALTH


Friday 18 March| 16.30 17.30| FREE

Increasingly, access to Information is seen as a right


and information is power but what happens to those
that are left behind? Join this debate with Strathclyde
Universitys Information and Library Studies PhD
students.

Macmillan @ Glasgow Libraries is an award winning


programme that has seen cancer health information
points being rolled out to all Glasgow Libraries. Glasgow
Libraries have curated collections on dementia and mood
boosting books. NHS 24 provides trusted information with
a new website. Come along to this session and hear more
about the health resources available through Glasgow
Libraries and how you can access them.

CREATIVE CAF
Sunday 13 March| 16.30 18.00| FREE
Join author Doug Johnstone as he leads a session on
creative writing and storytelling.

SUDDEN FAME
Sunday 13 March| 18.00 20.30| FREE
This is a spoken word event where members of the
Federation of Writers (Scotland), members of writers
groups and the public, are provided with an opportunity
to perform their work within 3 minute slots. A special
optional hone your performance skills session will be
offered the week before. For more info and to book a slot,
email admin@writersfederation.org.uk

JOURNEYS
Have you ever encountered a new path, or crossroads?
Did you end up where you wanted to go?

Monday 14 March| 13:00 14:30 FREE


This workshop, led by playwright and director John
Binnie, provides an opportunity for adult literacy learners
to explore roads travelled and develop their creative
writing skills.

Wednesday 16 March| 13:00 14:30 FREE


Join learners from Glasgows diverse communities,
including refugees and asylum seekers, new and settled
migrant communities as they reflect on their journeys.

Friday 18 March|13:00-14:30 FREE


Come and join us for this lively event to share the
personal journeys of writers taking part in Glasgows
Learning programmes across the city. Contact
Glasgows Learning on 0800 027 6402 to book.

REMEBERING SANDY HUTCHISON


Friday 18 March| 19.30 20.30| FREE
An event of words and song celebrating the life of
Alexander Hutchison, the award winning Scottish poet
and translator, who died in November 2015. Join with his
family, friends and fellow poets as we remember the life
and lines of a son of Buckie, who worked in Canada and
USA before settling in Glasgow. Simply one of the leading
poets of his generation.

BIG BOOK QUIZ


Saturday 19 March| 18.00 19.30| FREE
Come and join us as the Glasgow Book Group Network
battle it out for Aye write Quiz Team 2016.
Dont miss Amazing Objects-Inspiring Stories at the
Glasgow Museums Resources Centre (South Nitshill) on
Sat 19 & Sun 20 March 1 3pm. Find creative inspiration
from objects from around the world! Contact in advance
to book your free ticket: 0141 276 9300
SPECIAL TICKET OFFERS
Weve got a special offer on tickets for two new
festival strands this year: Aye Con: buy all six Aye
Con events for just 35 (saving 10) call 0141 353
8000 and ask for Aye Con Festival Pass Aye Write!
Introduces: buy all six Aye Write! Introduces events
for just 30 (saving 6) call 0141 353 8000 and
ask for Aye Write Introduces Festival Pass

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 3

FREE EVENTS

Join us for a showcase of literary talent from writers


published in From Glasgow to Saturn, the magazine
of University of Glasgows renowned Creative Writing
programme.

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THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

JON RONSON
So youve been publicly shamed
18.30 19.30| 9
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients
of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are
people like us people who, say, made a joke
on social media that came out badly, or made a
mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed,
collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane
and the next thing they know theyre being torn apart
by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes
even fired from their job.
Jon will be here talking about the updated
paperback version of his powerful and hilarious, yet
deeply honest book about modern life, which is full
of eye-opening truths about the escalating war on
human flaws and the very scary part we all
play in it.

MERVYN KING

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

KEZIA DUGDALE MSP


The Books That Made Me
18.00 19.00| 10
For the first of our The Books that Made me slots this
year we are pleased to welcome the Leader of the
Scottish Labour Party.
Kezia Dugdale was born in Aberdeen, and studied
Law at the University of Aberdeen before completing a
Masters in Public Policy at the University of Edinburgh.
Kezia held a variety of jobs including working in pubs,
coffee shops and a call centre, before joining the
N.U.S. as a public affairs officer.
Immediately before being elected in 2011 she
worked as a policy adviser for George Foulkes at
Holyrood.
Join Kezia as she discusses some of the key books
that have entertained and inspired her. Chaired by
Clare English

Mervyn King, the former Governor of the Bank of


England (2003 2013), proposes revolutionary new
concepts to answer a central question of our time: are
money and banking a form of Alchemy or are they the
Achilles Heel of a modern capitalist economy?
Most accounts of the recent crisis focus on
the symptoms and not the underlying causes of
what went wrong. But those events comprised
only the latest in a long series of financial crises
since our present system of commerce became the
cornerstone of modern capitalism. Alchemy explains
why, ultimately, this was and remains a crisis not of
banking but of ideas.

The End of Alchemy


19.30 20.30| 15

4 | AYE WRITE! 2016

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

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THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

JAMES HARKIN & ANDREW HOSKEN


Inside Islamic State
18.00 19.00| 9

Winner of a Fringe First for new writing, performance


poet Luke Wright delivers a hurricane of a
performance in this story of shattered friendship,
class ceilings, and the hollow reality of the New
Labour dream.
At university, the mercurial Johnny Bevan saves
Nick, smashing his comfortable, middle class
bubble and firing him up about politics, music and
literature. Twenty years later, as their youthful dreams
disintegrate with the social justice they hoped for, can
Nick save Johnny from himself?
With humour and humanity Luke challenges the
rise of New Labour and David Cameron, and the
abandonment of those left behind.

Never out of the headlines, these two new books try


to shed some light on the methods and ideology of
Islamic State.
Based on three years of on-the-ground reporting
from every side of the Syrian conflict, Hunting Season
is James Harkins quest to uncover the truth about
how and why Islamic State came to target Western
hostages. In Empire of Fear BBC reporter Andrew
Hosken delivers the inside story on Islamic State.
Through extensive first-hand reporting, Hosken builds
a comprehensive picture of IS, their brutal ideology
and exterminationist methods. Join the authors for
what should be a fascinating discussion. Chaired by
Ruth Wishart.

BEE ROWLATT
In Search of Mary
18.00 19.00| 9

GRAHAM HANCOCK
Magicians of the Gods
19.30 20.30| 9

In Search of Mary: The Mother of All Journeys. Toddler


in tow, Bee Rowlatt embarked on an extraordinary
journey in search of the life and legacy of the first
celebrity feminist: Mary Wollstonecraft. From the wild
coasts of Norway to a naked re-birthing in California,
via the blood-soaked streets of revolutionary Paris,
Bee learned what drove her hero on and whats
been won and lost over the centuries in the battle for
equality.
On this biographical treasure hunt she found
herself consulting a witch, a porn star, a quiet
Norwegian archivist and the tenants of a blighted
council estate in Leeds getting much more than she
bargained for.

Graham Hancocks multi-million bestseller


Fingerprints of the Gods remains an astonishing,
deeply controversial, wide-ranging investigation of the
mysteries of our past and the evidence for Earths lost
civilization. Twenty years on, Hancock returns with the
sequel to his seminal work filled with completely new,
scientific and archaeological evidence, which has
only recently come to light
The evidence revealed in this book shows beyond
reasonable doubt that an advanced civilization that
flourished during the Ice Age was destroyed in the
global cataclysms between 12,800 and 11,600
years ago.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 5

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

LUKE WRIGHT
What I learned from Johnny Bevan
18.00 19.00| 9

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THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

MOHAMMAD SARWAR
My Remarkable Journey
19.30 20.30| 10

Mohammad Sarwars autobiography is an


inspirational account of how a boy from rural
Pakistan rose to fame, fortune and political power.
Born into hardship and persecution in Punjab in 1952,
Sarwars life changed after arriving in Glasgow,
where he transformed a corner shop to a cash-andcarry business with a turnover of more than 200
million anually. From business he moved into politics,
becoming MP for Glasgow Govan, then Glasgow
Central. No stranger to controversy he voted
against Tony Blairs decision to invade Iraq, and was
famously caught in a News of the World sting in 1997
for allegedly bribing an election rival he has also
been heavily involved in charity humanitarian work in
Pakistan. Chaired by Bob Wylie.

JAMES CRAWFORD
Lost Buildings from the Tower
of Babel to the Twin Towers
19.30 20.30| 9
Buildings are just like us. They can be born into
wealth or poverty. They have parents gods, kings,
emperors, governments, visionaries and madmen
and friends and enemies. They have jobs, duties
and responsibilities. They can succeed and fail.
They can live. And they can die. Moving from the
very beginnings of civilisation, right up to the digital
horizons of cyberspace James Crawford will present
a fascinating illustrated talk based on his incredibly
well received book Fallen Glory which pieces together
the stories of twenty of the worlds most fascinating
lost and ruined structures, stories which are packed
with drama and intrigue. Chaired by Francis McKee.
In association with Festival of Architecture 2016.

REIF LARSEN & ANNA GERBER


The Future of Fiction?
19.30 20.30| 9

OWEN ONEILL
Licking the Matchbox
19.30 20.30| 6

Reif Larsen will be in conversation about his latest


digital book, Entrances and Exits with Anna Gerber,
Creative Director Editions at Play. The digitally native
book was commissioned by Visual Editions and
released as part of Editions At Play, a new bookstore
for books that cannot be printed, made with Google
Creative Lab. Reif will kick off the conversation by
drawing on his experience of working on digital
books from the point of view of storyteller, sharing
his experiences with adapting The Selected Works
of T.S. Spivet into an app and more recently working
with Google on Editions At Play. More information at :
www.entrances-exits.com.
Chaired by Craig Steele

Owen ONeill has been performing stand-up comedy


all over the world for twenty eight years. His speciality
is the one man show, heavily influenced by Spalding
Gray and Eric Bogosian. He is also an accomplished
actor and playwright who holds the record for the
fastest sell-out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He
has won numerous awards and guested on Late Night
with Conan OBrien twice! Hell be reading from and
talking about his latest book, Licking the Matchbox,
a poignant, hilarious and emotionally charged
collection of poems and stories.

6 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

LOUIS DE BERNIRES
Of Love and Desire
18.00 19.00| 10

In 2014, Cara Ellison, a cyberpunk hair-dyed


Attenborough rather flippantly pledged to the
internet shed leave home, become itinerant and travel
around the world to live with and write about some
of the most interesting game developers and their
cultural outlook. Her book Embed With Games talks
about the way our game creators express the culture
around them. The book has an exclusive introduction
from Kieron Gillen, a cover from Irene Koh. She will be
joined by Keza MacDonald one of the most respected
gaming journalists around. Her work has been
published by IGN, Edge, VG/247, Eurogamer
and The Guardian. Chaired by Craig Steele.

Craig Robertson Introduces

MATT JOHNSON & MICHELLE DAVIES


18.00 19.00| 6

STUART COSGROVE
Young Soul Rebels:
A Personal History of Northern Soul
18.00 19.00| 9

Matt Johnson is a former soldier and Police Officer.


He was at the Libyan Peoples Bureau when
PC Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed. Whilst
undergoing treatment for PTSD, he was encouraged
to write about his experience of murders and
terrorism. Wicked Games, his debut novel, is the result
a fast paced and authentic tale of modern day
policing.
Michelle Davies has been writing for magazines
for twenty years, including Elle, Heat and Grazia.
Gone Astray, her debut novel is written from the
point of view of DC Maggie Neville, a Family Liaison
Officer who is juggling an investigation and a crisis
in her own life.

Well known from his many appearances on TV and


Radio (especially his opinionated weekly stint on
BBC Radio Scotlands Off the Ball), Stuart Cosgrove
is appearing at Aye Write! this year as the author of
Young Soul Rebels a compelling and intimate story
of Northern Soul, Britains most fascinating musical
underground scene. The book takes the reader on a
journey into the iconic clubs that made it famous
The Twisted Wheel, Wigan Casino and the Blackpool
Mecca and celebrates both the great unknown
records that built its global reputation and the cratedigging collectors that travelled to America to unearth
these hitherto unknown sounds. Chaired by Neil
Murray National Theatre of Scotland.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 7

FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

A warm welcome back to Aye Write! for the bestselling


author of Captain Corellis Mandolin with his new
collection of love poems, Of Love and Desire. Written
over a lifetime, it captures loves many forms from
rapture, infatuation, urgency, to sorrow, heartache
and disillusion.
Poetry was de Bernires first and greatest literary
love, a passion evident in the musicality and emotion
of his poems, which are full of stories and the truth
of lived experience. Dont miss what will be a spellbinding evening with this master poet and storyteller.

CARA ELLISON & KEZA MACDONALD


Inside the Minds of Gamers
and Game Creators
18.00 19.00| 6

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FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

LIMMY
Daft Wee Stories
19.30 20.30| 10

Daft Wee Stories is Limmys first book. It is a collection


of stories. There are short stories. There are longer
stories. There are stupid stories. There are thoughtful
stories.
There are upside-down stories. There are normalway-up stories. There are weird stories. There are less
weird stories. There are really weird stories. There is
nothing else like it. Come and hear Limmy read from
and talk about the book.
You could maybe even ask him a question.
Brian Limond is an actor, writer and comedian,
the star of Limmys Show.
Chaired by Janice Forsyth this event will be
recorded by BBC Scotland for broadcast.

THE BOOKSHOP BAND


19.30 20.30| 10
We are pleased to welcome to Aye Write! for the first
time, The Bookshop Band. They are Ben Please and
Beth Porter, who write songs inspired by books and
play them in bookshops and at book festivals. Their
performances are inextricably linked to the books
themselves, as the band take it in turns to describe
where the inspiration for each song came from. They
have toured all over the UK, Ireland and Europe and
have appeared regularly on radio and television. They
are incredibly prolific songwriters and in 2016 will be
releasing the equivalent of an album of new material
a month!

8 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BARNEY HOSKYNS
Woodstock: Small Town Talk
19.30 20.30| 9
Think Woodstock and the mind turns to the seminal
1969 festival that crowned a seismic decade of sex,
drugs and rock n roll. Renowned music critic and
rock journalist Barney Hoskyns recreates Woodstocks
community of brilliant dysfunctional musicians,
opportunistic hippie capitalists and scheming dealers
drawn to the area by Dylan and The Band. Central to
the book is the broodingly powerful presence of Albert
Grossman manager of Dylan, The Band, Janis Joplin
and Todd Rundgren and Big Daddy of a personal
fiefdom in Bearsville that encompassed studios,
restaurants and his own record label. Chaired by
Nicola Meighan.

ALEX GORDON & MAGGIE DUN


The Heyday of Scottish Newspapers
19.30 20.30| 9
Join us for a look behind the headlines of the biggest
stories of the last fifty years in Scottish Journalism
told by the people who were there and who broke the
stories. Alex Gordons Jinx Dogs Burns Now Flu is a
hilarious book in which some of the best stories are the
ones that didnt make it to print.
Bill Anderson was the much-respected editor of The
Sunday Post and Bills widow Maggie will be here to
talk about his autobiography, a fascinating account
of his childhood in working-class Scotland in the 1930s
and 40s and of his time at the best-read newspaper in
the world. Chaired by Margaret Clayton.

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SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

CHRISTOPHER BEANLAND
Brutalist Concrete
12.00 13.00| 9

In September 2014, the Scottish Independence


referendum, the United Kingdom came close to
being separated after three centuries. Then after a
conclusive No vote, the SNP took almost every seat in
Scotland at the 2015 general election. In this book Tam
Dalyell, one of our most principled and well-respected
politicians, offers a personal reflection on why the UK
is on the brink of the most serious constitutional crisis
in its history. Dalyell also offers his thoughts on where
we find ourselves now and suggests ways forward
which will inform debate as the UK moves into a new
political era. Chaired by Ruth Wishart.

No modern architecture movement has aroused so


much awe and so much ire as Brutalism and Glasgow
has seen its fair share of examples of the form.
Christopher Beanland has written about architecture
for Independent, Guardian and Telegraph and his
book Concrete Concept takes architecture admirers
on a tour of the worlds most impressive, celebrated
and controversial Brutalist buildings. Featuring
50 existing international examples, built between
the 1950s and the 1970s, it skips from one country
to the next to illustrate why concrete buildings
grew to become both the most hotly contested
and fashionable architectural style in history. In
association with Festival of Architecture 2016.

TASHA KAVANAGH & LAURA POWELL


Unsettling, Obsessive Fiction
12.00 13.00| 6

SARAH SHEPHARD
Women in sport
12.00 13.00| 9

A pair of eerie and deeply moving novels that will


appeal to fans of books that leave you emotionally
drained and just a little bit spooked. Tasha Kavanagh
was shortlisted for the 2015 COSTA First Novel Award
for Things We Have in Common, a tale of loneliness
and teenage obsession. Laura Powell is a graduate
of the Faber Academy Novel Writing Course, and
has seen several of her poems and short stories
published in literary magazines and anthologies. The
Unforgotten is an unforgettable tale of love and loss.

Theres a battle being fought. Its raging on the sports


fields, in the newsrooms and behind the scenes at
every major broadcaster. The warriors are women in
sport and in this book their battles will be broken down
to discover if, and how they can ever be won.
Why do the most successful female athletes earn
less than their male counterparts? Why are girls still
growing up believing that sport is for boys? Join
Sarah Shepherd, Features Editor at Sport magazine,
as she discusses all of the issues contained in her
candid and revealing book.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 9

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

TAM DALYELL
A Fractured Union
12.00 13.00| 10

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SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

PAUL VALLELY
The Struggle for the Soul of Catholicism
13.30 14.30| 10

ANDY BECKETT
Promised You A Miracle: UK 8082
13.30 14.30| 9

With a series of potent gestures Pope Francis has


proved himself a Pope of Surprises. He declared
a mission to restore authenticity and integrity to
a Roman Catholic Church bedevilled by sex abuse
and secrecy, in-fighting and arrogance. But there is
a hidden past to this modest man with the winning
smile. His decade as leader of Argentinas Jesuits left
the religious order deeply split. And his behaviour
during Argentinas Dirty War, when military death
squads snatched innocent people from the streets,
raised serious questions. Paul Vallely has an
international reputation as a commentator on religion,
society and political issues.

In Promised You a Miracle, Guardian Journalist Andy


Beckett takes a focussed look at Britain in the first
three years of the 80s. A time of hope and of dread:
of Cold War tension and imminent conflict, when
crowds in the street could mean an ecstatic national
celebration or an inner-city riot. During the first
precarious years of Margaret Thatchers government
the country was changing, leaving the kinder, more
sluggish postwar Britain decisively behind and
becoming the country we have lived in ever since:
assertive, commercially driven, outward-looking and
often harsher than its neighbours. Chaired by
Anna Day.

JAMES REBANKS
The Shepherds Life
13.30 14.30| 9

JASON WOOD & IAN HAYDN SMITH


New British Cinema
13.30 14.30| 9

From James Rebanks, the Herdwick Shepherd, comes


The Shepherds Life, a story of the Lake District and
its people. He, and his family, have lived and worked
in and around the Lake District for generations, their
way of life ordered by the seasons and the work they
demand.
These modern dispatches from an ancient
landscape tell the story of a deep-rooted attachment
to place, describing a way of life that is little noticed
and yet has profoundly shaped this landscape.
James Rebanks takes us through a shepherds
year, offering a unique account of rural life and a
fundamental connection with the land that most of us
have lost. Chaired by Sara Davies.

Over the past couple of years the success of British


films at international film festivals, as well as the
numerous awards bestowed on films such as 12 Years
a Slave, have demonstrated that British cinema has
undergone a genuine renaissance. Film-makers such
as Clio Barnard, Richard Ayoade, Steve McQueen,
Jonathan Glazer, Carol Morley, Yann Demange, Peter
Strickland and Ben Wheatley gave interviews for this
book and provide a valuable insight into their work
and working methods.
Join the authors for a lively debate about the
current state of the British film industry. Chaired by
David Archibald.

10 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

OWEN HOPKINS
Breaking the Mould
of British Architecture
15.00 16.00| 9

Whether youre Jean Genet or Jimmy Boyle,


Oscar Wilde or Henri Charriere, prison can provide
inspiration to write. We are joined today by two
people who understand that process intimately. Sarah
Leipciger was born in Canada and now lives in London
where she teaches creative writing to prisoners. The
Mountain Can Wait is her first novel.
Best-selling author Noel Razor Smith has spent
over 30 years in prison. He has been convicted of
everything from armed robbery to prison escape. The
Criminal Alphabet is an authoritative dictionary of
criminal slang an absorbing journey, through words,
into the heart of the criminal world.

The history of architecture is a story of continual


innovation and at certain points within that story
comes an architect whose vision completely defies
convention. Mavericks: Breaking the Mould of British
Architecture focuses on twelve such figures from
the history of British architecture, including Charles
Rennie Mackintosh, James Stirling RA, Sir John
Vanbrugh, Sir John Soane RA, Cedric Price, FAT and
Zaha Hadid RA. Owen Hopkins is a writer, historian
and curator of architecture. He is the Architecture
Programme Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts.
In association with Festival of Architecture 2016.

PAUL DU NOYER
Conversations with McCartney
15.00 16.00| 9

LITIR CHUN AN T-SAIGHDEIR GUN AINM


(Letters to an Unknown Soldier)
15.00 16.00| 6

In 1989, Paul Du Noyer was contacted by Paul


McCartneys office and asked to interview the star
as they had met once before and enjoyed a good
rapport. In the years that followed, Paul continued
to meet, interview and work for Paul McCartney on
a regular basis, producing magazine articles, tour
programmes, album liner notes and website editorial.
Conversations with McCartney is the culmination
of a long association with McCartney and his music,
coupling McCartneys own, candid thoughts with
observation and analysis.
Paul du Noyer has written for NME, Q, Mojo and
was Associate Editor at Word from 2002 until its
demise in 2012.

BBC Radio nan Gidheal and CLR


Book launch! Writers of all ages stepped back in
time to 1914 18 and the First World War to create
deeply personal letters to family members and loved
ones. Each letter is unique. Some of the writers will
be present to share the story and emotions within
their Letter to the Unknown Soldier. Chaired by Alan
Campbell.
Leabhar r! Chuir sgrobhadairean g agus
sean iad fhin ann an suidheachadh dhaoine aig
m a Chiad Chogaidh a sgrobhadh litrichean gu
cirdean is luchd-gridh. Tha gach litir snraichte a
rir suidheachadh raid gach neach. Innsidh cuid de
na sgrobhadairean an sgeul air cl na litreach aca
fhin. Bidh Ailean Caimbeul sa chathair.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 11

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

SARAH LEIPCIGER
& NOEL RAZOR SMITH
Prison Inside and out
15.00 16.00| 9

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SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

RUTH DAVIDSON MSP


The Books That Made Me
16.30 17.30| 10

KEVIN MACNEIL & BENJAMIN WOOD


The Island as Festival or Refuge
16.30 17.30| 9

Ruth Davidson is the Leader of the Scottish


Conservative and Unionist Party and Member of
the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow regional list.
She has studied at both Glasgow and Edinburgh
Universities and has worked as a BBC journalist
and signaller in the Territorial Army. She joined the
Conservative Party in 2009, and was elected leader
in 2011. Ruth will be discussing the books that have
made a big impact on her life. Chaired by
Claire English.

Kevin MacNeil is an award-winning novelist, poet,


editor and screenwriter from the Outer Hebrides.
The Brilliant & Forever is his third novel and is set on an
island like no other, where an annual festival provides
the setting for an energetic, laugh-out-loud satire on
what we value in culture and in our lives.
The Ecliptic is the mesmerising new novel from
Benjamin Wood. On a forested island off the coast
of Istanbul stands Portmantle, a gated refuge for
beleaguered artists. There a curious assembly of
painters, architects, writers and musicians strive to
restore their faded talents. What is The Ecliptic, and
how does it relate to their abandoned lives? Chaired
by the novelist Rodge Glass

MARCUS BERKMANN
Set Phasers to Stun:
50 Years of Star Trek
16.30 17.30| 9

PAUL KAVANAGH, MURDO FRASER


& RUTH WISHART
Do We Take Our Politicians Too Seriously?
16.30 17.30| 9

Published to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the


most iconic sci-fi series of all time and boldly going
where several other people have been before, Marcus
Berkmanns book maps the course of the series from
its first five-year mission (rudely curtailed to three),
through the dark years of the 1970s, the triumphant
film series and The Next Generation, to the current
reboot films.
With wit, insight and a huge pile of DVDs, he seeks
to answer all the important questions. Why did Kirks
shirt always get torn when he had a fist fight? And
whats the worst imaginable insult in Klingon? (Your
mother has a smooth forehead.)

Behind the politics and power, the soundbites


and scandals our elected representatives can be
eccentric, pompous, fallible and fair game for the
satirists pen. Join three distinguished guests to
discuss the state of political satire in Scotland;
Paul Kavanagh whose Wee Ginger Dug columns
from The National are collected in Barking up the
Right Tree; Murdo Fraser an MSP and author of The
Rivals: Montrose and Argyll and the Struggle for
Scotland; and respected journalist and broadcaster
Ruth Wishart.

12 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

WALTER STEPHEN
A Dirty Swindle: True Stories
of Scots in the Great War
18.00 19.00| 9

Adam Roberts is considered one of the UKs most


important writers of SF.
In his latest novel The Thing Itself Adam turns his
attention to answering the Fermi Paradox with a taut
and claustrophobic tale that echoes John Carpenters
The Thing. Two men while away the days in an
Antarctic research station. One is practical and open.
The other surly, superior and obsessed with reading
one book. Tensions between them build as they argue
over a love-letter one of them has received.
As a storm brews and they lose contact with the
outside world they come to hate each other, and
learn that they are not alone. Event supported by
Glasgow University.

Walter Stephen provides an uninhibited look at the


misery and toil of World War I through a collection
of twelve stories. Providing a Scottish perspective,
he takes a look at reports from home and abroad
with scepticism, delving deeper to unveil the
unencumbered truth. Recalling Siegfried Sassoons
words, Stephen reveals the failures of those in
command as The Great War became known as A Dirty
Swindle. The varied accounts chronicle the progress
of troops from recruitment to training to the frontline,
as well as revealing a side of Field Marshal Haig never
seen before. Chaired by Michael Malone.

CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE
Black Widow
18.00 19.00| 9

JANET ELLIS
The Butchers Hook
18.00 19.00| 10

Twists abound in the brilliant new psychological


thriller from Aye Write! favourite Chris Brookmyre,
starring his legendary character Jack Parlabane.
Diana Jager is clever, strong and successful, a skilled
surgeon and fierce campaigner via her blog about
sexism. Yet it takes only hours for her life to crumble
when her personal details are released on the internet
as revenge for her writing. Then she meets Peter.
Within six months, they are married. Within six more,
Peter is dead in a road accident, a nightmare end to
their fairytale romance. But Peters sister Lucy doesnt
believe in fairytales and tasks maverick reporter Jack
Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the
woman the media is calling Black Widow

Actress and presenter Janet Ellis will discuss her


debut novel, The Butchers Hook, a brilliantly dark
and unexpected tale of a young girl in 18th-century
London determined to take her life in her own hands,
at any cost
Janet Ellis is best known for presenting the BBC
childrens television programmes Blue Peter and
more recently as a regular guest on The Wright Stuff.
Chaired by Peggy Hughes.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 13

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

ADAM ROBERTS
Science Fictions Greatest Question
Are We Alone in the Universe?
18.00 19.00| 9

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WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

JAMES YORKSTON & COLIN MACINTYRE


An Evening of Novels and Songs
19.30 21.00| 12
Two fine Scottish songwriters have released novels to
great acclaim and we are very pleased that they have
agreed to share a stage at Aye Write! to read from
their books but also play a few songs and talk about
the relationship between their fiction and songwriting.
Colin MacIntyre of Mull Historical Societys The letters
of Ivor Punch is an original and multi-faceted island
set novel that won the EIBFs First Book Award. James
Yorkston has released twelve albums and was an early
member of the Fence Collective. His debut novel Three
Craws is a beautifully evoked portrait of contemporary
rural life in Scotland for those dealt a meagre hand.
Chaired by Fiona Shepherd.

LIZ LOCHHEAD, JIM CARRUTH,


& GERRIE FELLOWS
The Hunterian Poems
19.30 20.30| 6
Edited by Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature
at Glasgow University, The Hunterian Poems collects
works by Scotlands national poets Liz Lochhead
and Edwin Morgan and Glasgows poet laureate Jim
Carruth along with many more of Scotlands best
poets writing in Gaelic, Scots and English including
Stewart Conn, Meg Bateman, Gerda Stevenson,
Elizabeth Burns, David Kinloch and Aonghas
MacNeacail. The paintings, beautifully reproduced
in the text, include works by J.D. Fergusson, Cadell,
Peploe and Joan Eardley.
Join us for what will be a fascinating enquiry into
the relationship between the literary and visual arts.

MASON CROSS, DOUGLAS LINDSEY


& MARK LEGGATT
Crime Beyond These Shores
19.30 20.30| 9

JOAN BAKEWELL
Stop the Clocks: Thoughts
on What I Leave Behind
19.30 20.30| 10

For this event we are bringing together three crime


writers from Scotland who have chosen not to head
down the Tartan Noir route of setting their books
here but instead have given their books a more
international flavour. Mason Cross has enjoyed
tremendous success in a short space of time and
his latest Winterlong is the third instalment of his
U.S. set Carter Blake series. Mark Leggatts Names
of the Dead follows Connor Montrose from Paris to
Morocco and finally to Tehran on a nail-biting, action
packed ride. Douglas Lindsay, author of the recently
filmed The Legend of Barney Thompson has chosen
Estonia for his latest, Song of the Dead a new series
introducing detective Ben Westphall.

Now in her eighties, Joan Bakewell one of Britains


finest and most spirited women looks back on her
varied, sometimes breathless life: she has been a
teacher, copywriter, studio manager, broadcaster,
journalist, the governments Voice of Older People
and chair of the theatre company Shared Experience.
Joan has written four radio plays, two novels and an
autobiography The Centre of The Bed. Her latest, Stop
the Clocks is a book of musings, in which she talks of
the present, of her family, of friends and literature
and also of what she will leave behind. Chaired
by Ruth Wishart. Event sponsored by the
Open University.

14 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

NEIL MACKAY & BEN MCPHERSON


Chilling Thrillers
12.00 13.00| 9

The rich diversity of Scotlands railway network has


never before been the subject of a specialist atlas.
This book showcases 181 topographical and railway
maps, telling the story of the countrys railways from
the early nineteenth century to the present day.
Researched and written by David Spaven who
co-wrote the best-selling Mapping the Railways
this beautiful atlas allows the reader to understand
the bigger story of the effects of the railway on the
landscape and the impact of Scotlands distinctive
geography on the pattern of railway development
over a period of nearly two hundred years.

Sunday Herald columnist Neil Mackays The Wolf Trial


is inspired by an extraordinary true case the firstever documented account of a serial killer in world
history. Set in 16th Century Germany in a society still
trapped by a medieval mindset, the townsfolk clamour
for the killer to be tried as a werewolf.
Ben McPherson was born in Glasgow but is now
a columnist for Aftenposten, Norways leading quality
daily newspaper. His novel A Line of Blood is a chilling
psychological thriller about family, the ties that bind
us, and the lies that destroy us.

SUSAN CAMPBELL
Ronnie: A Dog Owners Guide
to Fulfillment
12.00 13.00| 9

ROSEMARY GORING
& AJAY CLOSE
Historical Fictions
12.00 13.00| 9

When Susan and Colin Campbell settled down to


married life without children, they instinctively felt it
was the right time for them to adopt a dog. Ronnie,
a big-hearted Lurcher-Cross, bounced into their
lives and transformed them in unimagined ways,
healing past wounds, introducing them to new friends
and pointing them in the direction of life changing
opportunities. This book is the candid, funny and
moving story of how one stress busting, four-legged
intervention, with a VERY waggy tail, changed
everything.

Long-time friend of Aye Write! Rosemary Goring


returns with her new novel. Dacres War tells the story
of personal and political vengeance in the aftermath
of the battle of Flodden, set against the backdrop of
the Scottish and English borders, a land where there is
never any chance of peace.
In Ajay Closes A Petrol Scented Spring, a
newlywed tries to discover the haunted past of her
husband, a prison doctor. She comes to suspect the
answer lies with a hunger-striking suffragette who
was force-fed and held in solitary confinement. But
what really happened between Hugh and his prisoner
patient?

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 15

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

DAVID SPAVEN
The Railway Atlas of Scotland
12.00 13.00| 9

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

CRAIG ROBERTSON,
ANNA SMITH & ANNE RANDALL
Great Glasgow Crime
13.30 14.30| 9
Explore the nooks and crannies of Glasgow through
the eyes of three of the citys best crime writers. Craig
Robertsons In Place of Death, looks at the world of
urban explorers and the killers preying on them. In
Anna Smiths Rough Cut, illegal diamonds and the
seemingly accidental death of a Pakistani bride
open a story of secrets and danger. In Anne Randalls
Silenced by a murderer who buries his victims
alive has escaped from prison and is on the run in
Glasgow Chaired by the crime writer
Douglas Skelton.

ROHAN GUNATILLAKE
Mindfulness for Modern Lives
13.30 14.30| 9
In This is Happening, Glasgow based Rohan
Gunatillake, creator of the best-selling buddhify
app, argues that to lead more mindful, calm and
happy lives, switching off is the last thing we need
to do. Instead he gives you the ideas, principles and
techniques to bring awareness, composure and
kindness to wherever you are and whatever you are
doing. Filled with over sixty practical exercises which
you can plug into your life straight away, the books
mobile mindfulness approach presents a way to get
the benefits from meditation however busy your life is.
Chaired by Daniel Gray.

CATHERINE CZERKAWSKA
The Jewel
13.30 14.30| 9

ANDREW DEMPSTER
Hills with attitude, not altitude!
13.30 14.30| 9

Catherine Czerkawska is a multi-award-winning


novelist and playwright who lives in Ayrshire. Her
new book, The Jewel, is a luscious historical novel
about Robert Burns wife, Jean Armour, set during the
dramatic years of their courtship in Mauchline, their
married life at Ellisland and in Dumfries, and Roberts
early death, all against a background simmering with
political intrigue and turmoil.
Join Catherine in The Burns Library at The Mitchell
for what promises to be a unique take on Scotlands
most famous literary son.

Join Andrew Dempster for an illustrated talk about


his new guidebook to his favourite hills under 2,000
feet. This first volume focuses on hills on the Scottish
mainland, including some that are rarely climbed,
as well as some that are well-known and iconic, all of
which have great character and offer a distinctive
hillwalking experience.
Andrew has almost 40 years experience of
walking, scrambling and backpacking in the Scottish
Highlands and Islands. He has climbed the Corbetts,
all the Munros twice and has written the only guidebook to the Grahams (mountains 2,0002,500 feet
in height).

16 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

AMY LIPTROT & DAN BOOTHBY


The Island as Sanctuary
15.00 16.00| 9

Weve often had authors talking about their latest


book being turned into a film or a TV series but this is
the first time Aye Write! will have an author talk about
their book becoming a game. Chris Brookmyres 2013
novel Bedlam has been released as a first person
shooter by RedBedlam and hell be here to discuss the
unusual genesis of the game with Burnistouns Rab
Florence and Kirsty Strain, who provided the voices for
the characters. Chaired by Allison Gardner.

TOM BLASS AND DONALD MURRAY


North Sea Tales
15.00 16.00| 9

CATRIONA LEXY CAMPBELL


Shrapnel
15.00 16.00| 6

Saturnine and quick-tempered, the formidable North


Sea is a playground, a theatre of war and a cultural
crossing-point which it has shaped the world in
myriad ways, Tom Blasss The Naked Shore takes us
around the edges of the North Sea meeting fishermen,
artists and bomb disposal experts. Tom will be joined
by Donald S. Murray whose Herring Tales follows a
journey from the western edge of Norway to Shetland
and from the Outer Hebrides to the Baltic coast of
Germany. Telling tales of the fish that was of central
importance to the lives of our ancestors, noting how
both it and those involved in their capture were
celebrated in the art, literature, music and folklore of
northern Europe.

Simultaneous translation facilities available


Gaelic author Catriona Lexy Campbell has adapted
her late father Normans superb novel Shrapnel into
a stage play which is currently touring Scotland.
Broadcaster Mark Wringe will host a discussion with
Catriona Lexy, the director Muireann Kelly, and Calum
MacDonald, one of the actors, about the challenges
of writing for dramatic purposes.
Tha an sgrobhadair Catrona Lexy Chaimbeul
air Shrapnel, an leabhar cliiteach aig a h-athair
Tormod, ath-sgrobhadh airson an rd-rlair. Anns
an t-seisean seo bidh an craoladair Mark Wringe a
conaltradh ri Catrona Lexy, Muireann Kelly, stiiriche
an drma agus Calum Dmhnallach, aon de na
promh actairean mu na dbhlain an cois a bhith a
toirt ficsean ainmeil be air an rd-rlar.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 17

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

In her extraordinary memoir The Outrun, Amy Liptrot


returns to Orkney after more than a decade away,
she is drawn back to the sheep farm where she grew
up. Back on the land that was once home, memories
of her childhood merge with her recent life in London
and the hedonistic cycle of drinking that gradually
consumed her. Dan Boothby had been drifting
for more than twenty years when, after a lifelong
obsession with Gavin Maxwells Ring of Bright Water
trilogy, he moved to Maxwells former home, a tiny
island off the west cost. Beautifully written and
frequently leavened with a dry wit, Island of Dreams is
a charming celebration of the particularities of place.

CHRIS BROOKMYRE,
KIRSTY STRAIN & RAB FLORENCE
The Creation of Bedlam
15.00 16.00| 9

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SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

MARGARET MACMILLAN
Historys People
16.30 17.30| 9

BEN STEWART WITH FRANK HEWETSON


The Extraordinary Story
of the Arctic Thirty
16.30 17.30| 9

Join Margaret MacMillan, the author of The War


that Ended Peace, as she discusses her new book
Historys People. What difference do individuals
make to history? Instead of great concepts such as
industrialisation or globalisation its often real people,
leaders in particular, and the decisions that they make
that change our lives irrevocably. What is the role of
personality in these explorers, rulers and politicians?
Is it possible to find or discern patterns in different
types of personality tyranny, risk-taking, curiosity,
reluctance to act? This book interrogates the past to
ask very big questions about the role of individuals
and their behaviour.

In September 2013, 30 men and women from 18


countries the crew of Greenpeaces Arctic Sunrise
decide to draw a line in the ice and protest the
drilling in the Arctic. Their protest was met with brutal
force and they were charged with piracy and faced
15 years in Russias prison system. Ben Stewart, who
spearheaded the campaign to release the Arctic 30
and has written the book Dont Trust, Dont Fear, Dont
Beg, tells an astonishing tale of passion, courage
and survival. He will be in conversation with Frank
Hewetson, one of the Arctic Thirty. Chaired by
Roland Gulliver.

ROWLAND WHITE
Into the Black
16.30 17.30| 9

ANDY WIGHTMAN & MALACHY TALLACK


Our Relationship with the Land
16.30 17.30| 9

Into the Black is a trip to the high frontier of space


exploration and the dangers it brings.
On 12th April 1981 a revolutionary new spacecraft
blasted off from Florida on her maiden flight. NASAs
Space Shuttle Columbia was the most advanced
flying machine ever built the worlds first real
spaceship. Yet less than an hour after its spectacular
departure it was clear that all was not well. Tiles
designed to protect Columbia from re-entry were
missing from the heatshield. Into the Black is a
gripping high stakes cold-war story and a celebration
of a machine that, hailed as one of the seven new
wonders of the world, rekindled our passion
for spaceflight.

Andy Wightmans updated book, The Poor Had No


Lawyers, asks fundamental questions about Scottish
land. Who owns Scotland? How did they get it? What
happened to all the common land in Scotland? Has
the Scottish Parliament made any difference and can
we get our common good land back?
In Sixty Degrees North Malachy Tallack explores
land and lives touched by the sixtieth parallel which
marks a borderland between the northern and
southern worlds. This circle of latitude also slices
though Shetland, where Malachy has spent most
of his life. Join both authors for a hugely topical
discussion about our relationship with and ownership
of the land.

18 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

JACK AND JOHN SUTHERLAND


Stars, Cars and Crystal Meth
18.00 19.00| 9

When his widowed father once a formidable high


court judge drifted into vagueness if not dementia,
Adam Mars-Jones took responsibility for his care.
Trapped in the flat where the family had always
lived, the two men entered an oblique new stage in
their relationship. Kid Gloves featured in many Books
of the Year lists at the end of 2015. In 1990, Cathy
Renzenbrinks brother was knocked down. Sitting
by his unconscious body in hospital, Cathy and her
parents willed him to survive. The Last Act of Love is
the story of what happened to Cathy and her brother,
a heart-breaking yet uplifting testament to a familys
survival and the price we pay for love.

Ben Rowlands, Aamer Anwar,


Naomi McAuliffe
AYE RIGHTS!

IAIN OVERTON
Gun Baby Gun
18.00 19.00| 9

18.00 19.00| 10

There are almost one billion guns across the globe


today more than ever before. There are 12 billion
bullets produced every year almost two bullets for
every person on this earth. And as many as 500,000
people are killed by them every year worldwide. Gun
Baby Gun takes the award-winning investigative
journalist Iain Overton on a shocking and eye-opening
journey to over 25 countries. He unearths some hard
truths about the terrible realities of war and gun
crime. Harrowing and sobering, its a riveting expos
that anyone with even the smallest interest in how the
world really works will want to read. Chaired by
Neil MacKay.

chaired by Prof. Willy Maley

We have all watched in horror as thousands of people


have been displaced from their homes by war and
famine. Come and join this debate on human rights
with particular reference to the refugee crisis. Ben
Rawlence is a former researcher for Human Rights
Watch and the author of City of Thorns, in which he
interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show
what life is like in the Dadaab refugee camp. Aamer
Anwar is a lawyer who is noted for his campaigning
on a range of issues including for the closure of
the Dungavel Detention Centre. Naomi McAuliffe is
Programme Director for Amnesty in Scotland.
Supported by Glasgow University.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 19

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

Jack Sutherland has led a truly remarkable life.


A confirmed alcoholic in his early teens, by his
twenties he was PA and bodyguard to the likes of
Michael Stipe, Ru Paul and Mickey Rourke. His work
exposed him to many lethal addictions; marijuana,
ecstasy and perhaps most damaging of all crystal
meth. On the verge of death and weighing only
nine stone, Jack is saved by his father, one of the
literary worlds most esteemed personalities John
Sutherland, Professor of English at UCL, and a former
Chair of the Man Booker Prize. Join father and son
as they discuss this extraordinary book with grim but
ultimately inspiring honesty. Chaired by Rodge Glass.

CATHY RENTZENBRINK
& ADAM MARS-JONES
Fathers and Brothers Disappearing
18.00 19.00| 9

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SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

TOM DEVINE
The Tannahill Lecture
19.30 21.00| 12
Restless Nation: Scotland 1999 to 2016 and Beyond.
There can be no relationship in Europes history
more creative, significant, vexed and uneasy than
that between Scotland and England. Tom Devines
seminal new book explores this extraordinary history
in all its ambiguity, from the seventeenth century
to the present. Scotland and England have broadly
benefitted from each others presence for long
periods nobody questioned the union which joined
them. But as Devine makes clear, it has for the most
part been a relationship based on consent, not force,
on mutual advantage, rather than antagonism and
it has always held the possibility of a political parting
of the ways.

DENISE MINA, JAMES OSWALD,


BROOKE MAGNANTI & LEYE ADENLE
Noir at the Bar
19.30 21.00| 10
Based on a popular format imported from the States,
Noir at the Bar Glasgow is delighted to bring its
occasionally chaotic, always entertaining series of
author appearances along with a special pop-up
bar to Aye Write and the Mitchell Library. Run by
crime writers Russel D McLean and Jay Stringer, Noir
at the Bar is an evening of readings, drinks and the
occasional, often unexpected, surprise. Were pleased
to welcome back Noir at the Bar Veterans Denise Mina
and James Oswald, along with new guests including
Brooke Magnanti, Leye Adenle, Emma L Clapperton
for a memorable evening that will delight fans of
crime fiction.

20 | AYE WRITE! 2016

Adrian Searle Introduces

JEM LESTER & LARA WILLIAMS


19.30 20.30| 6
Jem Lester was a journalist for nine years and saw
the Berlin Wall fall and though there, he denies
personal responsibility. He was also the last journalist
to interview Fred Zinnemann, before the director died.
He denies responsibility for that too. He does however
claim full responsibility for his debut novel Schtum
which tells of the complex relationship between a
single father and his autistic son. Lara Williams is a
graduate of the Manchester Writing School and has
published short fiction in McSweeneys, Guardian
and NME. She also played drums for the band Pins.
Her debut collection Treats is a break-up album which
mixes wry humour with a pervading sense
of alienation.

ADAM WHITE
Motown: The Sound of Young America
19.30 20.30| 9
When the Motown Revue played Glasgow in 1965
Scotland got a first-hand taste of the Detroit-based
independent record company which had become a
hugely successful production line of suave, sassy and
sophisticated music. Adam Whites book is packed
with fresh insights gleaned from scores of interviews
with key players, revealing the workings of the
Motown machine which delivered hit after hit in the
60s, 70s and 80s for Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson
& the Miracles, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Marvin
Gaye, the Jackson 5, the Temptations and
many more.

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WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

TUESDAY 15TH MARCH

GEORGE MONBIOT
How Did We Get Into This Mess?:
Politics, Equality, Nature
18.00 19.00| 10

DAVID F. ROSS with Bobby Bluebell,

Theresa Talbot & Colin McCredie

The Rise & Fall of the Miraculous Vespas


18:00 19.00| 9
Join David F.Ross, author of the critically acclaimed
The Last Days of Disco in conversation with BBC
presenter, Theresa Talbot (author of Penance) for
the launch of his new book The Rise & Fall Of The
Miraculous Vespas. Described by Stuart Cosgrove
as a madcap romp through the 1980s with Ayrshires
greatest band. It captures a world of indie rock and
attendant wallopers with hilarious lan.
Featuring a special guest appearance by the
Miraculous Vespas manager, Max Mojo (played by
Colin McCredie) and a live acoustic performance of
the bands legendary hit single, by Bobby Bluebell.

Sue Reid Sexton, needed to escape from her hectic


household to create some space to write. So she
got into her campervan and drove. In Writing on the
Road: Campervan Love and the Joy of Solitude Sue
explores her journeys over the last few years, and the
inspiration they brought. In Facing Forwards, Lorraine
Wilson tells of her journey through Europe in 2015.
Following years of poor health, financial meltdown,
heartbreak and bereavement, she needed to take time
and reassess her priorities and decided to travel it
became a life-changing three months

EDWARD LUCAS
Cyberphobia: Identity, Trust,
Security and the Internet
18:00 19.00| 9
Edward Lucas is a senior editor at the Economist. He
is a regular contributor to the Today programme and
Newsnight, where his expertise includes energy, cybersecurity, espionage and the politics and economics
of Eastern Europe. In his book Cyberphobia he lays
bare the issues surrounding internet security and with
our ever increasing dependence on smart-phones this
threat is unlikely to diminish. He also explores the most
successful defensive cyber-strategies, options for
tracking down transgressors and argues that we are
moving into a post-digital age where once again faceto-face communication will be the only interaction
that really matters.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 21

TUESDAY 15TH MARCH

The UKs Leading political and environmental


commentator talks about where we have gone wrong,
and what we can do about it.
How Did We Get into this Mess?, collects Georges
journalism over the last seven years, which looks
at: the devastation of our environment, the crisis of
inequality, the corporate takeover of Nature, our
obsessions with growth and profit and the decline
of the political debate over what to do. While his
diagnosis of the problems in front of us is clearsighted and reasonable, he also develops solutions
to challenge the politics of fear. Supported by
Strathclyde University.

SUE REID SEXTON & LORRAINE WILSON


Journeys of Solitude and Rediscovery
18:00 19.00| 9

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TUESDAY 15TH MARCH

TUESDAY 15TH MARCH

ALEX GRAY & BILL DALY


More Great Glasgow Crime
19.30 20.30| 9
Alex Gray is the co-founder of the Bloody Scotland
crime festival which takes place in September. We
are always pleased to see her here at Aye Write ,
especially when she has a brand new DCI William
Lorimer book out The Darkest Goodbye.
Bill Daly originally comes from Renfrew and spent
forty years living away from Scotland, he returned
to Glasgow in 2015. Black Mail, the first book in the
DCI Charlie Anderson series, is a contemporary,
Glasgow-based, crime novel that explores a world of
drugs, blackmail, violence and murder. It was followed
by Double Mortice and he will be here reading from
the third in the series, Cutting Edge. Chaired by
Michael Malone.

GRAEME MACRAE BURNET


& PETER ARNOTT
Murdering the Genre
19.30 20.30| 9
We think youll enjoy this pair of smart literary
mysteries that defy the conventions of traditional
crime novels. Graeme Macrae Burnet has lived in
Prague, Bordeaux, Porto and London. His Bloody
Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick
Macrae concerns a triple murder in a crofting village
in 1860s Wester Ross. Peter Arnott is a successful
playwright whose plays have been performed in
London, Moscow, Melbourne and New York. Moon
Country is a wild and woolly Scottish Western,
a family road movie, a slightly insane hermeneutic
treatise on nationhood and belonging, and
a definitely lunatic quest for personal redemption.

JACKIE KAY
A Modern Classic
19.30 20.30| 9

THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES


How I Went From Pop to Pulpit
19.30 20.30| 10

To celebrate the publication of the Picador Classic


edition of her novel Trumpet (with a new introduction
by Ali Smith), we are pleased to welcome back the
fabulous poet, playwright, novelist, childrens author
and broadcaster, Jackie Kay. Jackie is going to read
from a selection of her work including her recent
collection of short stories Reality, Reality and her most
recent collection of poetry, The Empathetic Store.

Fathomless Riches is warm, witty and wise memoir


of popular BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live presenter and
former member of the Communards, the Reverend
Richard Coles. It is an extraordinary book in which
he divulges with searing honesty and intimacy his
pilgrimage from a rock-and-roll life of sex and drugs
in the Communards to one devoted to God and
Christianity. The result is one of the most disarmingly
frank and utterly charming biographies of recent
times, and one which has the power to console as well
as shock. Chaired by Peter Ross.

22 | AYE WRITE! 2016

FAMILY DAY

5 MARCH 2016

Family Day. A mix of Free and Ticketed events

WEEWRITE.CO.UK
ayewrite

Aye Write

SATURDAY 5TH MARCH

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THE CROCODIAMOND
10am 11am| 5

SHARK IN THE PARK ON A WINDY DAY


10.15am 11.15am| 5

Join Debi Gliori, the best-selling author and illustrator


of No Matter What, Stormy Weather, The Trouble with
Dragons and the Witch Baby series (among others),
and musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra,
for an interactive art and music filled session. Debi
has recently been working with pupils from Sandaig
Primary, Glasgow to create images to accompany
the Scottish Chamber Orchestras performance of
The Crocodiamond. Come along to hear some of the
music which inspired her and to get drawing yourself.
In partnership with Edinburgh International Book
Festival and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Nick Sharrat has won numerous awards for his


fantastic illustrations and has illustrated over 200
books, including over 40 for Jaqueline Wilson. Join
Nick to hear about his latest, brilliantly bold and bright
picture book, Shark in the Park on a Windy Day, his
first ever collection of crazy poems Vikings in the
Supermarket, and pick up top drawing tips too from
How to Draw the World of Jacqueline Wilson. There
will be lots of drawing, plenty of inventive word play
and an abundance of silliness.

Age 4 10 years

Families with children 5 8 years

FAERIE GLEN
10am 10.45pm & 11am 11.45am| 5
Come to the Mitchell Librarys Faerie Glen where
Jasper the Elf looks forward to meeting you. There will
be a story to hear, games to play and faeries to catch!
Activities delivered by Experiential Play.

Ages 3 6 years

STAY & PLAY WITH


EARLY YEARS SCOTLAND
10.15am 11.15am,
12noon 1pm, 1.45pm 2.45pm| 5
Enjoy time playing together, while discovering lots of
ways to support and encourage your childs learning
with play activities that enable young minds to grow.

Ages 0 5 years

24 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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THUMBLE TUMBLE AND THE OLIPHEIST


10.15am 11.15am| 5

BADGER THE MYSTICAL MUTT


1.30pm 2.30pm| 5

Thumble Tumble features the adventures of a little


witch and is set in Arran. Hear about witches, deer
folk and sea dragons, then join a treasure hunt to find
ingredients for the witches potion. Witch costumes
welcome!

Meet the toast-crunching canine star of the childrens


series of books. The legendary pooch will be live
and in the fur, attempting some skew-wiff magic*
and shaking his giant maracas, with high-fives, high
paws, paw-tographs and lots of cheeky tail-wagging.
Authors McNicol & Jackson will read from series one.
Expect plenty of mayhem, mischief and music. Its sure
to be Pawesome!

Families of all ages

GORILLA LOVES VANILLA


10.30am 11.30am| 5

Age 4 7 years

MAC AND BOB:


THE PARTY SURPRISE
11.45am 12.45pm| 5
Mac the farmer and his dog Bob are invited to a party.
They love parties! But first they have a big problem
to solve. Join Mac, played by author Alan Windram,
for this lively interactive event, with lots of fun, storytelling, visuals and singing, and plenty of audience
participation. Look out for the flying carrots!

Age 3 7 years

FROM THE VILLAGE OF LUMP


TO THE LAND OF OOO
12noon 1pm| 5
Join award-winning author Barry Hutchison, as he
explores fantasy worlds from the land of Ooo to the
village of Lump. Shriek in fear (and laughter) as he
unleashes the terrifying Shark-Headed Bear-Thing,
Swivel-Eyed Ogre-Thing and Moon-Faced GhoulThing, then test your knowledge as he takes you
through his Algebraic A-Z of the Cartoon Network
series. Fun for adults, children, and shape-shifting
dogs of all ages.

KNIFE AND PACKER


12noon 1pm| 5
Come along and meet the duo behind the amazingly
disgusting Fleabag Monkeyface series! Knife and
Packer will perform a high energy madcap show
based on their hilarious books. The duo love meeting
their readers and fans and cant wait for this visit to
Glasgow!

Age 5 8 years

GIANTS AND PEACHES WITH WITCHES


AND BEASTIES!
1.30pm 2.30pm| 5
Macastorys Ron and Fergus bring you stories inspired
by the tales and characters of the great Roald Dahl
in a highly interactive performance of theatrical
storytelling, perfect for young story enthusiasts
and families alike. Well meet nasty old witches,
quarrelsome giants and an enormous peach with a
surprise inside! With interactive performance, shadow
puppetry, song and drama, Macastory create an hour
of highly engaging entertainment that will have young
readers enthused and raring to read!

Suitable for families all ages

BIG GAELIC BEASTIES!


1.45pm 2.45pm| 5
Learn about some of the greatest Big Beasties of
traditional Gaelic storytelling lore, such as the Water
Horse, the Urisk, King of the Otters and the FiveHeaded Giant! Take part in a rambunctious adventure
through Highland Bens & Glens as the Kings Son and
Daughter, guided by their magical Two-Tailed Cat, set
out to find and save their parents from the grip of the
Five-Headed Giant & get their breakfast!

Age 8 11 years

THE SCIENCE OF STAR WARS


1.45pm 2.45pm| 5
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away
Star Wars conjures up images of spaceships, superweapons, and all sorts of visions of the future. Author
Mark Brake and TV science presenter Jon Chase
probe the fantastic frontier between movie magic
and cutting-edge science in a high energy session for
all the family, inspired by one of the most successful
epics in entertainment history. Prepare to find out just
how strong the force is.

Age 7 +

Ages 7 + years

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 25

SATURDAY 5TH MARCH

Award winning picture book author Chae Strathie;


think Jumblebum and The Loon on The Moon, is
a regular fixture at book festivals with his lively,
fun sessions. Chae will preview his very latest book
Gorilla Loves Vanilla, a deliciously funny tale set in
Little Sams Sundae ice-cream shop. Find out why
Gorilla just loves plain old vanilla!

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WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

DRAW IT, COLOUR IT: CREATURES!


3.15pm 4.15pm| 5

TODDLERS TALES
11.45am 12.30pm| FREE

Take part in our fabulous mass draw and colour


event using images from Macmillan publishers
Draw It, Colour it: Creatures book which features
drawings from some of the best loved childrens book
illustrators. Led by students from Glasgows School
of Art, this lively session will spark your imagination
and creativity.

Toddlers Tales is a fun, interactive, activity for parents,


carers and children aged 3-5 years to enjoy together
giving them the opportunity to enjoy physical play
and help the child build vocabulary and knowledge.

All ages

SATURDAY 5TH MARCH

CORPSE TALK!
3.15pm 4.15pm| 5
Adam Murphys comic Corpse Talk series sees
famous people from the past dug up to offer an
undead chat show! Learn how to design and
produce your own undead-infested comic in
this hands-on workshop.

For comic fans 9 years plus!

THE SCIENCE OF DOCTOR WHO


3.30pm 4.30pm| 5
Space and time, Cybermen and Daleks, Utopias and
killer computers: take a fun-filled journey through
the fantastic worlds of The Doctor. With raps, facts
and much merriment and mirth, join author and
communicator of science, Mark Brake and Science
Rapper Jon Chase to explore the Universe of
Doctor Who.

Age 7 +

BIG FRIENDLY FUN


3.30pm 4.30pm| 5
A feast of Dahl inspired fun to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the master storytellers birth. Create
your very own Dahlesque character, take part in
crafts and play Dahl Bingo. Do you know your
Rhyming stews from your Wonka sweets? Test your
knowledge in our Roald Dahl trivia quiz, especially
designed for twits, witches and Charlies to enjoy!

Age 7 11 years

DROP IN & FREE ACTIVITIES


THE BIG FRIENDLY CORNER
All Day drop in| FREE
Time between events? Relax and chill in our Big
Friendly Corner. Recite Revolting Rhymes, devour
Dahls books, colour-in, make bookmarks and more

BOUNCE & RHYME


10.30am 11.15am & 1.45pm 2.30pm
FREE
Action songs, rhyme-time and stories for parents/
carers and little ones to enjoy together.

Ages 0 2 years

26 | AYE WRITE! 2016

Ages 2 3 years

CODERDOJO@WEE WRITE
1pm 4pm| FREE
If you like writing stories but wish you didnt have
to choose just one way for a story to end, join this
workshop. Discover how to use computer code to write
a story with lots of different endings, which you can
put online for your friends to read.

Age 12 16 years

PLAY, TALK, READ BUS


10am 4pm| FREE
situated outside The Mitchell
Jump aboard the Play, Talk, Read bus Benji, to listen
to stories, join in with rhymes and get involved in some
messy play.

Ages 0 5 years

THE ROAMING STORYTELLER


Popping up and around throughout the day
FREE
Our wandering minstrel, Renita Boyle, will entertain
and amuse with stories and silly songs throughout the
day! Where will she pop up? What will she sing?
Keep a look out and you are sure to be hooked!

All ages

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

RUTH DUDLEY EDWARDS


The Seven
18.00 19.00| 9

Leila Aboulelas work has been translated into 14


languages and has won several prizes including;
The Caine Prize for African Writing and the fiction
prize at The Scottish Book awards. Her new novel The
Kindness of Enemies moves back and forth between
present day Scotland and nineteenth century Russia.
Told with Aboulelas inimitable elegance and narrated
from the point of view of both the narrator, Natasha
and the historical characters she is researching, The
Kindness of Enemies is both an engrossing story of
a provocative period in history and an important
examination of what it is to be a Muslim in a post 9/11
world. Chaired by Kate Tough.

On Easter Sunday, 23 April 1916, the seven members


of the Irish Republican Brotherhoods military council
declared themselves to be the provisional government
of an Ireland free from British rule. In doing so, each of
them had knowingly signed his own death warrant. In
the decades that followed, these men were eulogized
and used as political weapons by many, but today
there is an increasing recognition that its time for an
honest discussion of the Easter Rising and its legacy.
Esteemed columnist and historian Ruth Dudley
Edwards examines how Irelands founding fathers
came to espouse violence and asks whether they had
a coherent vision for Ireland or if they were, as some
allege, a collection of fanatical misfits and failures.
Chaired by Peter Geoghegan.

HOLLIE MCNISH
Nobody Told Me
18.00 19.00| 9

ED HAWKINS
Inside Footballs Slave Trade
18.00 19.00| 9

There were many things Hollie McNish didnt know


before she was pregnant. How family and friends
would react; that Mr Whippy would be off the menu.
These were on top of the many other things she didnt
know about babies: how to do a poetry gig with your
baby as a member of the audience; how drumnbass
can make a great lullaby. And thats before you even
start on toddlers. But Hollie learned. And shes still
learning, slowly. Nobody Told Me is a collection of
poems and stories on raising a child in modern Britain,
and of finding secret places to scream once in a while.
Chaired Chitra Ramaswamy.

From South America and Africa, kids as young as 13


are leaving poverty-stricken families for a new life in
Europe, having been sold the vision of untold riches
and the trappings of professional football. This is
footballs slave trade the beautiful game turned
ugly. Having spent their familys life savings, only
a few of the hopefuls have the chance of getting a
professional contract. With no money to go home the
Lost Boys often find themselves with crime as their
only means of survival.
Award-winning sports writer Ed Hawkins new
book The Lost Boys is investigative journalism at its
best: shocking, moving, and hoping to make a real
difference. Sponsored by Turcan Connell.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 27

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

LEILA ABOULELA
The Kindness of Enemies
18.00 19.00| 9

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH


SCOTLAND_EASTER RISING_Scotland & the Easter Rising Qrk 21/12/2015 17:00 Page 1

From the Introduction by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley

On Easter Monday 1916, leaders of a rebellion against British


rule over Ireland proclaimed the establishment of an Irish
Republic. Lasting only six days before surrender to the British,
this landmark event nevertheless laid the foundations for
Irelands violent path to Independence. It is little known that
James Connolly, one of the rebellions leaders, was born in
Edinburghs Cowgate, at the time nicknamed Little Ireland, or
that another key figure in the events of Easter 1916 was a young
woman from Coatbridge, Margaret Skinnider. These and other
surprising Scottish connections are explored in Scotland and the
Easter Rising, as Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley gather together a
rich grouping of writers, journalists and academics to examine,
for the first time, the Scottish dimension to the events of 1916
and its continued resonance in Scotland today.
ALLAN ARMSTRONG RICHARD BARLOW IAN BELL ALAN BISSETT
JOSEPH M BRADLEY RAY BURNETT STUART CHRISTIE HELEN CLARK
MARIA-DANIELLA DICK DES DILLON PETER GEOGHEGAN
PEARSE HUTCHINSON SHAUN KAVANAGH BILLY KAY PHIL KELLY
AARON KELLY JAMES KELMAN KIRSTY LUSK KEVIN MCKENNA
WILLY MALEY RICHARD B McCREADY NIALL OGALLAGHER

I came to realise [James Connolly]


was of primary importance, and
that his life is at the heart of the
radical history of Britain and
Ireland.
JAMES KELMAN

The Irish past summons us


provided we keep it as tutor not
as jailer. The Scottish future can
remain one of ideals provided we
blunt their agency for hurt As
the contributors to this book
show, Scotlands interaction with
Dublins Easter Rising takes
various possible forms from then
and now, above all in the genius
of Connolly, child of our capital
city who so long denied its
paternity The Easter Rising
was tragedy, comedy and poetry,
games deadly serious and
seriousness turned into game.
From the Afterword
OWEN DUDLEY EDWARDS

ALISON OMALLEY-YOUNGER ALAN RIACH KEVIN ROONEY

Luath Press Ltd.


543/2 Castlehill
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh EH1 2ND

www.luath.co.uk
HISTORY AND POLITICS

UK 12.99
US $24.95

Jim Carruth introduces

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

HELEN MORT & REBECCA PERRY


19.30 20.30| 6
Glasgows Poet Laureate, Jim Carruth, welcomes two
distinctive new poetry voices to Aye Write! Helen Mort
was born in Sheffield in 1985. In 2014, she completed
her Doctorate and her BlogSpot `Poetry on the Brain`
was one of the Picador `Best Poetry Blogs` choices.
Her latest collection Division Street was shortlisted
for the Costa Book Awards and the T.S. Eliot Prize.
Rebecca Perry was born in London. She graduated
from Manchesters Centre for New Writing in 2008.
Her first book-length collection, Beauty/Beauty, a
Poetry Book Society Recommendation, is shortlisted
for the 2015 T.S. Eliot Prize. Presented in association
with St Mungos Mirrorball.

Edited by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley


with an afterword by
Owen Dudley Edwards

Featuring a mix of fiction, memoir, poetry and essays, this book


provides a thought-provoking and necessary negotiation of
historical and contemporary Irish-Scottish relations, and
explores the Easter Risings intersections with other movements,
from Womens Suffrage to the 2014 Scottish Independence
Referendum.

FRONT COVER IMAGE: THE SHELL OF THE G.P.O. ON SACKVILLE STREET


(LATER O'CONNELL STREET), DUBLIN IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1916 RISING
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND; BACK COVER IMAGE:
JAMES CONNOLLY ADDRESSES A MAY DAY RALLY IN UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK,
COURTESY OF THE US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DESIGN: TOM BEE

MICHAEL SHAW IRVINE WELSH OWEN DUDLEY EDWARDS

scotland and the easter rising

The story of the Rising is still


being told, and in these pages the
reader will find much to ponder,
much to discuss, and much to
disagree with.

scotland
anD the

easter rising
Fresh Perspectives on 1916

Edited by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley


with an afterword by Owen Dudley Edwards

James Kelman, Kirsty Lusk, Sean Bell,


Dr Maria-Daniella Dick & Willy Maley

SCOTLAND AND THE EASTER RISING


19.30 20.30| 9
In the year when we will be commemorating the
centenary, Scotland and the Easter Rising, brings
together writers, journalists and academics to reflect
on the part played by Scotland in The Easter Rising,
a defining moment in Irish history. But 1916 also
matters for Scotland, for the Irish in Scotland, and
for Irish-Scottish relations. Edinburgh-born James
Connolly was one of the leaders of the Rising, and
a signatory to the Proclamation of the Irish
Republic on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. Join this
distinguished panel of contributors to the book for
what promises to be a lively discussion.

RICHARD GORDON & DAVID FARRELL


Tales from the Dugout, and from a Taxi
19.30 20.30| 9

KAT ARNEY AND OLIVER JAMES


Understanding Genetics
19.30 20.30| 9

Broadcaster and Journalist Richard Gordons Tales


from the Dugout is a collection of memories gathered
from managers, players, referees and supporters
which encapsulates the unique environment of the
technical area and reveals how even minor exposure
to it can transform characters unrecognisably.
Currently assistant manager at St. Mirren, David
Farrells football career has taken him to 12 clubs and
given him a unique insight into the realities of the
game. In Taxi for Farrell his stops at Hibernian, Partick
Thistle, Clydebank, Albion Rovers and Gretna deliver
footballing tales told by someone who has reclaimed
the term journeyman as one of pride.

The language of genes has become common


parlance. We know they make your eyes blue, your
hair curly or your nose straight. The media tells us
that our genes control the risk of cancer, alcoholism
or Alzheimers and gene-based advances in medicine
hold huge promise.
So weve all heard of genes, but how do they
actually work? Is it all in our genes or is it all due to
our upbringing? Join Kat Arney, authour of Herding
Hemingways Cats: Understanding How Our Genes
Work and Oliver James Not In Your Genes: The real
reasons children are like their parents, as they unravel
the truths and contradictions of nature verses nurture.

28 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

19.30 20.30| 10

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

PATRICK HARVIE MSP


The Books That Made Me
18.00 19.00| 10
In todays The Books That Made Me slot is Patrick
Harvie, Scottish Green Party Co-Convenor. Patrick
was elected as a regional MSP for Glasgow in May
2003. Before Parliament he worked in the sexual
health field, for PHACE Scotland (now part of the
Terrence Higgins Trust) and had brief stints at a
recycling charity, a phone line for teenagers, and the
Inland Revenue.
Hes been involved with issues from asylum
and civil liberties to sexual health and food policy
and was a very high profile presence throughout
the Yes campaign in the independence referendum.
Hes a science fiction fan so expect there to be some
SF in his choices of his favourite books. Chaired by
Clare English.

GRAHAM FAGEN & LOUISE WELSH


Come into the Garden,
and Forget about the War
18.00 19.00| 9
Graham Fagen, one of Glasgows most accomplished
artists, discusses his new exhibition Come into the
Garden, and forget about the War with Louise Welsh.
Grahams exhibition represented Scotland at the 56th
International Art Exhibition, the Venice Biennale in 2015
and will be opening at Hostpitalfield, Arbroath on
19 March.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 29

THURSDAY 17TH FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

DAVID AARONOVITCH

Party Animals:
Growing Up Communist

In July 1961, just before David Aaronovitchs seventh


birthday, Yuri Gagarin came to London. The Russian
cosmonaut was everything the Aaronovitch family
wished for a popular and handsome embodiment of
modern communism. In writing his book Party Animals
David looked back through his own memories of
belief and action, he also found himself studying old
secret service files, uncovering the unspoken shame
and fears that provided the unconscious background
to his own existence. Only then did he begin to
understand what had come before both
the obstinate heroism and the monstrous cowardice.
And the elements that shape our fondest beliefs.
Chaired by Ruth Wishart.

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

IAN BUXTON
Glasgow Vs Edinburgh in
the Great Gin Tasting Contest
18.00 19.00| 10
Were in the middle of a new Gin Craze. Scarcely
a day goes by without an established brand offering
a fresh take on their established styles or, more likely,
a new boutique distillery opening its doors from
Adnams to Zuidam; Beefeater to Bombay and London
to Plymouth (and beyond). Ian Buxton has been to
Aye Write! before with his whisky books, but hes
changing his drink for 101 Gins to Try Before You Die,
an authoritative guide to the world of gin. There will
be a tasting too pitting the Edinburgh Gin Distillery
against Makar Glasgow Gin.

SINAD MORRISSEY
PRIZE WINNING POETRY
18.00 19.00| 6
Aye Write! welcomes TS Eliot Prize winner, Sinad
Morrissey, to read at the festival. Sinads fifth
collection of poems, Parallax, won the prestigious
award in 2014. After periods living in Japan and New
Zealand she now lives in Belfast, where she has been
writer-in-residence at Queens University, Belfast.
Chaired by Jim Carruth.

SIMON SCARROW & BEN KANE


Roman Tales
18.00 19.00| 9

DANNY DORLING & OWEN HATHERLEY


Austerity and Inequality
19.30 20.30| 9

Two of the leading writers of fiction based in the


Roman Empire discuss their latest books
In Ben Kanes Hunting the Eagles five long years
have passed since the annihilation of three legions in
the wilds of Germania. The bones of 15,000 soldiers
now moulder in the Teutoburg Forest. Demoted,
battle-scarred and hell-bent on revenge, Centurion
Tullus and his legionaries begin their fightback.
Simon Scarrows veteran Roman soldier heroes
face a cunning and relentless enemy in Britannia.
Roman Britain, AD 52. The western tribes prepare to
make a stand. But can they match the discipline and
courage of the legionaries? Chaired by
Douglas Skelton.

Since 2008 the top 1% of the population has grown


richer while the rest find life increasingly tough. The
gap between the haves and the have-nots has turned
into a chasm. In Inequality and the 1%, Danny Dorling
lays bare the true cost of the division in our society
and asks what have the superrich ever done for us?
In his witty polemic, The Ministry of Nostalgia:
Consuming Austerity award-winning critic Owen
Hatherley questions the ways we have adopted the
gospel of luxurious poverty: from ubiquitous Keep
Calm and Carry On posters, the commercialization
of thrift, the added value of artisanal, and the selling
of a make do and mend aesthetic.

30 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

Thatcher Stole My Trousers


19.30 20.30| 10

ROSIE NIXON & JENNY COLGAN


Retail Therapy in Fiction
19.30 20.30| 9
Rosie Nixons The Stylist is a fast-paced, fun-packed
rummage through the ultimate dressing up box! When
Amber Green, a shop assistant in an exclusive London
boutique is plucked from obscurity and mistakenly
offered a job working with Mona Armstrong, the
infamous, jet-setting stylist to the stars, she hits the
ground running, helping to style some of Hollywoods
hottest (and craziest) starlets.
In Jenny Colgans The Little Shop of Happily Ever
After, Nina is given a back-room computer job when
the beloved Birmingham library she works in turns
into a downsized retail complex. Then a new business
nobody else wants catches her eye: owning a tiny
little bookshop bus up in the Scottish highlands.

Alan Bissett introduces

DAVID SAVILL & ALEC CONNON


19.30 20.30| 6
Two debut novels with a distinctly political edge to
them. Having worked as a teacher in Srebrenica
during the Bosnian war, David Savill went on to
work for the BBC, contributing to Panorama, The
World at One and PM. They Are Trying to Break Your
Heart, follows the story of a Bosnian man who seeks
the truth about his childhood friend as a Human
Rights Researcher discovers her own truths. In Alec
Connons The Activist what begins as a typical gap
year for Thomas Durant leads to his involvement
and participation in animal rights activism, from his
first steps into the life of an activist in Vancouver, to
his battles with the Japanese whaling fleet in the
Southern Ocean.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 31

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

ALEXEI SAYLE

In his memoir Thatcher Stole My Trousers, one of


our most enduringly popular comedians chronicles
a time when comedy and politics came together in
electrifying ways. He recounts the opening season
of the Comedy Store, his experiences with Alternative
Cabaret, the Comic Strip and the Young Ones, and
his friendships with the comedians who, like him would
soon become household names.
This unique and beguiling blend of social history
and memoir is funny, angry and entertaining, it is a
story of class and comedy, politics and love, fast cars
and why its difficult to foul a dwarf in a game
of football.

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

JOANNA BLYTHMAN & BEE WILSON


Are We What We Eat?
12.00 13.00| 9

METAPHROG
Discover the Curse of The Red Shoes!
12.00 13.00| 6

What really goes into the food we eat? Journalist


and broadcaster Joanna Blythman felt she had
unanswered questions about the food we consume
every day. Swallow This is a fascinating exploration
of the food processing industry and its products
which give an utterly eye-opening account of what
were really swallowing. Bee Wilsons First Bite draws
on current research from both neuroscience and
psychology, and the authors experience parenting
three children and visiting numerous school canteens,
as well as talking to dieticians, biologists and
consumer researchers, to look at where our food
habits come from; and what it would really take to
change them for the better.

Multiple award-nominated Metaphrog (John


Chalmers and Sandra Marrs) are one of Scotlands
best established and acclaimed graphic novelists.
They will discuss their career to date and their genredefying graphic novel, The Red Shoes and Other
Tales, a dark and dazzling collection of timeless
adaptions from Hans Christian Andersen.

SARAH TURNER AND


CHITRA RAMASWAMY
The Lowdown on Motherhood
12.00 13.00| 9
Sarah Turner (The Unmumsy Mum) writes candidly
about motherhood like it really is andhow it is
sometimes absolutely fine to not know what you are
doing. The lessons shes learnt while grappling with
two small boys from birth to teething, 3am night
feeds to toddler tantrums will have you roaring with
laughter and taking great comfort in the fact that its
definitely not just you
Chitra Ramaswamy is an award-winning journalist
whose Expecting: The Inner Life of a Pregnancy is a
memoir exploring each of the nine months of Chitras
pregnancy, and contains elements of narrative nonfiction, travel and nature writing and biology.

32 | AYE WRITE! 2016

LGBT COMIC MART 12 5pm

A unique opportunity to buy comics and


chat with a host of comic writers and
artists from throughout the UK about their
work. Well also be offering live illustration
opportunities for budding artists of all ages.

CHRIS BRUCE
The Five-a-side Bible
12.00 13.00| 9
If you play football, the chances are you play
5-a-side its by far the most popular version of the
game in the UK. But its much more than that: its an
unbeatable fitness regime, its a social club, its an
elite sport, it is what we do when we get too old for
jumpers for goalposts.
The Five-a-side Bible tells the whole story.
Theres sports science, the low-down on tactics and
nutrition, how to use warm-ups and warm-downs. But
theres also the fun side of fives: crazy team names,
outlandish excuses for not playing, kit disasters and a
bucket list of the worlds most iconic 5-a-side pitches.
Chaired by publisher Martin Greig.

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

FRANCES QUINN

in conversation with Alysa Levene

Quinntessentially Great Baking


13.30 14.30| 10

DEAN BURNETT
The Idiot Brain
13.30 14.30| 9
Neuroscientist and a stand-up comedian Dr Dean
Burnetts The Idiot Brain tells us everything we
ever wanted to know about our grey matter. From
attention mechanisms to memory processing,
the neuroscience of sleep and the psychology of
superstition, the surprising workings of the brain and
the bemusing behaviours these cause in everyday life.
Unpredictable and entertaining, Burnett explains
why memory is like a doting mother, why tall people
are more intelligent, why criticism is more powerful
than praise, how glass of wine can refresh your
memory, and why you cant be a little bit OCD.

St Kilda: The Last and Outmost Isle combines the


results of the most detailed archaeological survey of
the islands ever undertaken, complete with rare and
previously unpublished images of the archipelago
and its people.
Authors George Geddes and Angela Gannon
spent over nine months living and working on the
islands as part of an eight-year project to research
its rich and diverse history. George Geddes will be
discussing their survey in a wonderful illustrated talk.
Chaired by Russel McLean.

Outspoken Arts Scotland


& Unthank Comics presents

STEVE ORLANDO
The Midnighter
13.30 14.30| 9

Steve Orlandos first book ever was poorly drawn, in


a fifth-grade classroom, pencils on Xerox paper, and
featured a doughboy with superpowers, and names
changed for trademark purposes. He was a precocious
child. Today he writes and produces comics, including
VIRGIL, Undertow and stories in the Eisner Award
Nominated Outlaw Territory at Image Comics. He
recently published Midnighter as well as taking part
in Batman and Robin Eternal and CMYK: Yellow at DC
Entertainment. Steve will be talking and answering
questions about his work and what the world of comics
looks like for LGBT creators and characters. Afterwards,
Steve will join us for a panel discussion with local writers
and illustrators.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 33

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

Frances Quinn wowed the judges with her imaginative


showstoppers and extraordinary baking skill to win
The Great British Bake Off. Her book is wittily titled
Quinntessential Baking and its a treasure trove of
inspirational ideas to bring a spark of creativity and
a teaspoon of wonder into your kitchen. Frances
combination of ideas and ingredients gives you
straightforward master recipes or building blocks,
and she explains how to apply a little magic to turn
them into beautiful bakes. She will be in conversation
with Alysa Levene, whose new book is Cake: A Slice
of History.

GEORGE GEDDES
St Kilda: The Last and Outmost Isle
13.30 14.30| 9

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

MAGNUS MACFARLANE-BARROW
The Shed that Fed a Million Children
15.00 16.00| 9
In 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow had an idea
that would change his life and radically change
the lives of others.
Magnus tells how a series of miraculous
circumstances and an overwhelming display of love
from those around him led to the creation of Marys
Meals; an organisation that could hold the key to
eradicating child hunger altogether. This humble,
heart-warming yet powerful story has never been
more relevant in our society of plenty and privilege.
It will open your eyes to the extraordinary impact
that one person can make.

ALAN GRANT, FRANK QUITELY


& METAPHROG
The Many Faces of Scottish Comics
15.00 16.00| 9
Four leading comic creators get together for a lively
discussion on their contributions to the history of
Scottish comics and the rise of the graphic novel.
Veteran writer and editor Alan Grant became famous
with Judge Dread and Batman. Star artist Frank
Quitely (New X-men, All-Star Superman) has teamedup with the top industry writers. Pioneering graphic
novelists John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs, aka
Metaphrog (The Red Shoes and Other Tales) broke
new ground with their quirky Louis series. Join them
for what promises to be a fascinating exploration of
the state of comic art and a look at Scotlands lasting
impact. Chaired by Stuart Kelly.

PROFESSOR A.C. GRAYLING


Progress in Troubled Times:
Learning from The Age of Genius
15.00 16.00| 10

GILLIAN SLOVO
& HELEN FITZGERALD
Topical, Page-turning Thrillers
15.00 16.00| 9

Best-selling author A.C. Grayling explains how,


fuelled by original and unorthodox thinking, war
and technological invention, the seventeenth
century became the crucible of modernity. A century
which saw the execution of a king, the painstaking
observation and astronomy of Galileo, Descartess
attempt to square the new philosophy with religious
belief and Newton, the man who understood gravity
and the laws of motion, still fascinated to the end of
his life by alchemy. By the end of that tumultuous
century the greatest ever change in the mental
outlook of humanity had irrevocably taken place.

Gillian Slovo has published a family memoir and


13 novels including the Orange Prize-shortlisted
Ice Road. Her latest, Ten Days takes an unflinching
look at how lives are ruined and careers are made
when small misjudgements have profound effects on
frustrated communities and damaged individuals. This
game-changing novel is as gripping as it is culturally
significant. Helen Fitzgerald has worked as a criminal
justice social worker for over ten years. Her last
novel, The Cry was longlisted for the Theakstons Old
Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. Her latest, Viral looks
at the contemporary nightmare scenario of our most
personal moments being shared online.

34 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

SVETLANA STEPHENSON
Gangs of Russia
16.30 17.30| 9

Willie Rennie is the current Leader of the Scottish


Liberal Democrats. He was brought up in Strathmiglo,
and studied at Paisley College of Technology, and
Glasgow College. He became the MP for Dunfermline
and West Fife in February 2006 and was elected to
the Scottish Parliament in 2011. Willie will be telling
us about the key books that have influenced and
entertained him over the years. Chaired by
Clare English.

In Gangs of Russia, Svetlana Stephenson explores


the secretive world of Russian gangs since their
spectacular rise in the 1990s. Using in-depth interviews
with gang members, law enforcers, and residents in
the city of Kazan, together with analyses of historical
and sociological accounts from across Russia, she
presents the history of gangs both before and after
the arrival of market capitalism.
Contrary to predominant notions of gangs as
collections of maladjusted delinquents or illegal
enterprises, Stephenson argues, Russian gangs
should be seen as traditional, close-knit male groups
with deep links to their communities.

MEG ROSOFF
Jonathan Unleashed
16.30 17.30| 9

Louise Welsh Introduces

Meg Rosoff grew up in (a suburb of) Boston and


moved to London in 1989. Her first novel, How I Live
Now, sold over one million copies and was recently
made into a film. Her novels have won or been
shortlisted for twenty international awards. Meg will
be discussing her first novel for adults, Jonathan
Unleashed. (a story of) Jonathan Trefoil doesnt
remember life being this confusing back in the good
old days before everyone expected him to act like a
person. Will he get out of advertising, meet the girl
of his dreams and figure out the gender of his secret
crush? Given how its going so far, probably not.

ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY


& LORNA GIBB
16.30 17.30| 6
Louise Welsh introduces two debuts with a gothic feel.
In Andrew Michael Hurleys The Loney, two brothers
and their family visits the same sacred shrine on
a desolate strip of coastline known as the Loney
every year. Many years later the Loney reveals its
dark secrets. Lorna Gibbs A Ghosts Story presents
the mysterious spirit writings and biographical
outpourings of Katie King, this famous and enigmatic
spirit celebrity. Is she a profound and curious
consciousness guided into this realm by the faith of
true believers, or the cheap trickery of parlour cheats
and exploitative swindlers?

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 35

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

WILLIE RENNIE MSP


The Books That Made Me
16.30 17.30| 10

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

PAUL MASON & NICK SRNICEK


PostCapitalism
18.00 19.00| 10
Paul Mason is one of Britains most recognisable
voices on the economy, culture and politics. He is the
award-winning Economics Editor of Channel 4 News.
In his ground-breaking book, Postcapitalism, Mason
shows how, from the ashes of the recent financial
crisis, we have the chance to create a more socially
just and sustainable global economy. Moving beyond
capitalism, he shows, is no longer a utopian dream.
Nick Srniceks book, Inventing the Future (written with
Alex Williams) envisages a post-capitalist economy
which is capable of advancing living standards,
liberating humanity from work, and developing
technologies which free us from biological and
environmental constraints.

MATTHEW GREEN & HARRY PARKER


The Anatomy and Psychology
of a Soldier
18.00 19.00| 9
Fiction and non-fiction combine in this event exploring
what it is to be a soldier and the cost it brings. What
happens when soldiers come back from war, having
lost their friends and killed their enemies, having seen
and done things that have no place in civilian life? In
Aftershock, Matthew Green tells the story of veterans
journey from frontline to the reality of return. Harry
Parkers Anatomy of a Soldier is a novel of patriotism,
trauma, stoicism, and profound humanism that
will immediately take its place as a classic of men at
war and the repercussions at home. Harry served in
Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in 2009. Presented in
association with S.M.H.A.F.F.

ROBERT NEWMAN
The Entirely Accurate Encyclopaedia
of Evolution
18.00 19.00| 9

DAVID BELBIN, DAVID MARK,


LUCA VESTE
Northern Powerhouse Crime
18.00 19.00| 9

In this witty, fact-packed A-Z, Robert Newman takes


the reader on a whirlwind tour from caring, sharing
vampire bats to intelligent slime-mould; from pacifist
baboons to Richard Dawkins wrestling naked with his
postman; from the invisibility cloak of the Hawaiian
bobtail squid to Francis DNA Cricks belief that life
on earth began with alien spaceships.
The host of a popular Radio 4 series, the first
comedian (with David Baddiel) to play Wembley
Arena and the only comedian ever credited in a paper
published in the science journal Nature, Newman
explores how stunning scientific breakthroughs have
turned received ideas of evolution upside-down.

Join three crime writers from the North of England


as they discuss their novels. In David Marks Dead
Pretty the murder of two girls in Hull and the dropping
of the murder charge against the prime suspect is
the catalyst for a story of revenge and betrayal.
David Belbins Nottingham set The Great Deception
sees dark political intrigue mixed with gritty urban
crime, conjuring a potent cocktail where violence,
scandal and betrayal go to the very top of the
British establishment. In Luca Vestes Bloodstream,
a killer stalks couples in Liverpool believing secrets
and lies within relationships should have deadly
consequences Chaired by Russel McLean.

36 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

RM HUBBERT, LOKI, KATE TOUGH


AND MACGILLIVRAY
Neu! Reekie! in the Gutter
19.30 21.00| 12

GAELIC NEW WRITERS SHOWCASE


19.30 20.30| 6

Scotlands favourite avant-garde noisemakers,


Neu! Reekie! will be here for a unique collaboration
with Glasgows Gutter magazine for an evening of
music, poetry, film and fiction. Scottish guitarist
and singer/songwriter RM Hubbert, is known for
his innovative, flamenco-inspired guitar style and
evocative solo albums. Loki is a Scottish rapper and
hip hop recording artist, who has made regular media
appearances as a social commentator. There will
be an animation showcase by Ross Hogg and film
from the visual artist Rachel MacLean. Gutter will be
represented by author Kate Tough and performance
artist and poet MacGillivray. All held together
by Neu! Reekie! Founders Michael Pedersen
& Kevin Williamson.

A chance to hear from Scotlands finest new Gaelic


writers the stars of tomorrow both in fiction and
poetry. Chaired by broadcaster Mark Wringe, the
event showcases the work of recipients of the Gaelic
Books Council/Scottish Book Trust Gaelic New Writers
Awards. Participating will be Niall OGallagher, Calum
MacLeod, Sandy Jones and Christine Stone.
Cothrom isteachd ri grunn sgrobhadairean Gidhlig
ra cmhla, is iad an ss an d chuid ann am ficsean
agus brdachd. Bidh Niall OGallagher, Calum
MacLeid, Sandaidh Jones agus Cairistona Stone
an lthair, is iad a riochdachadh iomairt Chomhairle
nan Leabhraichean/Urras Leabhraichean na
h-Alba, Duaisean nan Sgrobhadairean ra. Bidh an
craoladair Mark Wringe sa chathair.

PHIL REDMOND
From the Small Screen to the Book Shelf
19.30 20.30| 9

CLARE MORRAL & JULIE MYERSON


Turbulent Fiction
19.30 20.30| 9

Phil Redmond, the acclaimed writer and creator


of Grange Hill, Brookside and Hollyoaks will be
here discussing his debut thriller, Highbridge.
Three years ago, Janey Nolan was murdered in
the centre of town and today, no one knows who
did it. Sick of waiting for the powers that be to rid
the streets and school gates of dealers, druggies
and parasites, Janeys brothers want to avenge her
death. While Sean decides to explore the routes and
corridors of political power, Joey chooses more direct
action in and among the alleys and pathways of
the neighbourhood itself. But can the brothers find
Janeys killer without bringing more danger to
their town?

Clare Morrall, author of the Man Booker Prizeshortlisted Astonishing Splashes of Colour, creates
a startling vision of the future in a world not so very
far from our own, in her latest novel When the Floods
Came. In a world prone to violent flooding, Britain,
ravaged 20 years earlier by a deadly virus, has been
largely cut off from the rest of the world
The Stopped Heart is the finest novel to date from
Julie Myerson. During a ferocious storm, a red-haired
stranger appears in the garden of a small farming
cottage. This devastating novel deals beautifully
with profound loss, sexual longing, love and true evil.
Chaired by Stuart Kelly.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 37

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

Simultaneous translation facilities available

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

JOHN MOORE
Glasgow: Mapping the City
12.00 13.00| 9
Maps can tell much about a place that traditional
histories fail to communicate. John Moore gives
fascinating insights into topics such as: the
development of the Clyde and its shipbuilding
industry, the villages which were gradually subsumed
into the city, what lies underneath the city streets, the
growth of Glasgow during the Industrial Revolution,
the development of transport, the citys green spaces,
the health of Glasgow, the city as a wartime target,
and its regeneration in the 1980s as the host city of
one of the UKs five National Garden Festivals.

GILES WATERFIELD
The Peoples Galleries:
Art Museums in Britain 1800 1914
12.00 13.00| 9
The Peoples Galleries traces the rise of art museums
in Britain through to World War I. This richly illustrated
book argues that these regional museums, such as
Kelvingrove, represented a new type of institution: an
art gallery for a working-class audience, appropriate
for the rapidly expanding cities and shaped by
liberal ideals. As their broad appeal weakened with
the new century, they adapted and became more
conventional. In his illustrated talk, Giles will study
the patrons and the public, the collecting policies,
the temporary exhibitions, and the architecture of
these institutions, as well as the complex range
of reasons for their foundation.

JO MARCHANT
The Science of Mind Over Body
12.00 13.00| 9
The field of mind-body medicine is plagued by wild
claims that mislead patients and instil false hope.
But that doesnt mean the mind plays no role in health.
By taking a scientific approach to understanding
how our mental state influences our physiology, can
we finally live in tune with our bodies in a way that is
based on evidence, not fantasy? In her book Cure,
Dr Jo Marchant delves deep into the latest scientific
research and offers a new and thought-provoking
view of what it means to be human. Chaired by
Margaret McCartney G.P.

38 | AYE WRITE! 2016

Chris Dolan Introduces

MARY PAULSON ELLIS


& CATHERINE SIMPSON
12.00 13.00| 6
Mary Paulson-Ellis has an MLitt in Creative Writing
from the University of Glasgow and was awarded
the inaugural Curtis Brown Prize for Fiction. Her
short stories and non-fiction have been published
in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and the Herald.
The Other Mrs Walker, a detective story with no
detective, is a beguiling and intensely moving debut.
Catherine Simpson has been shortlisted in the Mslexia
Novel Award and her work has featured in various
anthologies. Her debut Truestory looks at what
happens when sacrifice slithers towards martyrdom.
By turns happy and sad, ultimately it is a tale of hope.

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

ROB DOYLE AND STUART EVERS


Sublime Short Stories
13.30 14.30| 9

John is one of the UKs best-known chefs. He is the


host and judge of BBC1s MasterChef, Celebrity
MasterChef and Junior MasterChef and presenter
of A-Z of Cooking on BBC2. John has also hosted
Have I Got News For You and Saturday Kitchen, and
has made numerous guest appearances on BBC
Breakfast, Loose Women and National Lottery Stars.
My Kind of Food is a very personal cookbook from
John, full of the food that he loves to cook and eat,
recipes that he makes away from the cameras and
professional kitchens.

Dont miss this Sunday afternoon session with two of


the finest young short story writers around. Stuart
Evers, the author of the critically acclaimed, prizewinning collection Ten Stories About Smoking returns
with twelve unforgettable stories of parental love
and parental mistakes. Your Father Sends His Love
is a book of vulnerability, duty, betrayal, loss, anger,
fear and joy. Lost and isolated, the characters in the
masterful stories in Irish author Rob Doyles This is
the Ritual play out their fragmented relationships
in a series of European cities. Desperate, uncertain,
immersive, at times dreamlike, this collection
introduces an unmistakable new literary voice.

TREVOR ROYLE
Culloden
13.30 14.30| 9
The Battle of Culloden has gone down in history as
the last major battle fought on British soil: a vicious
confrontation between Scottish forces supporting the
Stuart claim to the throne and the English Royal Army.
But this wasnt just a conflict between the Scots and
the English, the battle was also part of a much larger
campaign to protect the British Isles from the growing
threat of a French invasion.
In Trevor Royles lively and provocative history looks
afresh at the period and unveils its true significance,
not only as the end of a struggle for the throne but the
beginning of a new global power.

ELIZABETH BUCHAN,
KATE WILLIAMS AND ISABELLE GREY
Dangerous Women
13.30 14.30| 9
Come along to this fascinating literary discussion
about powerful and subversive women with
bestselling writers Elizabeth Buchan, Kate Williams
and chaired by crime writer Isabelle Grey. Throughout
history, men have tried to repress and silence women,
the accusations being, from St Jerome onwards, that
they are weak-minded, puny and sexually incontinent.
Clearly Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Charlotte Bronte and
Violette Szabo would not agree. Nor do many writers
whose novels have portrayed women as powerful,
influential and subversive not necessarily in the way
that men recognized. This event will appeal to readers
of historical romance and contemporary domestic
noir, through to stalwart non-fiction fans.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 39

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

JOHN TORODE
My Kind of Food
13.30 14.30| 10

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

IRMA KURTZ
My Life in Agony
15.00 16.00| 9

JACK COOKE
Urban Tree Climbing
15.00 16.00| 9

As Cosmopolitans professional agony aunt for the


last forty years, Irma Kurtz has had to deal with the
most intimate problems of successive generations of
readers, while having to keep up with the changing
mores and attitudes in British and American society.
In these memoirs, she looks back on the seismic
transformations that have taken place over the last
four decades from mother-daughter relationships
through to eating disorders, office politics and those
perennial areas of interest: love and sex, as well as
her own hectic and often difficult life as a single mum
from America living in London. Chaired by
Janet Smyth.

In this charming, witty and exquisitely illustrated


companion, Jack Cooke explores the city through its
canopy; teetering on the edge of an oaks branches,
scurrying up a Scots pine, spying views from the
treetops that few have ever had the chance to see.
He takes us through the parks, over the canals
and rivers and into secret gardens in his journey
sometimes only ten foot above the street.
Part guidebook, part meditation on the
consolations of nature, The Tree Climbers Guide
is as uniquely odd, alluring and motley as the trees
themselves. It is a journey into the tangle of bark
and branches that surround us.

MATT HAIG
Reasons to Stay Alive
15.00 16.00| 9

JAMES MACDONALD LOCKHART


Raptors: A Life in Birds
15.00 16.00| 9

What does it means to be truly alive?


When he was 24, Matt Haigs world caved in.
He could see no way to go on living. This is the true
story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over
an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to
live again.
A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how
to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons
to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about
making the most of your time on earth.
I wrote this book because the oldest clichs remain
the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never
provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light
at the end of it, even if we havent been able to see
it Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.
Presented in association with S.M.H.A.F.F.

Of all the birds of the British Isles, the raptor reigns


supreme, sparking the imagination like no other. In this
magnificent hymn to these beautiful animals, James
Macdonald Lockhart explores all fifteen breeding
birds of prey on these shores from the hen harrier
swimming over the land in the dregs of a May gale
on Orkney, to the ghostly sparrowhawk displaying
in the fields around his home in Warwickshire. Join
James for a talk that will change how we think of
our own skies.

40 | AYE WRITE! 2016

BUY TICKETS AT

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

DR MELANIE WINDRIDGE
& DR LUCIE GREEN
An Illuminating Look at Light
15.00 16.00| 9

Erwin James spent his teenage years drifting, his


petty crime culminating in the terrible events for
which he was jailed for life in 1984. James struggled
to come to terms with the enormity of his crimes. Then
he met Joan, a prison psychologist, who helped him
to confront the painful truth of his past. Her sessions
transformed his life. Encouraged to read and to
educate himself, over the next twenty years Erwin
James would go on to receive a BA in History, and
become a regular columnist for the Guardian.
In Redeemable he tells his remarkable story.

WILLIAM DAVIES
The Happiness Industry
16.30 17.30| 9

ANDREW DICKSON
The Globe Guide to Shakespeare
16.30 17.30| 10

Why was a Buddhist monk at the 2014 World


Economic Forum in Davos lecturing the worlds
leaders on mindfulness? Why do many successful
corporations have a chief happiness officer?
What can the chemical composition of your brain
tell a potential employer about you? In the past
decade, governments and corporations have become
increasingly interested in measuring the way people
feel. Join William Davies on World Happiness Day
(No, really!) as he talks about The Happiness Industry,
a shocking and brilliantly argued warning about the
new religion of the age: our emotions.

2016 commemorates 400 years since the death


of William Shakespeare and Andrew Dicksons
book is the ultimate guide to his life and work.
With full coverage of the thirty-nine plays, including
a synopsis, full character list, stage history and
a critical essay for each, this comprehensive guide
is both a quick reference and in-depth background
guide for theatre-goers, students, film buffs
and literature-lovers alike. The Globe Guide to
Shakespeare also explores Shakespeares sonnets
and the narrative poems, combined with fascinating
accounts of Shakespeares life and theatre, exploring
in colourful detail each plays original performances.
Chaired by Graham McLaren National Theatre
of Scotland.

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 41

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

Explore star light with two of Britains leading


physicists. Dr. Melanie Windridges Aurora: In Search
of the Northern Lights explores the visual beauty,
legends and science of the northern lights including
the developing threat of space weather and
challenging the popular paradigm of how the lights
are formed. In 15 Million Degrees, Dr. Lucie Green
takes us on a journey of millions of miles from inside
the Sun to the Earth discovering how the Sun works
(including what it sounds like), the latest research in
solar physics and how a solar storm could threaten
everything we know.

ERWIN JAMES
Redeemable
16.30 17.30| 9

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SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

LUCY RIBCHESTER & JENNI FAGAN


Sophomore Fiction
16.30 17.30| 9

ANDREW LOWNIE
Stalins Englishman
18.00 19.00| 9

We have a whole strand dedicated to debuts at Aye


Write! this year, but what happens after your first
novel has won prizes and critical acclaim? These
two novelists are in the enviable position of following
up their successful debuts. Lucy Ribchesters follow
up to The Hourglass Factory, The Amber Shadows
is a mysterious novel about keeping secrets set at
Bletchley Park. Jenni Fagans The Panopticon saw
her chosen as one of Grantas Best Young British
Writers and her new novel The Sunlight Pilgrims tells
the story of a small Scottish community living through
what people have begun to think is the end of times.
Chaired by Peggy Hughes.

Guy Burgess was the most important, complex and


fascinating of The Cambridge Spies Maclean,
Philby, Blunt all brilliant young men recruited in
the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union.
In this first full biography, Andrew Lownie shows us
how even Burgesss chaotic personal life of drunken
philandering did nothing to stop his penetration and
betrayal of the British Intelligence Service. Through
interviews with more than a hundred people who knew
Burgess personally, and the discovery of hitherto
secret files, Stalins Englishman brilliantly unravels
the many lives of Guy Burgess in all their intriguing,
chilling, colourful, tragi-comic wonder.

ALISTAIR MOFFAT
Scotland: A History from Earliest Times
18.00 19.00| 9

ANDREW MCMILLAN & DAVID KINLOCH


Outspoken Poetry
18.00 19.00| 6

From the Ice Age to the recent Scottish Referendum,


historian and author Alistair Moffat explores the
history of the Scottish nation. As well as focusing on
key moments in the nations history such as the Battle
of Bannockburn and the Jacobite Risings, Moffat also
features other episodes in history that are perhaps
less well documented. From prehistoric timber halls
to inventions and literature, Moffats tale explores
the drama of battle, change, loss and invention
interspersed with the lives of ordinary Scottish folk,
the men and women who defined a nation.

Andrew McMillans Physical contains poems which


are hymns to the male body, male friendship and
male love, muscular, sometimes shocking, but always
deeply moving. Raw and urgent, this collection
was shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards
including the Guardian First Book Award and the
Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Andrew will
be reading with David Kinloch who teaches creative
writing at the University of Strathclyde and is the
author of five poetry collections. A recipient of the
2004 Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award, he is
a founder editor of the influential poetry magazine
Verse. Presented in association with Outspoken Arts.

42 | AYE WRITE! 2016

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SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

MOSTAFA SALAMEH
Dreams of a Refugee From the Middle
East to Mount Everest
18.00 19.00| 9

SCOTLANDS FIRST MINISTER,


NICOLA STURGEON MSP
The Books That Made Me
19.30 20.30| 10

One night Mostafa dreamt that he was standing


atop Mount Everest reciting the call to prayer. With
no prior experience or training, he decided he would
follow his vision and climb he went on to become
the first Jordanian Palestinian ever to reach the
North Pole and summit all seven highest peaks in the
world. As a devout Muslim, Mostafa is committed to
spreading the message of tolerant Islam and working
to turn Arab youth away from radicalization. Mostafa
is a model for multiculturalism: born Palestinian,
raised in Jordan and Kuwait and identifying as
Scottish, his wife is a Catholic. Dreams of a Refugee
tells the remarkable story of Mostafas journey.

Nicola Sturgeon is Scotlands first female First


Minister. Born in Irvine in 1970 and educated at
Greenwood Academy, she studied law at the
University of Glasgow.
Before entering the Scottish Parliament as
a regional MSP in 1999 she worked as a solicitor in
Glasgow and is currently MSP for Glasgow Southside.
She became SNP Leader on November 14, 2014 and
was sworn in as First Minister on November 20, 2014.
Nicola will be telling us about the reading habits of
a First Minister along with selecting some of her most
cherished books. Chaired by Clare English.

KIMBERLEY CHAMBERS, EMMA


KAVANAGH & CLAIRE MCGOWAN
Criminal Neighbours
18.00 19.00| 9

LYNNE FEATHERSTONE
Equal Ever After: The fight
for same-sex marriage
19.30 20.30| 9

An English woman, a Welsh woman and an Irish


woman walk into a crime novel
No.1 bestselling author Kimberley Chambers
lives in Romford and has been a disc jockey and
a street trader. Her latest novel Tainted Love is an
explosive tale of East-end families and secrets.
Claire McGowan grew up in Northern Ireland and
now teaches creative writing. A Savage Hunger is the
fourth novel to feature forensic psychologist Paula
Maguire. Emma Kavanagh was born and raised in
South Wales. She spent many years working as
a police psychologist and The Missing Hours is her
latest gripping psychological thriller.

29 March 2014 was the day that same-sex marriage


became legal in England, with Scotland following on
16th December 2014. After decades of campaigning,
the day had finally arrived when two people of the
same sex were able to get married and enjoy the same
rights as heterosexual couples.
As Equalities Minister in the coalition government,
Lynne Feather worked tirelessly with activists, lawyers,
campaigners and civil servants to achieve a change
in the law that would be of epochal importance to the
gay community.
This event is presented in association with
Outspoken Arts.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 43

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

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APRIL/MAY SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

LLIAM PATERSON
Edwin Morgan Song Cycle
19.30 20.30| 12

SASKIA GOLDSCHMIDT
The Hormone Factory
19.30 20.30| 9

Lliam Paterson Scottish Operas Composer in


Residence presents two new works inspired by
Edwin Morgan, Glasgows first Poet Laureate. The
dramatic song cycle Spirit of the Place takes the
listener on a journey through memories of Glasgow:
the sight of starlings swarming over George Square
mingling with the sounds of ships on the Clyde. Lliam
will be joined by soprano Marie Claire Breen and
mezzo-soprano Laura Margaret Smith for this world
premiere. A new piano work will also be featured,
inspired by Morgans epic poem The New Divan,
a response to his service in the Mediterranean
during the Second World War.
This performance is kindly supported by The Edwin
Morgan Trust.

A riveting thriller about greed, power, hormones,


illicit sex, and women and the monstrous
megalomaniac who believes he can have it all!
Mordechai de Paauw is ruthless: in the years before
World War II, the Dutch pharmaceutical entrepreneur
is on the cutting edge of science and determined
to develop the contraceptive pillno matter what
the cost. Testing hormonal treatments on his female
workers, and sexually exploiting them, Mordechais
secret immoral life and his successful company
are threatened by the rise of Hitler and, years later,
a shocking scandal involving his brash son. Will
Mordechai ever find redemption, and will the women
he manipulates regain control over their own bodies?

APRIL/MAY

IRVINE WELSH
The Blade Artist
Tuesday 5 April
18.30 19.30| 10

44 | AYE WRITE! 2016

We waited ten years to welcome Irvine Welsh to Aye


Write! and now, we cant keep him away! Can it really
be twenty years since Trainspotting? Yes indeed
and just as the film of the sequel begins shooting
Irvine Welsh will be here to re-introduce us to its most
infamous and terrifying character, Francis Begbie in
The Blade Artist. On the surface Begbie seems to have
found himself, working as a sculptor in California but
his dark past isnt buried very deep and a trip home
for the funeral of a murdered son he barely knew
starts to go very bad, very quickly. This ultra-violent
but curiously redemptive new novel is both elegant
and electrifying. Chaired by Janice Forsyth this event
will be recorded by BBC Scotland for broadcast.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

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The Bricks that Built the Houses

Award-winning poet and rapper Kate Tempest will be


reading from and discussing her electrifying debut
novel, The Bricks that Built the Houses, which takes
us into the beating heart of the capital in a multigenerational tale of drugs, desire and belonging.
It explores a cross-section of contemporary urban life
with a powerful moral microscope, giving us intimate
stories of hidden lives, and showing us that good
intentions dont always lead to the right decisions.
Wise but never cynical, driven by empathy and ethics,
The Bricks the Built the Houses questions how we live
with and love one another.

Thursday 14 April
18.30 19.30| 9

MAGGIE OFARRELL

We are so pleased to welcome back one of Aye Writes


favourite novelists with the release of her dazzling
new novel. This Must Be the Place crosses continents
and time zones, giving voice to a diverse and complex
cast of characters. At its heart, it is an extraordinary
portrait of a marriage, the forces that hold it together
and the pressures that drive it apart.
Maggie OFarrells seventh novel is an astonishing,
intimate epic about who we leave behind and who we
become as we search for our place in the world.

This Must Be The Place


Monday 23 May
18.30 19.30| 9

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 45

APRIL/MAY

KATE TEMPEST

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

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WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

AYE WRITE 2016


CREATIVE WRITING
This Aye Write! get inspired and try some writing
of your own, with a special programme created in
collaboration with the University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of
Glasgow. Each session costs 15 plus booking fee.
Full details at www.ayewrite.com/creative

GIVE IT GO: POETRY WRITING


14.00 16.00| 15

will help you to start your own writing journey and


show you how to keep going.

CREATIVE WRITING: WHAT YOU NEED TO


KNOW ABOUT REVISION AND EDITING
16.30 18.30| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Its often said that its not the writing that a reader
sees on the page of a novel or short story its the
rewriting. This interactive workshop covers the basics
of drafting and editing, looking at common mistakes
and introducing the skills needed to refine a piece of
writing so that it reaches its full potential.

CREATIVE WRITING

Linda Jackson PhD

This session is for those who have been circling the


poet in themselves for some time or for those who
have been tentatively beginning the process of
getting poems onto the page.

CREATIVE WRITING: WHAT YOU NEED TO


KNOW ABOUT CHARACTER
18.30 20.30| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Characters are one of the main ingredients of


a good story, and even for writers of non-fiction
a key skill is the ability to bring people to life on the
page. This interactive workshop covers all you need
to know about building characters: how to use your
imagination and observation to create them, how to
give them a personality, how to give them a voice,
and how to build stories out of them.

SUNDAY 13 MARCH
CREATIVE WRITING: WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT DIALOGUE
14.00 16.00| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Whether youre working on fiction or non-fiction,


dialogue is an essential tool in bringing your writing to
life. The personalities in your writing real people or
made up characters will engage your reader most
when they speak, but they have to do it in a believable
way. In this interactive workshop, learn the basics
about creating convincing dialogue and where to use
it to its best advantage.

WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH

FRIDAY 11 MARCH

RADIO DRAMA MASTERCLASS


10.00 11.30| 15

POETRY AND PERFORMANCE INSPIRE


AND ENTERTAIN YOUR AUDIENCE!
14.00 16.00| 15

Learn skills and tricks for writing radio drama


from Bruce Young, Head of Radio Drama for BBC
Scotland (and a producer/director for many years),
and Chris Dolan, with 20 years of experience.

Liz Kristiansen

An experimental workshop for published and


prospective poets, developing skills in voice,
speech and stagecraft . Plus a look at how music,
dance and other art forms can enhance your poetry
when spoken aloud to an audience.

SATURDAY 12 MARCH
GIVE IT A GO: CREATIVE WRITING
14.30 17.30| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Ever wondered what it takes to become a writer?


All you really need is an interest in the written word
and some time to devote to it. Based around practical
writing exercises and group discussion, this session

46 | AYE WRITE! 2016

WRITING TELEVISION DRAMA


12.00 13.30| 15
A lively introduction to TV drama with: Ann Marie di
Mambro (Coronation Street, Doctors, Eastenders and
more) and Chris Dolan (screenwriter and playwright,
radio dramatist, novelist and broadcaster) who run
Glasgow Caledonians Masters Degree in Fiction
Writing for Television.

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THURSDAY 17 MARCH
RESEARCH FOR WRITERS
11.00 13.00| 15

Ronnie Scott BA, M Phil, PhD, FSA Scot

tell the whole story. The creative inspiration to be


drawn from this can be an excellent springboard for
writing or for simply your own interest.

WRITING FOR HEALTH


AND WELLBEING
14.00 16.00| 15

Nikki Cameron BA PGCE MLitt


From the ancient greek philosophers to 21st century
psychology its known that writing can help improve
our wellbeing. This welcoming workshop will explain
the science and give you a range of techniques for
you to try. All you need is a pen and a notebook.

SATURDAY 19 MARCH

PERFORMANCE POETRY
14.00 16.00| 15

FROM PAGE TO PUBLIC


14.00 16.00| 15

This session is for those who would like to get some


pointers about performing prose fiction or poetry
in front of an audience. Scotland now has a rich
tapestry of events, regular evenings and festivals for
you to make that next step. Whether it is confidence,
methods, voice, mic use whatever, come along
to this class and get some solid tips on how to be
charismatic on stage. Or, at least, feel proficient and
ready to perform your work.

Essential tips on how to navigate public appearances,


book launches and interviews with confidence.
Suitable for established and new writers.

Linda Jackson PhD

CREATIVE WRITING:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT POINT OF VIEW
18.30 20.30| 15

Liz Kristiansen

CREATIVE WRITING:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
STORY AND PLOT
16.30 18.30| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Every reader wants a good story and providing one is


the objective of every writer. This interactive workshop
looks at ways of building stories that satisfy and
entertain, from developing an initial idea through to
creating a coherent, persuasive and compelling plot.

David Pettigrew BA MPhil

An understanding of point of view is a key writing


skill, but it is often misunderstood. This seminar will
explain the different perspectives you can employ
in your writing and introduce key skills in using
them effectively to help your stories make the best
impression on your readers.

FRIDAY 18 MARCH
HOUSE HISTORIES: A DIFFERENT
APPROACH TO ANCESTRY
10.00 12.00| 15

SUNDAY 20 MARCH
GIVE IT A GO: CREATIVE WRITING
14.30 17.30| 15
David Pettigrew BA MPhil

Ever wondered what it takes to become a writer?


All you really need is an interest in the written word
and some time to devote to it. Based around practical
writing exercises and group discussion, this session
will help you to start your own writing journey and
show you how to keep going.

Ronnie Scott BA, M Phil, PhD, FSA Scot


Does your house have an interesting history?
Researching its life story can be fascinating and
rewarding: you can learn about the landowner, the
developer, and the lives of the various occupants.
You can also see how your neighbourhood grew
and changed over time. Well look at land and
property records, valuation and electoral rolls,
maps, photos, newspapers and other sources to

AYE WRITE! 2016 | 47

CREATIVE WRITING

Research is an essential skill for all writers, whether


youre composing history or biography, chick lit or
Tartan Noir. These lively workshops will show you how
to carry out research both quickly and efficiently,
and to find the inspiration and information you need,
in the Mitchell collections and online. Well look at
books, newspapers, magazines, maps, photographs,
archives and online services. There will be plenty
of chances to ask questions about research, and
specific topics.

WWW.AYEWRITE.COM

A large print version of this brochure


is available from www.ayewrite.com,
or in person at the Mitchell Library box office.

VENUE INFORMATION
Aye Write! events take place at
The Mitchell Library, North Street, Glasgow G3 7DN*

BOOKING INFORMATION
Tickets are non-refundable

For all accessibility requirements please contact


0141 287 2999 or ask staff at the Mitchell Library
during the festival.

Online 
www.ayewrite.com
(online purchases subject
to 1 booking fee)
By phone 
0141 353 8000
(phone purchases subject to 1.50 booking fee)
In person from the Mitchell Library
(Mon-Thu 9am -8pm, Fri and Sat 9am 5pm);
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Mon-Sat 10am 6pm)
City Halls (Mon-Sat 12 noon 6pm) and
Tramway (Tues Saturday 10am 8pm,
Sunday 12 noon 5pm, closed Moday)
Fees apply per transaction, not per ticket.
Please ensure you arrive at the Mitchell Library in good time
to check the Information Boards for venue information before
your event.
For the majority of events, doors open 15 minutes before
the event start time

Due to the historic nature of the building we ask that


patrons who are wheelchair users or have difficulty using
stairs to contact the venue directly in advance of their visit
so that suitable assistance can be arranged. Please phone
0141 287 2999
Aye Write! Glasgow Book Festival programme may be subject to
additions and changes at any time. Check www.ayewrite.com
or ask staff at the Mitchell Library during the festival.
*Check brochure entries for exceptions
PHOTO CREDITS:
Ryan McGoverne (RM Hubbert, Michael Pedersen) , Mike Kemp (Adam MarsJones), Jonny Donovan (Ben Rawlence), DC Thomson (Craig Robertson), Dave
Smith (Frances Quinn), Eamonn McCabe (James rebanks), Davina Bell (James
Macdonald Lockhart), Garry Simpson (Jo Marchant), David Stewart (Kate
Tempest), Lisa Swarna Khanna (Amy Liptrot), Chris Jelley (Andy Beckett), Mike
Williams (Andy Hosken), Luke Inman (Anna Smith), North News & Pictures (Ben
Kane), Richard Sakar, Guardian news & media (Brooke Magnanti), Howard
Walker (Clare Morrall), Dan Massie (Colin McIntyre), Nigel Barklie (David
Aaronovitch), Steve Morgan_Greenpeace (Frank Hewetson), Max Alexander
(Lucie Green), Inness Morrison (Andrew McMillan), Jean Goldsmith (Meg
Rosoff), Barney Jones (Julie Myerson), Agata Pysik (Owen Hatherley), Al
Higgins (Rob Doyle), Emili Bendixen (Jon Ronson), Rankin (Irvine Welsh),
Johnny Ring (Gillian Slovo), Norman McBeath (Mary Paulson-Ellis),
Angus Bremner (James Kelman), Jennifer Matignas (Jack Cooke)

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