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AYE WRITE! Glasgow’s biggest lit-fest
W hat do ballet and football have in common? How about art and food? The varied line-up at this year’s Aye Write! festival compares and contrasts (and, by the sounds of things, works up a real appetite) with events starring the likes of Darcey Bussell, Henry McLeish, Will Gompertz and Antonio Carluccio, all proving that book fests these days aren’t just about metaphors and plot.
But there’s a serious literary focus too. Muriel Spark goes under the microscope as the festival marks the 50th anniversary of The Girls of Slender Means with a series of readings and discussions. The Fifty Shades of Feminism event also celebrates female voices in literature, with 50 people reflecting on what being a woman
means to them. Meanwhile, some of the brightest contemporary literary highlights come in the form of Costa Award winners Maggie O’Farrell and Kate Atkinson. You’ll also find beloved home-grown talents Alasdair Gray, Jackie Kay and David Greig bustling for places on your booking shortlist. Scottish writing is as strongly represented as ever, with Edinburgh Makar Ron Butlin, William Letford, Christopher Brookmyre and Kathleen Jamie all taking the floor. And there’s the now seemingly obligatory Scottish Independence live debate, for all your stooshie and bunfighting needs. (Charlotte Runcie)
Aye Write! Glasgow’s Book Festival, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Fri 12–Sat 20 Apr.
44 THE LIST 21 Mar–18 Apr 2013
HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
✽ Summerhall Festival of Historical Fiction Sir Walter Scott, Arthur Conan
Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson: the city of Edinburgh and historical fiction have a long romance, and this festival celebrates the best modern novelists and filmmakers. Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 12–Mon 16 Apr.
✽ Electric Bookshop The keepers of the Electric Bookshop use a combination of
human interaction and artificial intelligence to create custom ‘books’. Intrigued? Join in. Inspace, Edinburgh, Wed 27 Mar.
✽ Hassan Blasim: The Iraqi Christ Refugee writer Blasim’s upcoming short
story collection Iraqi Jesus examines the plight of the two million refugees created by the Iraq invasion. Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sun 24 Mar; Mono, Glasgow, Mon 25 Mar.
✽ Karen Campbell and Kerry Hudson Campbell’s new book, This is Where I
Am, features an unlikely friendship between a Glaswegian widow and a Somali asylum seeker, while Kerry Hudson’s (pictured) debut, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, chronicles a Scottish childhood of fags, booze and drugs. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Tue 16 Apr.
✽ Neu Reekie: The Holy Show Spoken
word, a live animation showcase, and Scottish Supergroup Jesus, Baby!’s first ever full(ish) gig. Not for the easily offended. The Poetry Club, Glasgow, Sat 13 Apr.