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BOOKS | Highlights
BLOODY SCOTLAND Various venues, Stirling, Fri 9–Sun 11 Sep, bloodyscotland. com Authors at the 2016 crime writing festival include Louise Welsh, Ian Rankin, Melanie Raabe, Brooke Magnanti, Martina Cole and Christopher Brookmyre. There’s
also a crime quiz, a live escape game and writing workshops. See preview, page 47.
NEU! REEKIE! CELTS National Museum of Scotland, Fri 23 Sep, nms.ac.uk The Celts exhibition at NMS comes to a close with this music and spoken word night from
Scotland’s avant-garde noisemakers, Neu! Reekie!. Charlotte Church is headlining with her ten- piece band Charlotte Church & the Late Night Pop Dungeon. Also performing is Scotland’s much-loved poet and former Makar Liz Lochhead, and Scots indie popsters Ette,
H I T L I S T
fronted by Teen Canteen singer Carla Easton.
WIGTOWN BOOK
FESTIVAL Various venues, Wigtown, Fri 23
Sep–Sun 2 Oct, wigtownbookfestival. com For ten days, Scotland’s National Book Town buzzes with around 200 events, covering not only books but also theatre, music and visual arts, site-specific events in quirky venues, a pop-up restaurant and a traditional ceilidh. See preview, page 46.
BOOKS HIGHLIGHTS
Events are listed by city, then date. Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add George the Poet
GLASGOW
RUSSELL MCLEAN: AND WHEN
I DIE Waterstones Argyle Street, Fri 2 Sep, waterstones.com Russell McLean, author of the acclaimed J McNee series, launches his latest standalone crime novel, And When I Die.
UNBOUND AUTHORS IN GLASGOW
The Spoon Café, Fri 2 Sep, 559 5515 Three Unbound authors, Ian Skewis, Tabatha Stirling and Helen Taylor, read from their new novels and discuss the ultimate disruptive publisher, Unbound.
THE GLASGOW COMIC MART Britannia Panopticon Music Hall, Sat 3 Sep, britanniapanopticon. org Get your paws on comics, memorabilia, collectibles and original artwork.
DOUGLAS SKELTON: THE DEAD DON’T BOOGIE Waterstones Argyle Street, Thu 8 Sep, waterstones.com Crime writer Douglas Skelton talks to fellow author Caro Ramsay about his latest novel, The Dead Don’t Boogie, the start of a new series following Dominic Queste.
THE SPECULATIVE BOOKSHOP PRESENTS #8
The Old Hairdressers, Sat 10 Sep, theoldhairdressers.com An evening of speculative fiction, in a variety of forms. Lineup includes Ken Mcleod, EW Harris, Sam Small and more.
GEORGE THE POET O2 ABC, Wed 19 Oct, academymusicgroup.com/ o2abcglasgow Words from poet George Mpanga, who is known for his socio-political verse and urban beats.
46 THE LIST 1 Sep–3 Nov 2016
EDINBURGH
COLLECTIVE HUSH Scottish Poetry Library, Wed, weekly, scottishpoetrylibrary.org. uk Drop-in reading and writing group, where you can study, write or read in perfect peace while having your lunch.
ELIZABETH MAY AND LAURA LAM Waterstones West End, Thu 8 Sep, waterstones.co.uk Authors discuss their books The Vanishing Throne and False Hearts.
HELEN SEDGWICK Waterstones West End, Wed 14 Sep, waterstones.co.uk Physicist-turned writer Helen Sedgwick discusses her marvellous debut, The Comet Seekers. See review, page 47.
SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Fri
21–Mon 31 Oct, tracscotland.org/ scottish-storytelling-centre A ten-day celebration of live storytelling and imagination uniting Scottish and international storytellers and musicians. Performance, workshops, talks and children’s events radiate out from the capital with guest storytellers from Spain, Portugal, and Central and Southern America.
PETER HOOK Waterstones West End, Thu 6 Oct, waterstones.co.uk Musician and founding member of Joy Division and New Order will be signing copies of his book, Substance.
EDINBURGH INDEPENDENT RADICAL BOOK FAIR
Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Wed 26–Sun 30 Oct, outoftheblue.org. uk Five days of free readings and discussions plus bookstalls with an emphasis on small and independent
presses and writings from outside the mainstream. DUNDEE
DUNDEE LITERARY FESTIVAL Various venues, Dundee, Wed 19–Sun 23 Oct, literarydundee. co.uk A mix of events including internationally renowned authors, local names, children’s authors and the Comic Conference, which features graphic novelists. The festival programme will be announced on 14 Sep, but it’s bound to be a good one: highlights from last year included talks with Janice Galloway, Matt Haig, Jackie Kay and Nick Frost, comic workshops and plays. There’s also the announcement of the winner of the Dundee International Book Prize, which last year went to Martin Cathcart Froden for Devil Take the Hindmost, published this year by Freight Books.