P H O T O : I
I D L S U K A N
spoken word / theatre piece from the acclaimed Luke Wright, based on Brexit Britain. Support from Colin McGuire and Michelle Fisher.
FLINT & PITCH AUDACIOUS WOMEN
PRESENTS: THE TOLL FESTIVAL
by women that aims to break down social, political and institutional barriers. Featuring events, exhibitions and performances about women who have flaunted convention. See preview, page 47.
BY LUKE WRIGHT Scottish Storytelling Centre, Fri 3 Feb, lukewright.co.uk A new
Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 18–Sun 26 Feb, audaciouswomen. scot A festival for and
STANZA: SCOTLAND’S
POETRY FESTIVAL Various venues, St Andrews, Wed 1–Sun
H I T L I S T
Highlights | BOOKS
5 Mar, stanzapoetry. org Leading literary festival focusing on verse. International wordsmiths join locals for readings, performances, slams, workshops and poetry- related exhibitions. Headline poets include Patience Agbabi, Jim Carruth, Elaine Feinstein, Sasha Dugdale and Jackie Kay.
AYE WRITE! GLASGOW’S BOOK
FESTIVAL
Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 9–Sun 19 Mar, ayewrite.com Located mainly in the iconic Mitchell Library, Aye Write! remains committed to celebrating Scottish and international writers and writing. Around 200 writers are expected to attend.
BOOKS HIGHLIGHTS
RAI CON Ruby Wax
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 4 Mar, raicon.co.uk Anime convention, with a bit of manga thrown in there for good measure. Featuring a host of talks, panels, workshops, screenings and exhibitors.
SUE PERKINS: SPECTACLES King’s Theatre, Sun 12 Mar, sueperkinslive.com The bespectacled half of Great British Bake-Off duo Mel and Sue goes solo with her new comedy show / book tour, Spectacles.
JON RONSON’S PSYCHOPATH NIGHT
Citizen’s Theatre, Thu 16 Mar; Old Fruitmarket, Wed 22 Mar, jonronson.com The author of The Psychopath Test recounts the events that led up to the writing of his bestselling book from 2011. Featuring very special guests Mary Turner Thomson and Eleanor Longden. See preview, page 55. Also Dundee Rep, Fri 17 Mar, dundeerep.co.uk; Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Sun 19 Mar, lyceum.org.uk
Joytown Grand Electric Theatre, Fri 17 Mar, glasgowfilm.org A screening of Matteo Borgardt’s 1981 documentary about the epically hard-living author Charles Bukowski, followed by live poetry and music from Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lockpickers.
EDINBURGH
CANONGATE STARS & STORIES John Knox House, until Sat 25 Mar, cityofliterature.com Celebrate 500 years of Canongate’s incredible literary history with this trail that explores the books which have shaped Scotland.
SJI HOLLIDAY: THE DAMSELFLY Waterstones, West End, Thu 2 Feb, waterstones.co.uk SJI Holliday celebrates the launch of book three in the Banktoun Trilogy.
CELEBRATING BRIDE Scottish Storytelling Centre, Fri 3 Feb, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre A celebration of the season of Bride in story, song, poem and dance. Déirdre ní Mhathúna introduces the poems, Susanna Orr Holland discusses her performance work, and Colin MacLennan introduces Circle Dance.
RUBY WAX: FRAZZLED REMEMBERING BRIGID
Citizens Theatre, Sun 19 Mar, rubywax.net The American comedian and author discusses her new book, Frazzled, which is a guide to mindfulness.
ALEX GRAY Primavera Bistro, The Avenue Shopping Centre, Tue 21 Mar, alex-gray.com The writer of crime thrillers and creator of DI Lorimer (often described as a Glaswegian version of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus) talks about her latest book, Still Dark.
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Sat 4 Feb, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre Singer and storyteller Susanna Orr Holland, storyteller Kate Walker and violinist Morag Brown share tales of Brigid in ancient myth through her guise as saint and goddess.
EMMA FLINT Waterstones, West End, Wed 8 Feb, waterstones.co.uk The author of Little Deaths discusses the real life inspiration behind her New York-set debut fiction.
Events are listed by city, then date. Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add
GLASGOW
HARRY POTTER BOOK NIGHT Waterstones, Newton Mearns, Thu 2 Feb, waterstones.co.uk A themed evening for all you wannabe witches and wizards. Dress code: wizard (natch).
DAVID KEENAN Watersones, Byres Road, Thu 2 Feb, waterstones.co.uk Debut author David Keenan presents his trippy novel This is Memorial Device. Set during the 70s and 80s in Lanarkshire, it follows a post-punk band who refuse to become mainstream.
ANN CLEEVES Primavera Bistro, Newton Mearns, Tue 7 Feb, anncleeves.com Ann Cleeves, author of the ‘Shetland Quartet’ of crime thrillers featuring Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, and writer of ITV’s Vera and the BBC’s Shetland, signs copies of her books.
NIGHT CCA, Fri 17 Feb, cca-glasgow.com A fun and relaxed evening of spoken word and music for seasoned and new performers, plus open mic if you’d like to get involved.
CLAIRE MACLEARY: CROSS PURPOSE
Waterstones, Thu 23 Feb, waterstones.com Saraband, the publishers behind Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Booker-nominated His Bloody Project, launch the newest edition to their stable, Cross Purpose. See review, page 50.
WEE WRITE Mitchell Library, Mon 27 Feb–Sat 4 Mar, ayewrite.com A six-day programme offering over 100 author events, activities and readings for children, families and school pupils of all ages.
SEEDS OF THOUGHT POETRY BUKOWSKI
P H O T O :
S T E V E U L L A T H O R N E
MEET DELICIOUSLY ELLA Waterstones, West End, Thu 9 Feb, waterstones.co.uk Meet writer and food blogger Ella Woodward as she signs copies of her latest book, Deliciously Ella with Friends: Healthy Recipes to Love, Share and Enjoy Together.
ADVENTURES, AMBUSHES AND
CLIFFHANGERS Scottish Storytelling Centre, Sat 18 Feb, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre Children’s author Lari Don discusses her strong female characters, including Molly from the Spellchasers trilogy.
DARE TO BE LOUD Scottish Storytelling Centre, Sat 25 Feb, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre A spoken word workshop for women. Spoken word artist Katie Ailes guides you through creative writing and performance exercises, sharing her own stories and giving handy tips about performing them.
DARK TALES Scottish Storytelling Centre, Tue 7 Mar, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre Join David Campbell, Mara Menzies and Daniel Allison for an evening exploring the dark side of story.
FLINT & PITCH PRESENTS: SHOW ME THE MONEY BY PAULA
VARJACK
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Fri 10 Mar, flintandpitch.com Spoken word / theatre show from Paula Varjack, looking at how artists manage to support their creative dreams. Also on the bill are Martin O’Connor and Skye Loneragan.
SCOTTISH FOLK TALES FOR CHILDREN
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Sat 18 Mar, tracscotland.org/scottish- storytelling-centre Join storyteller Judy Paterson and illustrator Sally Daly for an afternoon of stories and art activities to celebrate the launch of their new book, Scottish Folktales for Children.
1 Feb–31 Mar 2017 THE LIST 51