BOOKS
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AUTUMN BOOK FESTIVALS The best events for book lovers this season
When it comes to book festivals in Scotland, autumn is where it’s at. Outside the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August and Glasgow’s Aye Write! in the spring, the next few months play host to some of the year’s best local literary celebrations.
Wigtown, Scotland’s Book Town, is a year- round favourite with book-lovers but it comes into its own when the Wigtown Book Festival is on (Fri 22 Sep–Sun 1 Oct). In addition to a range of talks, look out for its annual ceilidh and the dedicated Children’s Garden.
First up is Stirling’s Bloody Scotland Elsewhere, Glasgow’s Byres Road Book
(Fri 8–Sun 10 Sep), the country’s premier crime writing festival. This year’s highlights include Denise Mina, Louise Welsh, Graeme Macrae Burnet and Lynda La Plante. Plus, Val McDermid is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her i rst novel, Report for Murder. And look out for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, whose winner is announced on Sat 8 Sep. Festival (Fri 22–Mon 25 Sep) welcomes Christopher Brookmyre; the Scottish International Storytelling Festival (Fri 20–Thu 31 Oct) takes over Edinburgh’s Scottish Storytelling Centre for a 12-day celebration of traditional storytelling; and the Dundee Literary Festival (Wed 18–Sun 22 Oct) welcomes a variety of local and international authors to the City of Discovery. (Yasmin Sulaiman)
1 Sep–31 Oct 2017 THE LIST 45