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OPEN THE DOOR Online literary festival from the team at Glasgow Women’s Library
Glasgow Women’s Library founded Open the Door festival in 2017 to celebrate the achievements of contemporary female writers in Scotland, as well as female writers from history. Every second year, the festival is hosted entirely online, and given the current situation and uncertainty around the world due to COVID-19, the announcement of a 2020 festival that people can participate in from the comfort and safety of their own homes could not have come at a better time.
This year’s festival will primarily focus on environmental and eco-feminist ideas. Open the Door aims to have the online world abuzz with conversations around green issues and what it means to be a female writer and reader, while celebrating the words that women have written about our environment and changing world. Inspirational women from history who will be celebrated this year include Brazilian abolitionist and author Maria Firmina dos Reis; Scottish novelist, playwright and radio producer Jessie Kesson; and Kenyan social, environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai.
Online events will include both live and pre-recorded
Facebook streams, Twitter conversations with readers and writers, plus Instagram live interviews and talks. Anyone can propose a Glasgow Women’s Library social media takeover or is welcome to host content on their own channels. To get involved with Open the Door and propose an online event or activity to add to the 2020 programme, visit womenslibrary.org.uk for more information. (Megan Forsyth) ■ Online from Mon 18–Fri 22 May.
60 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2020
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