Books
Events
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least ten days before publication to suzanne.black@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black.
Edinburgh
Leith Festival Various Venues. Leith. 0845 458 ()70‘). l'ntil Sun ll). l.eit|t’s growing community arts and music festiyal returns with a range of storytelling and author eyents among the interdisciplinary programme. Selected highlights are below. Desperately Trying to Make Your Mark? Lamb’s llotise. Burgess Street. ()845 458 970‘). 7.30pm. £4. Dramatisations and readings from .llt'r'l .llr' uni/er l/H’ lli’slii'riy. a satirical look at modern friendships and ambitions by Stephen 'l‘hompson. I’url Uflx’ll/I I'i'.\'lf\'(1/.
Friday 8
Glasgow
West End Festival Variotis \etitles. \Vest lind. 34l 0844. l'ntil 24 Jun. (ilasgow 's \Vest lind arts festival returns for a 12th year. The Varied programme includes a large selection of talks and readings with both established authors and showcases of new work. Selected highlights are below.
Alan Kelly Borders Books. l'iot‘t Retail Park. 773 2‘)l(). 7pm. l‘ree. The author of the wacky 'I‘lu' lilr l'i/i‘lm'y. lattnches his new book. Help nu’ Rlinm/u.
Edinburgh
35‘ The Debut Authors Festival 'l'ray erse 'l‘heatre. (‘ambridge Street. 228 I404. £6 per session (£4); weekend passes available. l'ntil Sun 10. Scotland's literary festival especially for new writers returns for a third year. Selected highlights are below.
Unpublished Writers Jam Session 'l‘rayerse 'l‘heatre. ('ambridge Street. 228 1404. 7pm. £6 (£4). New writers compete to haye their mantiscript read by a professional literary agent. l’url ()I‘I/Ic’ UN)!!! xlllI/IUI'S l'khslit‘ul.
The Leith Festival Storytelling Club (‘arriers Quarters. 42 Bernard Street. 555 4104. 7.30 0.30pm. Suggested donation £4. An evening of Leith-centric tales hosted by l.ari Don and held in the oldest ptib in Leith. I’url (iii/.r'llll l'i’.\'ll\'(l/.
Killers, Crooks and Cons Lamb‘s llouse. Burgess Street. 0845 458 ()70‘). 7.30pm. £4. Reg McKay. the godfather of true crime. explores the darker side of Scotland's heritage. I’ul'l (if/1'17]! I'i'.\llt'tl/.
Saturday 9
Glasgow
A Night of Effervescence (iilmorehillU I 2. ‘) l'niyersity Ayenue. 330 5522. 7.30pm. (ilasgow l'niyersity ('reatiy e \Vriters Masters showcase. promising an eyening of prose. poetry and song. suitable for all the family. I’url rill/tr lli'yl Iim/ l'k’slii'ul.
Edinburgh
Escaping the Day Job 'I'i'ayerse 'l'heatre. ('ambridge Street. 228 l404. Noon. £6 (£4 ). 'l‘hree authors .\lark .\lc.\'ay. l.ois l’ryce and (iuy (irieye talk about the desire for escape and how it relates to their hooks. I’UI'I (if l/N' Helm! .'lIlI/IUI‘.\ l“l’.\lll‘(l/.
Britain Today 'l’rayerse 'l‘hcatre. (‘ambridge Street. 228 1404. 2pm. £6 (£4). Four authors look at their experiences in a changing Britain: Libby Brooks. Lynsey llanley. Sarfra/
30 THE LIST /—2l Jun 200/
Man/oor (see reyiew. page 29) and I)aljit .\'agra. l’ur! (ill/iv Ut'lml AMI/tors I'i'.\’llt'(l/.
Love Against the Odds 'l‘rayerse 'l'heatre. (‘ambridge Street. 228 1404. 4pm. £6 (£4). l’our writers who have tackled the topic of love under adyerse circumstances talk abotit their literary labours: Julian West. Annie lireud. l’riya Basil and James llopkin. I’url of I/ir’ helm! xlllllinrs‘ I'i’xlii‘ul.
The Leith Festival Storytelling Club (‘arriers Quarters. 42 Bernard Street. 555 4l04. 7.30 0.30pm. Suggested donation £4. See Fri 8.
Edinburgh
The Dark Imaginings of the Mind 'l'rayerse 'l'heatre. (‘ambridge Street. 228 I404. lpm. £6 (£4). l’our new authors discuss their dark sides: Steven llall. Jonny (ilynn. Maria Alyare/ and Lesley McDowell. Part of I/Ir’ Helm! .‘llll/IUI'S I'i'.\'!i\'(l/.
Famous First Books 'l‘rayerse 'I‘heatre. ('ambridge Street. 228 l404. 3pm. £6 (£4). Stuart Kelly. Kirst (iunn and Maria Alyare/ talk ahotit atispicious debuts by llisham .\latar. l’atricia llighsmith and JI) Salinger. I’ur! rill/iv Helm! still/tors I'i'.\’llt'(1/. Rab Wilson Presents Lamb‘s llouse. Burgess Street. 0845 458 970‘). 7.30pm. £4. An evening of new Scottish poetry with open mic spots. I’url (ll/1'17]! I'i'.\Ill'(I/.
Edinburgh
Poetry Book Group Scottish Poetry Library. 5 ('ricltton‘s (‘lose. ('anongate. 557 2876. 6.30 8.30pm. £5 (£3). l'p for discussion this month is The Trouble it'll/i Poetry by Billy ('ollins. in a session led by Julie Johnstone. Please hook in adyance.
Tuesday 1 2
Edinburgh
The School of Poets Scottish Poetry Library. 5 (’richton's ('lose. (‘anongate. 557 2876. 7.30pm. Annual subscription: £l0 (£5). Monthly workshop-type poetry session aiming to encourage and de\ elop w riting skills. Beginners and more experienced writers are equally welcome.
Wednesday 13
Edinburgh
=i3 Joan Lingard National Library of Scotland. (ieorge l\' Bridge. 226 4531. 7pm. liree. Joan lingard reads from and signs copies of her new book. xl/ll’l' You're Gone.
Storytelling Café: Tales of Auld Reekie Scottish Storytelling ('entre. 43 45 High Street. 556 957‘). 7pm. £3. (‘olin .\lackay hosts an eyening of tales. music and song. where participation is optional.
Saturday 1 6
Glasgow
Poems Planted Kibblc Palace. (ilasgow Botanic (iardens. 730 (ireat Western Road. 557 2876. Noon. l'ree. Readings to celebrate the launch of a collection of poems written and/or read in the Botanic (iardens by (ierry I.oose. I’rirl rill/iv lli'yl lim/ I'i’slii'ul. Write-Tron for All 'l‘ron 'I‘heatre. 63 'l‘rongate. 552 4267.
l0.30am l2.30pm. £35 (£20). ('reatiyc writing workshops for adults run by Stephen Barnes. Booking essential.
Glasgow
Momma Cherri \‘t'aterstone‘s.
I53 I57 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9105. 6.30 8pm. £2. Sample some of (‘harita Jones' African-American food at this event for her new book. Momma ('ltt'ri'i's~ Soul in (1 Bow] ('rmklmuk.
Comics HORROR
ALAN SIMPSON & JOHN SIMPSON
Living Dead Glasgow No 1
(SGM Publications) 0..
This issue we wallow in the world of Scottish comics and writers. From blood dripping Output like this and thought provoking arty independent comics from fav0urite Malcy Duff. through design protects to John Wagner (OK he was born in the US. but raised in Scotland) and Brit comic icon Judge Dredd.
So lets kick things off with the overly gery outpourings of Living Dead Glasgow. An unashamed tribute to the films of George Romero. as /Ollll)|GS run amok in Glasgow. Packed to the gunnels with lashings of gere. blood. intestines and cheeky Glasgow humour. Weaknesses in plot and an are easily papered over With an eager to please enthusiasm. To order yOur copy log onto WWW.sexgoremutants .co.uk.
(Henry Northmorm
CURIO
MALCY DUFF
A 52 Second Silence for Topsy
(Missing TWini 000
On the «4 January. 1903. 27-year-old Topsy. a domesticated elephant With the Forepaugh Circus at Coney Island's Luna Park zoo was electrocuted to death. She had allegedly killed three men (including a trainer who attempted to feed her a lit cigarette). InventOr Thomas Edison. who had managed to conwnce the American Society fOr the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to use his new DC electricity for the exeCution. captured the
event on film. He would release it later that year under the title. Electrocuting an Elephant.
The prolific Duff's latest work is another sly investigation in to bizarre media spectacles and the nostalgic ephemera that surrounds them. By detailing in one page frames the last 52 seconds of Topsy's life this is more flick book than anything else. and less intricate and thus more acceSSible than this demented artist's most recent work. VlSll v.vamissingtwinhet or email missingtwino hotmailcouk if you Wish to purchase a copy. (Paul Dale)
DESIGN SCI-Fl VARIOUS
See New Worlds (DC Thomson) .0
See New Worlds is part of Dundee's contribution to the Six Cities Design Festival. deSigned to regenerate a sense of pride' in the city's hist0ry of comics.
Set in 2037. the rather jumpy plot centres on a computer programmer called Amaya. who wanders aimlessly through a histOry Simulator her mother has created — a virtual Dundee through the ages — in search of a mysterious Virus. She encounters luminaries from the city's past — seientist Sir Philip Cohen, botanist Patrick Geddes. and. cutely. the two gents who created Lemmings (I was holding Out for William McGonagalI but no joy.) Page space is limited. so
Amaya's condensed enc0unters presume a huge amoont of SDGCIalist knowledge about each figure. which is at odds With the often patronisineg simplistic language and flat jOkCS. As a piece of promotional material it's novel and Visually arresting. but not enoogh attention has been paid to the stOry to make this work as a stand alone comic. (Kirstin lnneSi
SCI-Fl THRILLER JOHN WAGNER AND CARLOS EZOUERRA Judge Dredd: Origins (Rebellion) O...
For fans of Judge Dredd (the iconic comic version. that is. not the duff Stallone mowe parody) and of classic British action comics in general. this book has it all. Originally published in serial format within the pages of ZOOOAD over the ast six months. it tells the long-promised origin of the character and his world. as imagined by his creators. Kicking Off With the search for Dredd's clone father Fargo across the radioactive Cursed Earth of future America. we encounter crazed mutants. unfriendly townships and the last President of the United States along the way. Politically-v.ieighted flashbacks show America declare war on the world. and the Judges — the police force of the future - seize power. Wagner's expertly-balanced plotting and Exotierra's bright but grittin magnificent art are a dramatic joy as usual. With JLlSl the right amounts of suspense. glib weirdness. social comment and barbaric action to ensure Origins ranks alongside other clasSic Dredd epics like The Apocalypse War and Necropo/is. (David Pollock)