list.co.uk/books Wednesday 15
Glasgow FREE Weegie Wednesdays The Universal, 57–59 Sauchiehall Lane, 332 8899. 7.30pm. Monthly forum for those wishing to discuss books and publishing. Edinburgh Café Voices Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7–9pm. £5. Songs, stories and music in this special session entitled ‘Cupid’s Arrow’, with Janis Mackay and David Campbell.
Thursday 16
House for an Art Lover, Glasgow ✽✽ Supper and Sonnets at Six Bellahouston Park, 10 Dumbreck Road, 353 4776. 6pm. £25. In response to Sonnets, the exhibition of Alex Boyd’s photography, comes an evening of poetry readings with Makar Liz Lochhead and James McGonigal, poet and biographer of the late Edwin Morgan, followed by a two-course Scottish supper. FREE Scottish Writers’ Centre presents The Writer’s Life with Jacqueline Smith CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. Author, poet and meditation teacher Jacqueline Smith leads a discussion on creativity, craft and dealing with acceptance and rejection as a writer.
Edinburgh FREE The Edinburgh Review: Then and Now David Hume Tower, George Square, 650 4400. 4.30–6pm. Professor William Christie (Sydney) and Dr Alan Gillis examine the history of the illustrious literary journal. Reading: Nina de la Mer & Naomi Wood Waterstone’s West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 6pm. Debut novelists Nina de la Mer and Naomi Wood read from 4am and The Godless Boys respectively. Nothing But the Poem Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6–7.30pm. £5 (£3). Poetry discussion forum. Two sessions run for each poet (Thu evening and Sat morning) due to popular demand, booking is advisable. February’s featured poet is American Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Bishop. Read Like a Writer / Write Like a Reader Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6–8pm. Full course £57 (seniors £45; other concessions £34). See Thu 9.
Friday 17
Glasgow FREE The Better Crack Club Tchai- Ovna House of Tea, 42 Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. Regular adults’ storytelling club. Edinburgh Exploring Books with Liz Hare 6VT Youth Cafe, 6 Victoria Terrace, 220 2108. 10am–noon. Full course £25 (£13) for nine weeks. See Fri 3. Scottish Tales of the Sea and Shore Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30–8.30pm. £6 (£4). Learn about the Selkie of Sule Skerrie with storyteller Lea Taylor and storyteller and clarsach player Heather Yule. Ages 14+.
Saturday 18 Edinburgh Nothing But the Poem Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 11am–12.30pm. £5 (£3). See Thu 16. FREE Book Signing: Catriona Child Waterstone’s West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. Noon. Child signs copies of new novel Trackman.
Monday 20 Edinburgh FREE Blackwell Book Group Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6pm. This month, discussion
focuses on The Group by Mary McCarthy, a sort of 1930s-set Sex and the City, first published in 1963. FREE Edinburgh Creative Writers Pulp Fiction, 43 Bread Street, 229 4444. 7–9.30pm. See Mon 6.
Tuesday 21 Glasgow Setting the Scene: Scotland and the Future of Comics CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 2pm. £8 (£6). John McShane, head of both the Scottish Cartoonists Society and Fat Man Press, and Dr Chris Murray, an authority on Comic Studies at the University of Dundee, discuss adapting comics for the big screen. Part of Glasgow Film Festival. ✽✽ Mark Millar and Frank Quitely CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 4pm. £8 (£6). Discussion with Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely about the pair’s collaborative relationship, working from Glasgow in a worldwide comic and film industry, and their much- anticipated 2012 release. Part of Glasgow Film Festival.
Edinburgh When Abel Met Cain Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30–8.25pm. £10 (£7). Storytelling performance combining myth, fantasy and real life to delve into the roots of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Part of the Middle East Festival. Wednesday 22
Glasgow Writing for Games and Comics CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 12.30pm. £5. Find out how to crack the video game and comics industries from an expert panel. Part of Glasgow Film Festival. Kate Brown in Conversation CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 1.45pm. £8 (£6). One-to-watch Brown discusses her experiences of breaking into the comics industry. Part of Glasgow Film Festival. Walking Dead Illustrator Charlie Adlard in Conversation CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 4.15pm. £8 (£6). Adlard discusses his involvement with the immensely popular comic and TV adaptation. Part of Glasgow Film Festival. Edinburgh When Abel Met Cain Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30–8.25pm. £10 (£7). See Tue 21.
Thursday 23 Edinburgh ✽✽ Reading: Louise Welsh & Zoe Strachan Waterstone’s West End, 128 Princes Street, 226 2666. 6pm. £2 (redeemable against promoted titles). Louise Welsh and Zoe Strachan read from their latest novels. Part of LGBT History Month. Inspirations at NLS: Liz Lochhead National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 623 3918. 6pm. £5. Scotland’s Makar discusses her creative career. Read Like a Writer / Write Like a Reader Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6–8pm. Full course £57 (seniors £45; other concessions £34). See Thu 9.
Friday 24
Festival The Arches, 253 Argyle Glasgow ✽✽ Margins Book & Music Street, 565 1000. Times vary. Prices vary (£2-£12); festival pass £55 (£45). The hip young nephew of the Scottish lit scene is run by cutting edge imprint Cargo. See below for individual event listings and feature, page 26. ✽✽ Octavius Magazine The Arches, 5–6pm. £3. A showcase from a new publication filling a gap in the market in
253 Argyle Street, 565 1000.
Scotland for creative writing by students. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ A Night in the Gutter The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 6–7pm. £4. Spoken word and performance from contributors to Gutter magazine, known for its energetic style, no-holds-barred approach to content and raucous live events. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ Louise Welsh & Christopher Argyle Street, 565 1000. 7–8pm. £5. Two of Scotland’s finest crime-writing talents discuss their writing past and present, as well as where they find inspiration. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. Brookmyre The Arches, 253
Edinburgh Exploring Books with Liz Hare 6VT Youth Cafe, 6 Victoria Terrace, 220 2108. 10am–noon. Full course £25 (£13) for nine weeks. See Fri 3. FREE Robert Stevenson and the Pirates Institut Français d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent, 225 5366. Noon. A talk about the real life pirates RL Stevenson based his baddies on. Neu! Reekie! Scottish Book Trust, Sandeman House Trunks Close 55 High Street, 524 0160. 7pm. £5 (£4). Avant- garde spoken word, film and music night. Guid Crack Club Waverley Bar, 1 St Mary’s Street, 557 1050. 7.30–10pm. By donation. Storytellers including guest Peter Snow tell tales of ‘Women Fair and Foul’. Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30pm. £10 (£7). Storytelling theatre with flamenco music and dance added for good measure. Part of the Middle East Festival.
Saturday 25
Johnstone The Arches, 253 Argyle
Hunter and Rodge Glass The Glasgow ✽✽ United vs Barca – Graham Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. Noon–1pm. £3. A discussion on writing about football, from two very different perspectives: that of Glasgow-based novelist Rodge Glass, whose latest fiction is about a player who manages just one game for Manchester United before his life spirals out of control, and that of Graham Hunter, Sky Sports Spanish football correspondent and the author of a new book about FC Barcelona. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ Helen Fitzgerald and Doug Street, 565 1000. 1–2pm. £4. Two Scottish writers very much in touch with the dark side discuss their work. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ Sara Sheridan and Tracey S Rosenberg: The History Girls The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 2–3pm. £3. Two historical novelists, one experienced, one with just a successful 2011 debut under her belt, discuss historical writing, and in particular the process of researching a work set in the past. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ A Thousand Cranes – Scottish Launch The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 3–4pm. £4. Launch of a charity anthology featuring work by J David Simons, Helen Sedgwick and Kirsty Logan and raising money for tsunami- damaged Japan. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ William McIllvanney and Allan Wilson: Scottish Writing, Then and Now The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 4–5pm. £5. McIllvanney, author of Laidlaw, The Big Man and Weekend, discusses with newcomer Wilson what it means to be a writer in Scotland today, and what the future holds for their writing. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. ✽✽ Tom Leonard, Don Paterson Poets The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 6–7pm. £7. Three generations of Scottish poetry, from outspoken
Writers For Japan Book and Billy Letford – Three
EVENTS Books
veteran Tom Leonard via award-winning poet and Picador Poetry editor Don Paterson to young buck Billy Letford, whose performances of his work have caused a stir even before his debut collection, Bevel, is published by Carcanet in November 2012. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival. Edinburgh Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 3pm & 7.30pm. £10 (£7). See Fri 24.
Sunday 26
Glasgow ✽✽ Alasdair Gray’s Fleck Òran Mór, 731-735 Great Western Road, 357 6200. 6pm. £12. After a sell-yer-granny- for-a-ticket debut at Edinburgh International Book Festival last year, Alasdair Gray’s modern adaptation of Faust gets another outing courtesy of Margins Book and Music Festival, with an equally starry cast including Alan Bissett, Allan Wilson, Zoe Strachan, Louise Welsh, Chiew Siah-Tei, Rodge Glass, Carl MacDougall and Gray himself. Part of Margins Book & Music Festival.
Monday 27 Edinburgh FREE Edinburgh Creative Writers Pulp Fiction, 43 Bread Street, 229 4444. 7–9.30pm. See Mon 6.
Tuesday 28
Glasgow ✽✽ Andy Kershaw: No Off Switch The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. 7.30pm. £15. Veteran DJ and journalist Andy Kershaw signs copies of new autobiography No Off Switch. FREE Reading the Leaves Tchai- Ovna House of Tea, 42 Otago Lane, 357 4524. 8pm. Poetry and storytelling. Edinburgh FREE Book Launch: Hazel McHaffie Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. Former nurse Hazel McHaffie launches her second novel, Saving Sebastian, an examination of medical ethics.
Wednesday 29 Edinburgh Tyi Wara – The Earth Hero Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7pm. £6 (£4). A performance combining physical storytelling, contemporary dance and Malian music. Part of the Middle East Festival.
Thursday 1
Glasgow FREE Scottish Writers’ Centre presents Margaret Elphinstone, In Process CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. Elphinstone, author of eight novels, most recently 2009’s The Gathering Night, discusses her craft. Edinburgh Read Like a Writer / Write Like a Reader Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6–8pm. Full course £57 (seniors £45; other concessions £34). See Thu 9. FREE Tessa Ransford, Morelle Smith and Ann Clarke Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. Three poets present poems on travel, people and ideas in the build up to International Women’s Day (Thu 8 Mar). FREE Translating Storytelling Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. 7.30–9.30pm. A performance event exploring whether storytelling can cross boundaries of language and culture, with tales from Poland, Russia, Georgia and Scotland.
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