NEWS
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ANNOUNCEMENTS, LINE-UPS AND OPINION
N EW Y E A R, N EW W R I T E R S The Scottish Book Trust has announced the recipients of its New Writers Awards for 2016, with a bookshop manager, two posties, a journalist and a library assistant among the list of winners. Each recipient will receive a £2000 cash award and support tailored to their needs. The winners (pictured) are Greg Whelan, Iain Bain, Karen Ashe, Sarah Urwin Jones, Vicky MacKenzie, Jen Cooper, Louise Peterkin, Rachel Plummer, PM Freestone, Robert McGinty and Karyn Dougan. C H O OS E L I F E , C H O OS E T RA I N S P OT T I N G It’s been 20 years since Ewan McGregor tore down Princes Street to Iggy Pop, and Robert Carlyle brought the glass-throwing, booze-loving, foul-mouthed Begbie to the big screen. In honour of this special moment, The People’s Film Collective (a new event from the team behind Tenement TV) will be screening Trainspotting at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow on Tue 23 Feb, along with a Q&A and live entertainment. You can also vote to see the i lm in IMAX at Glasgow Film Festival at list. co.uk/gff16. Find out more on page 20.
S I N G A S O N G FO R T H E M AC K I N TO S H B U I L D I N G Creative Scotland has awarded part funding to the Glasgow School of Art choir to commission a new choral work for the ensemble from Sir James MacMillan CBE. This will be premiered at
the reopening of the Mackintosh Building. Lyrics for the commission have been taken from a poem held in the GSA archives written by Francis Henry Newbery, director of the school from 1885–1917. Research Book of the Year, Poetry Book of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year. The winners of each will go on to compete for the overall Saltire Scottish Book of the Year title.
G O O D BY E TO M AC S O R L EY ’S MacSorley’s Music Bar on Jamaica Street in Glasgow is closing, playing its i nal gig on Valentine’s Night. While local bands and Scottish food have been their focus for the past decade, the bar has been there for well over 100 years. W I C K E R M A N D OW N Wickerman, one of Scotland’s biggest music festivals, has been cancelled following the death of its co-founder, James Gilroy, just over a year ago. Last year’s event went ahead as a tribute to his memory, but this year, Mr Gilroy’s family are looking to take some time out from the festival.
S M H A F F T U R N S T E N The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival has launched its tenth year with a series of special announcements. A new play from Alan Bissett about the life of Syd Barrett will premiere in October while Emma Jayne Park has been named as associate artist for the festival. A partnership with National Theatre of Scotland will result in a double-bill of new shows entitled Eve / Adam, which explore transgender lives. The festival will run Mon 10–Mon 31 Oct with the theme of ‘Time’. F LY I N G T H E L I T E R A RY F L AG The shortlist for the Saltire Literary Awards has been announced, and includes Irvine Welsh, Michel Faber, Kate Atkinson, Janice Galloway and Andrew O’Hagan, among others. The awards date back to 1937, and there are six categories, including First Book of the Year, History Book of the Year,
H I G H H O P ES FO R C A LTO N H I L L S C H O O L Several big names in music have backed a bid to site an independent music school in the old Royal High School building on Calton Hill. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Mercury Music Prize judge Simon Frith, and percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie have offered their support. If successful, St Mary’s Music School (currently based in the West End) will take over the site which will create a new concert venue for Edinburgh, as well as a school for young musicians. T H E A F T E R E F F EC TS O F T H E G L AS G OW E F F EC T You’re probably sick of hearing about it by now, but just in case you’ve managed to escape the madness and hysteria that is the reaction to The Glasgow Effect, check out our writer’s opinion on the whole affair at list.co.uk.
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