on different identities, including intersexuality and LGBTQ+ deafness. (KS)
8 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL AUGUST OCCASION
Fergus Linehan upped the ante after a stirring 2015 directorial debut, laying on dramatic spectacles such as Deep Time (pictured) and the closing i reworks, and bringing us Alan Cumming, Cecilia Bartoli, Holy Body Tattoo, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós, The Glass Menagerie and Richard III. To name just a few. (BD)
7 AMY LIPTROT PRIZE-WINNING DEBUT
Amy Liptrot’s The Outrun blends addiction
memoir and nature writing, painting a complex picture of the author’s relationship with Orkney. It’s a book that has resonated widely, and in the summer it became a deserved winner of the 2016 Wainwright Prize. (SS)
6 HARRY GILES
SPEAKING IN TONGUIT
2016 has been a breakthrough year for Edinburgh- based poet and
activist Harry Giles. Nominated for two major awards, Giles’ debut collection Tonguit approaches the themes of national identity, gender, sexuality, technology and politics with linguistic l air and formal daring. (SS)
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12 NICK STEWART LOUD AND CLEAR
In addition to running the never-less-than- stellar club and gig venue Sneaky Pete’s, Nick Stewart also successfully campaigned as part of lobbying group Music is Audible, which challenged Edinburgh City Council’s draconian music licensing laws. The reworded legislation was passed in September. (NB)
11 GLASGOW WOMEN’S LIBRARY
SHELF LIFE An invaluable source for Scottish women, GWL turned 25 this year and continued the quest to educate, inform and empower women with the launch of Collect: if, a network aimed at black and minority ethnic women in the arts. (KS)
10 AIDAN MOFFAT STRAPPED FOR TIME
It’s been a busy year even by Aidan Moffat’s usual grindstone-nosed standards, with his starring turn in Where You’re Meant to Be, Paul Fegan’s i lm about the music of Scotland, which gathered much acclaim and festival screenings, and the live 20th anniversary reunion of Arab Strap alongside Malcolm Middleton. (DP)
9 SQIFF SECOND COMING
As well as boasting a delightful acronym, The Scottish Queer International Film Festival has enjoyed a successful second year with a line-up including opener Strike a Pose, a queer horror retrospective, a variety of workshops, and events focusing
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3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017 THE LIST 37