The Scottish Book Trust has unveiled its line-up for Book Week Scotland, running from Monday the 19th of November to Sunday the 25th. The event includes a number of small events in libraries throughout Glasgow as well as bigger events nationwide.
Book Week Scotland will be running its award-nominated Digital Festival for the second year running – allowing people to participate from all over the country. The theme this year is ‘Rebel’ and all events will include poems, storytelling and authors under this genre.
There’s something for everyone, with events kicking off on Monday with ‘Scotland’s Greatest Football Rebel’ to events with the First Minster, Nicola Sturgeon, at Stirling Castle. Can’t make it along to any of the events? Need not worry, Scottish Book Trust will be putting up Live Streams of each event on their Facebook page.
Here’s a list of some of the events and ways to participate in Book Week Scotland in Glasgow and Edinburgh:
Monday 19th November
‘Scotland’s Greatest Football Rebel’ kicks off on Facebook at 7:30pm. The panel includes former Scotland international and BBC pundit, Pat Nevin alongside many top Scottish sports Journalists and authors to debate who Scotland’s greatest football rebel is. Buy tickets for the event at the Scottish Storytelling Centre here.
Tuesday 20th November
The 2018 Book Week Scotland Poetry Slam starts at 7pm and will see top poets Michael Pedersen, Tom Pow, Nadine Aisha Jassat and JL Williams battle. The event is hosted by Edinburgh City of Literature’s Sian Bevan at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Buy tickets for the event here or tune into the Facebook Live.
There are also book quizzes running in various libraries across Glasgow, including Shettleston Library, Hillhead Library, and Langside Library. Each quiz runs from 6:30-7:30pm and are free, with prizes for the winners. Tickets or booking is not required.
Thursday 22nd November
First Minster Nicola Sturgeon will join award-winning author Maggie O’Farrell in an exclusive event at Stirling Castle. The event is sold out but will be livestreamed on Facebook. Tune in to watch what being a feminist means to the First Minster and Maggie O’Farrell and how their identities have been shaped by reading.
The Mitchell Library in Glasgow is also running Glasgow’s Jewish Rebels, a free, drop-in event in Moir/Dyer Room of the west end library. This event focuses on how the Gorbals was centre of Jewish life in Glasgow, with fascinating pieces of Scottish history told through songs, poetry and stories of early 20th-century Jewish life.
Viewers can participate in events by using different hashtags across Instagram and Twitter. Why not take part in #BookWeekScotlandSpinePoem on Tuesday by spelling out a poem by stacking your books? Or commenting on your rebellious #HiddenBookTreasure? Scottish Book Trust will search for these over on Twitter and Instagram – you can tag them with @ScottishBookTrust.
The full list of events in the Digital Festival can be found here.
Alongside the Digital Festival, there are numerous other events across the country, view the full programme of events here.
By Keira Thorburn-Scott
