P.E.I. publisher giving library sessions

Program to look at Scottish heritage

Book lovers with an interest in Prince Edward Island authors may want to attend two upcoming sessions at libraries in Sydney and Baddeck.

Selkirk Stories, an independent Prince Edward Island publishing house, will present a program on “Scottish Heritage, Fact and Fiction” on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the McConnell Library in Sydney. The same program will be presented on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Baddeck Public Library.

The program will focus on Scottish immigration to Prince Edward Island as presented in several books: a 2017 revised edition of “The MacLeods of Prince Edward Island” by Harold S. MacLeod and the Scottish Pioneers novels by Margaret A. (MacLeod) Westlie.

Harold S. MacLeod (19272014) first published “The MacLeods of Prince Edward Island,” a lengthy work of genealogy and local history, in 1986, with a second edition (reprinted several times) in 1987.

Selkirk Stories used computer files, continuously updated by Harold MacLeod through 2005, to publish a 2017 revised edition. The library program will feature readings from this edition as they illustrate the facts about the Scottish settlers who came to the Maritimes in the aftermath of the Highland Clearances.

Margaret A. Westlie, born MacLeod and a niece of Harold S. MacLeod, is the author of seven novels and a book of short poems and prose.

Her Scottish Pioneers novels (“Mattie’s Story,” “Anna’s Secret” and “An Irregular Marriage”) are based on family stories told to her by Harold MacLeod and other family members. Readings from her books will show how fiction brings the Scottish heritage of the Maritime provinces to life.

Following the program, copies of all the books will be available for sale (cash or credit cards accepted).