Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Book festival tour celebrates New Towns
A new festival bringing together writers, artists and theatre makers to mark East Kilbride’s 70th birthday has been organised by the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
ReimagiNation: East Kilbride, presented in partnership with South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture, South Lanarkshire Council and the Village Centre is part of the Book Festival’s Booked! programme of events. It celebrates the 70th anniversary of the first, and arguably the most successful, of Scotland’s New Towns with a three-day festival from August 19 to 21. ReimagiNation is part of the Book Festival’s new five-stop tour of Scotland’s New Towns, marking 70 years since the passing of the Scottish New Towns Act and forms part of a year-long celebration of the town’s designation as the first of those New Towns. It is also 70 years since Edinburgh became a Festival City.
The festival offers something for audiences of all ages, from comic book workshops to apocalyptic fiction from M R Carey, author of the best-selling The Girl With All the Gifts and Joe Hill, the multi-award winning author and son of horror legend Stephen King.
Actor turned crime writer John Gordon Sinclair introduces his third thrilling story, Walk in Silence, and Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan talk about their new novel, a contemporary take on Romeo & Juliet. Theatre maker Ishbel McFarlane brings her interactive experience in which everyone designs and builds a new community – effectively recreating East Kilbride for the 21st century.
And residents of the town can tell their own personal stories to social historian Daniel Gray or to musician Greg Sinclair who will create a personal piece of music for each individual inspired by their own lives.
East Kilbride features strongly across the programme, with a guided tour of St Bride’s which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and a discussion on the future of St Peter’s Seminary with architectural historian Diane M Watters and NVA’s Angus Farquhar. And residents of EK have their chance to put forward their ideas about the town in the Debate on Sunday, August 20 – East Kilbride: Original and Best?
There will be storytelling and games and crafts for the kids in The Village Centre. A packed programme of events and activities for schools also runs over the festival.
Visit booked.edbookfest.co.uk more information.