Best-selling authors to show face at Souter Festival of Words

Best-selling authors Alex Gray, Bernard MacLaverty, Ajay Close and Douglas Skelton are joining the line-up at the inaugural Soutar Festival of Words next month.

The weekend festival will celebrate the Scots language, as well as Gaelic and contemporary Scottish culture, at venues and outdoor locations across Perth over the weekend of April 26-28.

The Soutar Festival of Words – inspired by renowned poet and diarist William Soutar – will host more than 20 events, including author talks, the Perthshire poetry slam, children’s events, music and opportunities for local people to gain an insight into the world of creative writing.

The event, organised by charitable trust Culture Perth and Kinross, will open at Perth Museum and Art Gallery with crime writers Denzil Meyrick, Neil Broadfoot and Douglas Skelton. They will discuss setting the scene in crime writing.

At the AK Bell Library on Friday night, Professor Kirsteen McCue will present the annual Soutar Lecture, looking at how the writer’s experience and theories of “dreams” played their part in his growing stature as a published poet.

The festival continues on Saturday April 27, with awardwinning author Alex Gray hosting a creative writing workshop at the AK Bell Library for budding authors. At Perth Museum and Art Gallery, illustrator Kate Leiper will create and develop characters in a fun workshop for both children and adults.

Events continue with Saturday morning storytelling sessions in Gaelic and Scots, plus a visit from award-winning author Bernard MacLaverty who will discuss his 40 years in the industry.

The show will draw to a close with a chamber choir performance in St John’s Kirk.

As part of the festival, poet Jon Plunkett has a six week poetin-residency, working with the community to promote the festival and produce a commissioned piece that will be performed during the weekend.