Festival’s latest chapter is big hit
THOUSANDS of people were able to ‘read all about it’ at the Paisley Book Festival.
This year’s celebrations attracted record attendances, with bookworms turning out to see some of the UK’s best literary talent, including Alan Bissett, Pat Nevin, Graeme Armstrong, Andrew O’Hagan and Len Pennie, take centre stage.
There was also a host of literary and music events to enjoy.
More than 2,100 tickets were sold for the festival, which took place over four days.
The programme also included a ceremony for the winners of this year’s Janet Coats Memorial Prize, named after a member of the renowned J&P Coats threadmaking family.
Almost 150 poems were submitted, with Mariya Javed, who is in S3 at St Benedict’s High, in Linwood, winning the under-18s category and the senior award going to Catherine Wilson Garry.
Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, chair of OneRen, which produced and delivered the festival, said: “It was wonderful to see the refurbished Paisley Town Hall and new Paisley Central Library abuzz with people, excited about seeing their favourite writers, whether literary authors, sporting legends or poets.
“Our schools programme has also been a great success, with young people exploring new worlds through reading.”