Top literary stars head for Argyll and Bute as part of Scotland's Book Week
BOOK Week is hosting hundreds of free events across the country this month from November 21 to 27.
The programme for Scotland’s fifth national celebration of books and reading, themed this year on ‘Discovery’, was announced by Scottish Book Trust at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre.
Some of the UK’s best-loved writers and illustrators will be visiting libraries in every local authority area to bring a programme, funded by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), that includes appearances from such bookish heavyweights as Will Self, Lisa McInerney, Jenni Fagan, Jill Mansell, Simon Scarrow, Isabel Greenberg, Clare Mackintosh, Jodi Picoult, Alexander McCall Smith, Liz Lochhead and Christopher Brookmyre.
In Argyll and Bute, Tartan crime king Chris Brookmyre talks about his latest award-winning novel, Black
Widow, at the Cove and Kilcreggan Book Festival on Saturday November 26. The same day actor Gregor Fisher and co-author Melanie Reid will reveal The Real Life Dramas of Rab C Nesbitt. That evening at Cove, former Scots makar Liz Lochhead will read and talk about her latest poetry collection.
On Sunday November 27, Border writer and journalist Alistair Moffat charts Scottish history from earliest time until today at his event entitled
The History Man. Sunday will also see gloriously gallus author, TV presenter and Munro bagger extraordinaire Muriel Gray bring you her entertaining event, Get Gallus with Muriel Gray.
As part of the theme of discovery, a brand new Book Generator quiz will be available on the Book Week Scotland website, enabling participants to uncover the perfect book match for themselves or the ideal present for a friend.
Those who need some inspiration can visit www.bookweekscotland.com to try out the Reading Dare Randomiser, which might suggest anything from gifting a book to a stranger, to proposing to the person you love with a line from your favourite poem.
For people who have an interest in discovering new writing talent, 150,000 free copies of a short story and poem collection written by the people of Scotland, Secrets and Con-- fessions, will be handed out during the week via libraries, bookshops and other outlets.
School pupils across the country can also get into the spirit of Book Week Scotland with three free picture books shortlisted for the Bookbug Picture Book Prize being gifted to every primary one pupil in Scotland in the Bookbug P1 Family Bag. Free bags of books, writing materials and counting games are also gifted to all primary two and primary three pupils.
For more information about Book Week Scotland 2016 and how you can get involved, visit www.bookweekscotland.com, where you can find information about all the events taking place in Argyll and Bute.