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Paisley Book Festival will return this year better than ever – with events being hosted at the town’s recently-refurbished landmark buildings.
The programme for the four-day literary extravaganza next month has been revealed and on the bill are some of the best writers from Scotland and beyond.
Returning for its fifth year, the theme of this year’s festival is ‘Imagine Something Different’.
The majority of events are available on a pay-what-you-can basis and include talks, workshops, poetry readings, theatre, live music and more.
They will be hosted in a variety of venues including the recently opened Paisley Town Hall and the Paisley Central Library.
The 2023 Granta Best of Young British Novelist Graeme Armstrong will be joined by festival favourite Alan Bissett and Brian Conaghan to talk about a project they’ve been working on with young people in Renfrewshire schools talking about Scottish Masculinities.
Also of interest to Buddies will be a talk from author, Victoria Williamson, as she launches her latest book Red Runs the Witch’s Thread, which re-imagines the story of Christian Shaw and the Bargarran Witches of Renfrewshire.
Having curated the first three festivals, Jess Orr returns as programmer.
She said: “It’s great to be back in Paisley and to have the opportunity to bring some of Scotland’s finest writers – plus a few from further afield – to these stunning venues, as they help us to imagine different worlds and possibilities in a programme of fun and inspiration for all ages.”
The festival kicks off with a celebration of Scotland’s favourite sport in an evening hosted by Daniel Gray, football writer and editor of the Scottish football magazine, Nutmeg.
Daniel will interview the legendary Rose Reilly and crime novelist and founder of the Scottish Crime Writers football team, Craig Robertson, with poetry interspersed from Graham Fulton, Stephen Watt and St Mirren’s own poet in residence Julie McNeill.
The Beautiful Game series also welcomes national football hero and football media pundit, Pat Nevin to the festival on Friday, April 26.
Other festival highlights include Sally Magnusson who will talk about her latest novel Music in the Dark and her career as a writer.
Historical fiction writers Sara Sheridan and Lesley McDowell will be in discussion about how they transform the people and places we know (or think we know) into fiction.
Sara will also be taking part in a relaxed session on the Friday when all book lovers can ask the questions they have always wanted to ask of one of Scotland’s top writers.