Saturday 26th October: A Blether O Books with Sara Sheridan
Sara Sheridan is a Glasgow-based writer and activist. She writes historical fiction and creative nonfiction and has written six novels based in the period 1820 – 1850.
The Fair Botanists, set in Edinburgh1822, has charmed critics and readers alike with the first edition having sold out in under a fortnight. It won Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year in 2022, as well as being chosen for the Queen’s Reading Room series 7.
Her latest book, The Secrets of Blythswood Square, is out in paperback in October.
Sara’s remapping of Scotland according to female history, Where are the Women?, was listed as of the David Hume Institute’s most important non-fiction books 2019. It contained 1200 stories of mostly forgotten female achievement.
Sara continues to campaign for more diverse memorialisation of women’s history. She is a regular contributor on BBC Radio Scotland and has also written two 5-part radio plays adapted from her own short stories – On Portobello Prom and Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure. Both of which have been broadcast on Radio 4.
Saturday 26th October: A Blether O Books with Thomas Clark
Thomas Clark is a writer, poet and translator working mainly in the Scots language.
His most recent and award winning book being a Scots translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm
He offers a fascinating journey through Orwell, Scots, and the language we use today asking if words still matter, if politicians can be trusted and if Scots still has a place in the modern world.
Sunday 27th October: A Blether O Books with Alex Renton
Join Alex Renton, author of Blood Legacy, as he considers Ayrshire, Burns, Slavery: a difficult legacy?
Alex Renton, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), is an author and journalist living in Edinburgh. He works primarily in reportage and investigation, for the BBC, the Times, the Guardian and Daily Mail.
His recent books include Blood Legacy: reckoning with a family's story of slavery (about the Fergusson and Hunter-Blair families of Ayrshire) and Stiff Upper Lip: secrets, crimes and the schooling of a ruling class.
His most recent radio series, In Dark Corners, won multiple awards and is available on BBC Sounds.
Sunday 27th October: A Blether O Books with Steven Veerapen
Born in Glasgow and raised in Paisley, Steven Veerapen is an author of historical fiction and nonfiction. His books include the Simon Danforth murder mysteries, set in the Scotland of the 1540s, and The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I.
Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on early modern representations of Henry VIII’s six wives. He then received a Masters in Renaissance studies, which looked at Renaissance-era visual and literary representations of the later Tudors, and a Ph.D. investigating Elizabethan slander. When not writing, he teaches English Literature at the University of Strathclyde.
During this talk, Steven discusses Historical Crime Fiction: from medieval murders to modernist mysteries and how historical crime fiction, as a popular genre, is written - from conjuring up relatable characters to authentic backgrounds with ghastly and blood drenched incidents.
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Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Edinburgh? Just hit 'Like' on our Facebook page, join the What's On Scotland Facebook Group and 'Follow' on our Twitter account and you're all set!Handmade in Ayr is a creative monthly market showcasing the best of Ayrshire arts and crafts at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, featuring quality Ayrshire & Scottish makers!
READ MOREOn selected days throughout the year the team at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and volunteers hold a Highlight Talk exploring the life and works of Robert Burns!
READ MOREExplore spaces and objects which have shaped history and inspired fiction at the Abbey Strand book club!
READ MOREFort Kinnaird is hosting a free monthly book club in partnership with Musselburgh Library to bring the community together over the joy of reading.
READ MOREJoin Angie Spoto and Lorriane Wilson on Thursday 7th November as they discuss their new fantastically woven and sometimes haunting tales, The Bone Diver and We Are All Ghosts in the Forest.
READ MOREFollowing the recent release of his autobiography ‘A Very Simple Mind’, Derek Forbes is now on tour promoting it! Catch him at The Voodoo Rooms on 12th November!
READ MOREWriter and artists Jim Zub and Doug Braithwaite have recently worked together on the latest Conan the Barbarian comic series and are doing a special signing at Forbidden Planet Edinburgh.
READ MOREJoin us to celebrate the launch of Carina Contini’s new book, The Contini Cookbook at this special supper event on 13th November!
READ MOREJoin us at The Balmoral Hotel Edinburgh on Thursday 14th November when we will be joined by Dougie Donnelly to celebrate the release of his autobiography 'My Life in Sport'!
READ MOREMeet global best-seller and award-winning author, Derek Landy at Waterstones as he signs copies of The Haunted House on Hollow Hill.
READ MOREJoin Kate Colin, a paper folding artist and one of Dovecot’s most popular workshop tutors, as she discusses paper folding and it's applications with a Q&A followed by a book signing.
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