Bookworms are in for a treat next weekend as Aberfoyle Book Festival gets underway.
The festival, which has secured funding from the Scottish Book Trust, runs from Friday November 1 until Sunday November 3 in venues including the local Memorial Hall and the VisitScotland iCentre.
Author talks, workshops, panel discussions, a book sale, Bookbug event, book signings and heritage walks are all on the programme.
Featured authors include Paul Murton, Rebecca Smith, Moira McPartlin, Kevin MacNeil, William McIntyre and Andrew James Greig to name but a few.
As part of the wider festival the Louis Stott Prize, named in memory of the local author, is being launched and will recognise the best piece of writing from P4-P7 in the local primary schools, encouraging young authors.
Dirt Divas are also running a ‘bairns, bikes and books’ session (weather permitting) to go off for a jaunt into the forest and have a storytelling session under the trees.
And thanks to Stirling Council Libraries, there is also a Bookbug session at the Memorial Hall.
Friday November 1 kicks off with a heritage panel discussion in the Memorial Hall from 7-9pm with James Kennedy of the Loch Ard Local History Group and authors Paul Murton and Hazel Stuart, including an introduction to the second Aberfoyle Book Festival and a discussion about the history, heritage and culture of the Strathard area.
A packed Saturday schedule includes a second hand book sale in the hall – plus a selection of new books by local authors – anyone who has books to sell can contact Dez on 07976 291830 or at [email protected]. Tables cost £10 for the day.
The free Bookbug session for pre-school children runs from 11am-noon and retired local shepherd, author Sion Barrington, will lead a heritage walk at around 12.15pm (also on Sunday).
The iCentre meanwhile will host a stream of author events from 11am onwards including sessions with Rebecca Smith, a non-fiction writer and journalist from
Cumbria. ‘Rural: The Lives of the Working Class Countryside is her first book and traces the stories of foresters and mill workers, miners, builders, farmers and pub owners, to paint a picture of the working class lives that often go overlooked. It won the Lakeland Book of the Year 2024.
Moira McPartlin’s debut novel The Incomers was shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award and over the next seven years she wrote her speculative fiction, Sun Song Trilogy novels, set in 2089. Her latest novel ‘Before Now: Memoir of a Toerag, is written entirely in the Fife dialect.
Andrew James Greig writes crime and speculative fiction inspired by the wild and rugged Scottish landscape where he lives. His first book was selected for the CWA New Blood Dagger award and was a finalist for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Fiction in 2020. He also hosts a creative writing worshop during the festival.
Kevin MacNeil is a Scottish novelist, poet, screenwriter, lyricist and playwright. In 2017 he began a post at the University of Stirling, where he works
as a tutor and supervisor for both undergraduate and postgraduate Creative Writing degree programs.
Paul Murton is a Scottish television presenter and broadcaster, film-maker, and historian, working primarily on the BBC with an emphasis on travelogues
in Scotland and best known for his series Scotland’s Clans, Grand Tours of Scotland, Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands and Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs. William McIntyre is hosting a two hour writing workshop on the theme of ‘Writing Chapter One of a Crime Fiction Novel’. A partner in Scotland’s oldest law firm Russel + Aitken, specialising in criminal defence, he has been instructed in many interesting and high-profile cases over the years and now turns fact into fiction with his string of legal thrillers featuring defence lawyer Robbie Munro.
The festival rounds up on Sunday from 2.45-3.45 with a fre ‘Meet the Authors Speed Dating’ session. Authors include John Barrington, Jake Bowen-Bate, Doune author Tom Bowser, Dorothy M. Parker, Hazel Stuart, Kevin Woods, W David Woods and Ian Workman.
For more details on the festival, including times, venues and any prices, see aberfoylebookfestival.wordpress.com