University of Aberdeen Writers Festival: Word 2009

2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the University of Aberdeen Writers Festival, better known simply as Word. The three-day festival features Scottish writing in English, Scots and Gaelic, and has a strong international presence. A related Schools and Children's Festival runs from the 12th to the 17th May.

Below is a selection of the Scottish authors and poets appearing at this year's festival.

Friday 15th May

11am

Alan Spence & Hazel Hutchison
A celebration of the Granite City in verse, lead by Professor Alan Spence of the University of Aberdeen

2.30pm

Ken MacLeod
What fuels the creative spark in science fiction writers? Award-winning Scottish writer Ken MacLeod talks about his background in Zoology, Computing and Bio-mechanics has influenced his work

3pm

The Granta Event
Aberdeen-based Esther Woolfson's book Corvus is a delightful memoir of a life lived with birds. Her first novel, Piano Angel, was published recently.

4pm

The Linklater Lecture
Maggie Fergusson on George Mackay Brown. Fergusson discusses her acclaimed biography of the Orcadian poet, author and playwright.

5pm

Femme Fatales
An hour with three of Scotland's leading crime writers, Aline Templeton, Alex Gray and Lin Anderson.

6pm

Ken Cokburn & Tessa Ransford
Two champions of Scottish poetry

6pm

An Claigeann aig Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst's Skull and Other Stories is an exciting new anthology of Gaelic writers.

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  Corvus: A Life With Birds - Esther Woolfson - Paperback
  16 years ago, Esther Woolfson's daughter rescued a fledgling rook. That rook, named Chicken, has lived with the family ever since - along with a talking magpie named Spike and a crow named Ziki. A blend of memoir and natural history, this book brings Chicken and the others vividly to life.
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  Dead In The Water - Aline Templeton - Hardback
  A murdered girl haunts DI Marjory Fleming when she is asked to investigate a cold case, the shameful details of which her father struggled to keep secret. Restless ghosts are brought back to life too when the TV crew of a popular crime series arrives in Galloway bringing excitement and disruption to a small market town.
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  Easy Kill - Lin Anderson - Paperback
  Called in to carry out forensic investigations into the brutal murder of a prostitute in Glasgow, Rhona MacLeod realizes that she is dealing with a serial killer - and that he will kill again. Anderson's other novels include 'Driftnet' and 'Dark Flight'.
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  George Mackay Brown: The Life - Maggie Fergusson - Paperback
  George Mackay Brown was one of Scotland's greatest 20th century writers, but in person a bundle of paradoxes. Maggie Fergusson interviewed him several times and is the only biographer to whom he gave his blessing. Through his letters and through conversations with his acquaintance, she discovers that his life was vivid and surprising.
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  Glasgow Kiss - Alex Gray - Hardback
  From the author of 'Never Somewhere Else' and 'Shadows of Sounds', this is an atmospheric mystery set in Glasgow and featuring DCI William Lorimer. This time, Lorimer has two missing persons to find. With hope fading, it becomes a breakneck race against time to find the missing girls.
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  Piano Angel - Esther Woolfson - Paperback
  Following the recurrence of a brain tumour, Mark Blum chooses to return to his native Glasgow to die, leaving behind in New York his architectural practice, and bewildered friends and family. The processes of illness oblige Mark to re-assess his life and to re-establish contact with his brother Daniel, a successful photographer.

Saturday 16th May

11.30am

Billy Kay
Broadcaster Billy Kay has travelled the world searching for the contributions the Scots have made to the modern world, as featured in his book The Scottish World

12.30pm

John Burnside, Janice Galloway, A L Kennedy and Don Paterson
An incredible line-up of four of Scotland's most accomplished writers. They will be reading from the specially commissioned anthology Lights off the Quay

2.30pm

Ian Rankin
Britain's best-selling crime author Ian Rankin talks about his latest projects, including the non-Rebus novel Doors Open

5pm

Literature and Scottish Identity
Panel discussion with Ian Rankin, Margaret Bennett and Cairns Craig

5.30pm

Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul
Angus Peter Campbell takes a train journey from Aberdeen to Kyle of Lochalsh, and discusses his latest work Tilleadh Dhachaig.

7pm

Charles MacLean's Malt Whisky Tour of Scotland
Charles MacLean discusses his new Maclean's Whiskypedia

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  Doors Open - Ian Rankin - Paperback
  Mike Mackenzie is a self-made man with too much time on his hands and a bit of the devil in his soul. He is looking for something to liven up the days and perhaps give new meaning to his existence when a chance encounter offers him the opportunity to do just that. He is going to commit the perfect crime.
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  The Scottish World: A Journey Into The Scottish Diaspora - Billy Kay - Paperback
  Travelling the world from Bangkok to Brazil, Warsaw to Waikiki, the author found ringing endorsements for the Scottish people and their contribution in every country he has visited. He uncovers remarkable stories of a wealthy merchant community in Gdansk and of national geniuses of Scots descent such as Lermontov in Russia.

Sunday 17th May

11am

The Great Book of Gaelic
Coffee, muffins and The Great Book of Gaelic, a new edition of his collection of Scots and Irish Gaelic writing

12.30pm

Meg Bateman, Margaret Bennett and Sheena Blackhall
Three of our finest performers of songs and stories in Scots, Gaelic and Doric.

2pm

Liz Lochhead and Colin Teevan
Two passionate playwrights discuss the art of writing for the stage.

4.30pm

Fred D'Aguair and Richard Price
A scintillating hour of poetry, including Scottish poet Richard Price

4.30pm

Traveller's Tales
Three new books from Scotland's finest storyteller in the Travelling tradition - Jess Smith, Sheila Stewart and Stanley Robertson

5pm

Christopher Brookmyre
The term 'tartan noir' could have been invented with Christopher Brookmyre in mind. He reads from his latest novel, A Snowball in Hell

6pm

John Aberdein Book Launch
A near-future dystopian Aberdeen is the setting for Aberdein's new novel Strip the Willow

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  An Leabhar Mòr - Hardback
  This work brings together more than 150 poets, visual artists, calligraphers and typographers from Ireland and Scotland. New poetry and visual artwork was commissioned to form this major artwork in the form of visual anthology.
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  A Snowball In Hell - Christopher Brookmyre - Paperback
  If society has the B-list celebrities it deserves, it now has a killer to match. Except that Simon Darcourt is a great deal more successful in his career choice than the average talent show contestant. He's also got the media taped by the simple expedient of bypassing them completely and posting his killings on the Internet.
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  Strip The Willow - John Aberdein - Paperback
  For years council officer Lucy has felt alone, but as predatory LeopCorp twists the city to its global will, her instinct to resist becomes tangled with a deep call from the past. A wounded, ragged stranger comes to town - but can Lucy's heart reopen in time to save herself and her city?