Aye Write! Festival 2011

The programme for the 2011 Aye Write! Book Festival in Glasgow is packed with Scottish authors and books. This year there is a strong political and economic theme to the festival, and there is a special Reimagining Scotland strand of events throughout the week. The festival launches with a tribute to Alasdair Gray, and they are giving away 5,000 copies of the first 'book' in his novel Lanark. There will be numerous events relating to Gray and Lanark throughout the programme.

As always, we have picked out our Scottish highlights below, and the full programme is available on the Aye Write! website.

Friday 4th March

2pm: Scottish Poetry Slam Championship Final; From fiery to frivolous, join us and cheer on your favourites in the tense atmosphere of tonight’s live poetry competition final. Compered by Robin Cairns.

Saturday 5th March

10.30am: University of Strathclyde Creative Writing Showcase; The third annual Aye Write! event showcasing the best of creative writing talent at the University of Strathclyde. The event will be introduced by Doug Johnstone.
10.30am: Alexander McCall Smith; The start of Aye Write! also marks the publication of the twelfth book in Alexander McCall Smith’s The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series: The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party. Alexander talks with Rosemary Goring about his new book as well as his other novel series.
10.30am: Des Dillon; Des Dillon is one of Scotland’s leading writers and playwrights – and a stand up comedian. In his new book An Experiment in Compassion, Stevie shifts between a alcoholic and sober life while forging a relationship with his girlfriend and estranged son.
12noon: Scottish Writers' Centre Showcase; The Scottish Writers’ Centre in collaboration with Let’s Get Lyrical presents a showcase of entrants and winners of the Scottish Writers’ Groups Competition judged by novelist Maggie Graham and poet David Kinloch.
12.30pm: Ronnie Scott and Shawn Sewel; Tommy’s War recorded the day-today experiences of Thomas Cairns Livingstone in the First World War. Tommy’s Peace covers the post-war years creating a remarkable document of Glasgow family life between the wars.
12noon: Nell Nelson; In Eat Well, Nelson provides plenty of recipes and ideas to combat the everyday health niggles we all have. And you don’t even have to give up chocolate.
2pm & 3.30pm: Women on the Dark Side; Aye Write! celebrates the best of Scottish women’s crime writing and asks what makes it so distinctive. The first session features Denise Mina, Karen Campbell and Caro Ramsay, and the second features Louise Welsh, Alice Thompson and Alex Gray. Organised in association with Scottish PEN.
2pm: Andy Wightman and Ray Perman; In The Poor Had No Lawyers, Andy Wightman takes the reader through the history of land ownership in Scotland. He discusses this with Ray Perman whose The Man Who Gave Away His Island tells how John Lorne Campbell bought the Isle to preserve part of the traditional Gaelic culture.
5pm: Alison Gangel and Anne Donovan; Alison Gangel’s The Sun Hasn’t Fallen From the Sky is a vibrant and sometimes devastating portrait of two sisters growing up together in 1970s Glasgow as their family falls apart. Alison is in conversation with Glasgow writer Anne Donovan.

Sunday 6th March

12noon: Hamish Whyte and Diana Hendry; Enjoy a tasty literary Sunday brunch with these two poets, as they read from their latest collections.
12noon: Quiz Wth John Eunson; How well do you know Glasgow and Scotland and the way they have changed the world? Come and test your knowledge about how the inventors of Scotland have left their unique, indelible mark on the modern world with John Eunson, author of Caledonia Dreaming.
1.30pm: Alistair Moffat; In Scotland: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores the history that is printed on our genes, and in a remarkable new approach, uncovers the detail of where Scots are from and who they are.
1.30pm: Nicholas Phillipson; Nicholas Phillipson's recent biography of Adam Smith shows the extent to which Smith’s work was part of a larger scheme to establish a grand ‘Science of Man’.
1.30pm: Candia McWilliam; In What To Look For In Winter, Candia McWilliam celebrates friendship, reading, love of children and the consolations of landscape, particularly that of Colonsay, the Hebridean island where she began to face up to how, falteringly, she might come to see once more.
3pm: Jackie Kay; David Robinson called Jackie Kay’s memoir Red Dust Road ‘The most moving book I’ve read all year’.
5pm: Val McDermid; In Trick of the Dark, crime writer Val McDermid introduces a new female investigator, Charlie Flint.
8pm: Gutter Magazine Showcase; Gutter magazine hosts an evening with three of Scotland’s leading short story writers, Ronald Frame, Carl MacDougall and Cynthia Rogerson.

Monday 7th

6pm: Rosemary Goring, Stuart Kelly and Alan Taylor; As part of the Lanark celebrations, Goring, Kelly and Taylor look at three other novels published in 1981.
7.30pm: Graphic Novels; The Graphic Novel writer Mark Millar talks about his work and will take questions from the audience.
7.30pm: The 2011 Tannahill Lecture; What is the role of the hero or heroine in Scottish crime fiction and graphic novels? Discussion with Allan Guthrie, Denise Mina, Louise Welsh and Dr Matt McGuire.

Tuesday 8th

6pm: Kevin MacNeil; Kevin MacNeil's latest novel A Method Actor's Guide to Jeykll and Hyde is a dark and funny exploration of duality.
6pm: The Celtic Opus; Celtic Opus is the ultimate tribute to one of the world's greatest football clubs.
7.30pm: Stuart Donald, Daniel Gray and Rob Robertson; Why has Scotland produced so many great football managers? Rob Robertson investigates in The Management. Stuart Donald discusses On Fire with Fergie and Daniel Gray talks about Stramash.
7.30pm: Gutter Magazine New Writers; Gutter magazine host an evening with two young Scottish writers, Doug Johnstone and Elaine di Rollo.

Wednesday 9th

4pm: Sue Reid Sexton; Sue Reid Sexton's new novel, Mavis's Shoe, is about the trauma of the Clydebank Blitz during WWII.
7.30pm: Stuart Kelly; In Scott-Land, Stuart Kelly explores the enigma of Sir Walter Scott and his influence and cultural legacy.
7.30pm: Sarah Lowndes; What makes Glasgow such a vibrant place for the visual arts? Sarah Lowndes explores the subject in her book Social Sculpture.

Thursday 10th

4pm: Anne Downie; Anne Downie's The Witches of Pollock is a gripping tale of witchcraft set in seventeenth century Scotland.
6pm: Rodge Glass; Rodge Glass talks about his acclaimed new graphic novel Dougie's War, and his collaboration with artist Davie Turbitt.

Friday 11th

3.30pm: Alison Irvine; Alison Irvine's new novel The Road is Red is based on the true stories from residents of Glasgow's Red Road Flats.
7.30pm: John Cairney; Actor and writer John Cairney will be sharing some of his memories of his live on stage, film and TV from his latest book Greasepaint Monkey.
9pm: Christopher Brookmyre and Billy Franks; Christopher Brookmyre is joined by sing-songwriter Billy Franks for music inspired by Christopher's novels.

Saturday 12th

10.30am: The Broons and Oor Wullie Quiz; Test your knowledge of Scotland's favourite comic families with a quiz led by David Donaldson.
11am: Julian Holland; Julian Holland's new book Discovering Scotland's Lost Local Lines features many railway lines that had closed long before Dr Beeching's axe in 1963.
11am: Robin Harper; Robin Harper MSP launches his autobiography Dear Mr Harper at Aye Write!
11am: Lynne McCrossan; A Girl's Guide to Vintage by Lynne McCrossan is a guide to vintage shopping across the UK. The event includes a dress swap.
12.30pm: Allan Burnett; Allan Burnett will be guiding the audience through a new edition of the classic Gaelic text Ossian.
12.30pm: James Macaulay on Charles Rennie Mackintosh; James Macaulay's new biography of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is an essential guide to the architecture of CRM.
2pm: Alasdair Gray; In his autobiography A Life in Pictures, Alasdair Gray gathers together some of the most important portraits, paintings and posters from his life.
2pm: Iain M banks and Ken MacLeod; Two of Science Fiction's brightest stars, both from Scotland, will share a stage do discuss their novels Surface Detail and The Restoration Game.
2pm: Zoë Wicomb and Louise Welsh; South African writer Zoë Wicomb discusses her short story collection The One That Got Away with Louise Welsh.
3.30pm: James Robertson; Saltire Society award winner James Robertson is interviewed by Iain Macwhirter about his novel And The Land Lay Still.
3.30pm: Neil Forsyth; Neil Forsyth takes you into the alter-ego of his Dundonian businessman Bob Savant with Bob Savant: Hero of Dundee.
7pm: Jimmy Reid Tribute; Aye Write! pays tribute to political orator Jimmy Reid, with a panel discussion and readings from his works.
7.30pm: Donal McLaughlin and Arno Camenisch; Join rising star Arno Camenisch and Glasgow’s Donal McLaughlin, author of An Allergic Reaction to National Anthems and Other Stories to celebrate seven years of literary exchange between Scotland and Switzerland.