Off The Page: Stirling Book Festival 2007

Stirling

The second Off the Page: Stirling Book Festival runs from 22nd to the 29th of September 2007. Leading authors such as Iain Banks and William McIlvanney will be appearing alongside events from the Glasgow Science Centre and more. Events will be held in venues across the town, including libraries and schools.

Further information is available from the Off the Page website, and tickets can be booked by phone on 01786 432383.

Scottish authors and events at the book festival include:

• 1.30pm - Meet The Author: Frank Rodgers

Frank Rodgers has been described by the Scottish Book Trust as one of Scotland’s ‘best–loved author/ illustrators’ and has written and illustrated over 60 children’s books. A childhood passion for books and comics inspired him to become a writer and artist. His most recent books Eyetooth and Battle for Eyetooth tell the scary adventures of Count Muesli – the vegetarian vampire!

• 2pm - Jess Smith and Sheila Stewart

Jess Smith is one of Scotland’s most popular authors for her best-selling autobiographical trilogy Jessie’s Journey. Her début novel, Bruar’s Rest, was published in November 2006. Jess is a charismatic speaker with innate storytelling ability and will be speaking alongside storyteller and singer Sheila Stewart.

• 7.30pm - Meet the Author: Iain Banks

Almost five years since his last literary novel, Iain Banks returns with his most absorbing story since The Crow Road. The Steep Approach to Garbadale is classic Banks, reinforcing his credentials as one of the most able, energetic and stimulating writers of our generation. His prolific career has been both populist and experimental.

• 10.30am & 1.30pm - Meet the Author: Keith A Charters

Keith is the author of the popular LEE series of books and enjoys writing humorous novels for children. He became a full time author in 2001. His first book Lee and the Consul Mutants was published in 2004 and reached no.1 in The Herald’s children’s best seller list. He has since written a further two books in the series including Lee’s Holiday Showdown in 2006.

• 12noon - Poetry at the Stirling Smith: Valerie Gillies

Valerie Gillies is the Edinburgh Makar, poet laureate to the city. Currently she is completing The Spring Teller, a book of poems inspired by Scotland’s wells and springs. Valerie received a Creative Scotland Award for this project. Her poem on St Ninian’s Well is likely to put Stirling on the map by opening up this long-closed ancient site on the Wellgreen.

• 7.30pm - Meet the Author: Andrew Greig

Andrew Greig is one of the leading Scottish writers of his generation. His novels include Electric Brae (1990), The Return of John MacNab (1996), That Summer (2000), and Another Light (2004). He has also written poetry and several non-fiction books. His latest non-fiction book is Preferred Lies and was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2006.

• 12noon - Poetry at the Stirling Smith: Lesley Duncan

Lesley Duncan, who lives in Stirling, is a poet, journalist, and poetry editor of The Herald newspaper, for which she chooses a daily poem, six days a week, fifty two weeks a year. Her unrivalled knowledge of poetry made her an ideal co-editor (with Maurice Lindsay) of The Edinburgh Book of Twentieth-Century Poetry (EUP, 2005). She has facilitated the publication of many poets. An anthology of her Herald poems is due to be published by Luath Press.

• 7.30pm - Meet the Author: David R Ross

David R Ross has always had a passion for Scotland and its history. His key interest in the characters who figure in the making of that history led to the writing of his first book, On the trail of William Wallace. In 2005 David walked from Glasgow to London to commemorate the 700th anniversary of Wallace’s capture and subsequent execution. David has now written seven popular books on Scotland and her people and is regularly welcomed as a speaker at home and abroad.

• 3.30pm - Meet the Author: Alastair Durie

A Stirling resident since 1989, Alastair Durie is the author of several books about Scotland’s past. He has taught social history at several of Scotland’s universities and is an expert in the history of Scottish tourism from the early moneyed tourers to the Victorian day trippers, the sporting tourists and the cultural visitors. His latest book, Water is Best: Hydros and Tourism, looks at the story of health tourism, bringing the story up to the 20th Century and being particularly suited to the venue of his talk.

• 7pm - Meet the Author: Des Dillon

Des Dillon was born in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire in 1960 and read English at Strathclyde University. A former teacher, he now writes for television, stage and radio and has taught Creative Writing at the Arvon Foundation. He was Writer in Residence at Castlemilk, Glasgow between 1998 and 2000 and now lives in Galloway. His first book, Sniz, a collection of poetry, was published in 1994 and he is also the author of seven novels. Me and Ma Gal (winner of a World Book Day survey) was broadcast as a drama on Radio 4 in 2004. Des Dillon’s play, Singin I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim, won critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005 and is set to tour Scotland and Ireland in 2007.

• 7.30pm - Jess Smith, Sheila Stewart, Alasdair Roberts

Jess Smith returns alongside Sheila Stewart and Alasdair Roberts.

• 10.30am & 1.45pm - Meet the Author: Keith Gray

Keith Gray grew up in the village of Humberston near Grimsby in Yorkshire. He didn’t read his first ‘proper book’ until he was twelve. It was then that he decided to become a writer. Twelve years later, in 1996, he had his first book Creepers published and it was subsequently shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award. He had a further five books published including The Runner (winner of a Smarties Silver Medal) before moving to Edinburgh in 2000. Since being in Scotland, he has written his most successful books Warehouse and Malarkey and in 2005, The Fearful. His latest book The Chain was published in 2006 by Barrington Stoke.

• 1pm - Meet the Author: Gillian Galbraith

Gillian Galbraith, an Edinburgh Advocate, has drawn on her professional experiences to bring a new detective to the streets of Edinburgh. Her début novel, Blood in the Water, is the first in a series of novels featuring Detective Sergeant Alice Rice and was published in March by independent publisher Mercat Press. Although this is her first novel, Gillian is no stranger to writing and began her career in the most Scottish of traditions with DC Thomson publications, under a variety of guises. Now living in Kinross, she works as an Advocate specialising in Medical Negligence cases.

• 12noon - Poetry at the Stirling Smith: The Makar Press

The Makar Press is a poetry collective comprising four Scottish poets: Jim Hughes, Rowena M Love, Michael Malone and Sheila Templeton. Their books and distinctive interactive style have been delighting audiences all over the country. Their collective book, Running Threads, has been praised by Alison Chisholm, author of The Craft of Writing Poetry, as “a box of delights that yields a gem at the turn of every page”. You can find out more about them and their collections at http://www.makarpress.co.uk .