Programme 2009
SATURDAY 27th JUNE
Workshop - creative writing workshop
9.00am-11.00am£5 (no concession)
Join Dr Jim Stewart and Rachel Marsh for a morning of expert tuition in the intricacies of Creative Writing. One poet, one fiction writer, you’ll get a grounding in the basics of brilliant literature.
Rachel Marsh is the editor of New Writing Dundee, and has been teaching creative writing for the last ten years. She taught in Denver, Colorado until 2004, and she currently teaches at Dundee College. Rachel is also an ad hoc creative writing instructor for the University of Dundee creative writing program. Rachel has published numerous short stories and has a background in short fiction as well as drama and screenwriting. Rachel hopes to finish her first novel by the end of the summer.
Jim is a poet whose work has appeared in New Writing Scotland, The Red Wheelbarrow, riverrun and many other places. From time to time Jim reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and has taught in the University of Dundee’s English Department since the late 1980s.
Sheila Stewart
10.00am-11.00am£2 (no concession)
Sheila Stewart is a national treasure, the last in a long line of a rich oral tradition and a singer of unsurpassed character, passion and power. She has sung for Presidents, the Pope and has lectured on travellers culture at Princeton and Harvard University.
Her book, Pilgrims In The Mist are the stories that she and her parents used to listen to by the camp fire as the shadows of night clustered around. Many of the stories recount true events that happened to Sheila and her relations. Running through them all is a vein of humour, laughter in the face of adversity.
Dundee International Book Prize winner
11.00am-12.00noonFREE
An exclusive reading and signing with the winner of the 2009 Dundee International Book Prize. Hear the winner read from their book, find out why they entered the competition and discover how you could enter the prize for 2010.
Hosted by Anna Day.
David Knowles - Meeting the Jet Man
12.30pm-1.30pm£5 (includes a roll and tea or coffee)
Enjoy your lunch while listening to wonderful words.
David Knowles' first collection of poetry, 'Meeting the Jet Man', comes direct from the cockpit of a modern fighter-bomber. It brings the sparse poetry of aerial warfare up-to-date, aiming neither to glorify nor to apologise. Knowles' dogged pursuit of himself in the guise of the Jet Man takes us into the aircraft with him, moving us beyond the CNN video-clips of surgical strikes and collateral damage. At a time when the natural distance between our society and its military risks becoming chasm of incomprehension, these poems throw one thin thread across the growing divide.
Robert Ryan
1.30pm-2.30pm£4 / £2 (concession)
Robert Ryan makes a special visit to Dundee, the City which provides the basis of his fantastic new book, which tells the story of one of the greatest epic journeys of all time.
January 18, 1912: Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition reaches the South Pole. Just a few weeks later, trapped in one of the worst blizzards Antarctica has ever known, Scott and his four companions perish in subzero temperatures. The story of Scott and Oates, their incredible journey and their tragic final days, combines ambition, national pride and the kind of bravery and dignity most men can only dream of. It is one of the most captivating and endlessly fascinating tales from the Golden Age of Exploration.
Robert Ryan is the author of several historical novels which include After Midnight, Empire of Sand and Dying Day.
Book Launch
2.00pm-3.00pmFREE, no ticket needed
'Shadows on the Cave Wall: a New Theory of Evolution' by Dr Keith Skene is A radical and challenging book that turns current thinking about evolution on its head. He will be signing copies of the book at the botanic gardens, Dundee. Keith Skene, a former Rhodes Scholar and an evolutionary ecologist, presents a completely new approach to our understanding of how and why life evolved in the way that it did, and why the Biosphere functions in the way that it does. He argues that since physics is the foundation for understanding everything else, then surely we should base our theory of evolution on it, rather than on the shadows of chemistry and biology.
Armed with this new approach, Skene then applies it to understand how we should face the serious challenges facing our planet at present. The answer is not carbon!
Angus Konstam - There was a Soldier
2.45pm-3.45pm£4 / £2 (concession)
For hundreds of years, the Scottish soldier has been recording his experiences. From the War of the Spanish Succession until the deployment of regiments in Iraq, Scottish soldiers have written home with tales of their exploits, or had details of their experiences published in newspapers, regimental histories and books. The result is a wealth of primary information, telling the story of the Scottish soldiers who fought in Europe, America, Africa, India and the Far East. Included in the collection are the lyrics of songs and poems composed by the soldiers themselves, highland anecdotes, extracts from official reports, and even typescripts of interviews. This is the gritty, real-life story of the Scottish soldier, told in his own words.
Angus Konstam is a well-known historian, with over fifty books in print. His major field is in maritime and military history, although his extensive repertoire includes titles covering many other aspects of history.
Tickets are available from the online store.
The Actress and the Author - Pauline McLynn
4.00pm-5.00pm£4 / £2 (concession)
Acclaimed author and award winning actress, Pauline McLynn is one of the most recognisable faces on television. Her portrayal of the tea obsessed housekeeper in Father Ted has guaranteed her place in comedy history, but while filming the hit comedy series, she started to write, discovering along the way that she was actually very good at it. Pauline will read from her new book, Missing You Already, the engrossing tale of a ticket office attendant, Kitty, who embarks on a journey that questions the importance of life and the way we must all live.
Pauline will be answering your questions and regaling us with her hilarious tales - being married to an actor's agent, the pitfalls of show business, meeting the President, and acting with Tom Cruise.
Tickets are available from the online store.
Hardeep Singh Kohli
6.00pmFREE
Hardeep Singh Kohli is a BAFTA winning writer, comedian and broadcaster - as well as a fabulous cook. His TV career includes presenting The One Show, a cooking series with Masterchef’s John Torode, Meet the Magoons and appearances on Question Time, Newsnight Review, a celebrity version of The Apprentice, Celebrity Masterchef and Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4.
He’ll be appearing in Dundee to talk about his book, Indian Takeaway: A Very British Story, a funny, conversational adventure depicting contemporary India and a celebration of his multiple cultural identities. Hardeep describes his hilarious efforts to introduce shepherd's pie, Yorkshire pudding and cock-a-leekie soup to India.
Hardeep will be reading from his book and signing copies after the event.
Etickets are available from the online store.
