Programme 2011
THURSDAY 27th OCTOBER
Tickets can be purchased from the University's online store.
Welcome to the Festival
10.00am
FREE
Bonar Hall
No tickets required, just turn up to the event
Join the Dundee Literary Festival team, including Anna Day and Kirsty Gunn, for coffee and a cake and a chance to read your own work in our open mic event.
Have you written a poem or a novel that you think deserves a wider audience, do you want to have your voice heard?
You've got five minutes and an audience hungry for new literature. Join us for the welcome event of the 2011 Dundee Literary Festival.
If you want to read, email: literarydundee@gmail.com
Places may be available on the day.
Writing History
Fiona Watson and Julie Flavell
11.00am
£3.00 / £2.00 (consession)
Bonar Hall
History at its best is the most exciting story you've ever been told, and historians Fiona Watson and Julie Flavell tell it as it should be - thrilling, dangerous, exciting but most importantly, absolutely true.
Fiona Watson’s Macbeth uncovers, buried beneath the layers of myth, a history that is entirely different from, but just as extraordinary as, that recounted by Shakespeare.
Julie Flavell’s When London Was Capital of America - called ‘essential reading’ by the New York Times - reveals the complex, multiracial - at times even decadent - nature of America's colonial British heritage, and features the newly discovered adventures of an American slave in the British capital.
Both fascinating tales, brilliantly told. Come and hear them read from their work and discuss how to tell the story of history.
Chaired by Kirsty Gunn
Poem and a Piece
Eddie Gibbons
12.00noon
£5.00
Bonar Hall
A sandwich, a hot drink and - most importantly - a hefty dose of the best poetry around. Come and fill your soul and your stomach.
Eddie Gibbons poetry plays withour conceptions of the lighthearted, concealing a dark heart just beneath the veneer of the words. Humourous, acerbic, touching and always entertaining, his Liverpudlian roots show through despite his relocation to Aberdeen many years ago.
Eddie has four collections published, his latest being shortlisted for the Scottish Book Awards, Poetry category, he's a force and a fantastic reader. Come along and share his words.
Chaired by Jim Stewart
Fresh Faces, Vital Voices
1.00pm
FREE
Bonar Hall
The University of Dundee's Creative Writing course is quickly being recognised as one of the most innovative and exciting in the country, producing fresh new voices who are ready to burst on to the literary scene. The students from the MLitt course vary in age, experience, form but each has a special talent that can be heard first here.
This event will be chaired by Kirsty Gunn, Professor of Creative Writing, University of Dundee.
The Dead Don't Hurt Us
Pamela Cairns
2.00pm
FREE
Bonar Hall
GP Pam Cairns gave up her practise in Kirkcaldy in 2004 to help some of the poorest parts of Peru. She was so affected by the poverty she saw - particularly the plight of the street children - that she was inspired to pen The Dead Don't Hurt Us.
The story follows two British children, Katie and Tim, who become lost in the Amazon after an aircraft accident and gradually become acquainted with street children.
Come and meet this extraordinary debut author, with her very special tale.
Chaired by Eddie Small
Writing Fiction
Workshop with Cynthia Rogerson
3.00-5.00pm
£8.00
Bonar Hall
Places are strictly limited
Writing fiction is a sleight of hand. Done well, it's impossible to see the frustrations and sweat and tears behind the pages. Cynthia Rogerson has written some of those delicate, stunning books that make writing look easy, as well as running one of Scotland's premier writing centre's Moniack Mhor. Come and develop your voice and learn some insiders tricks from a special writer.
Literary Salon
5.00-7.00pm
FREE
Bonar Hall
Dundee Literary Salons run regularly throughout the year, providing a haven for book lovers and writers to come together, hear a guest speaker and enjoy a glass of wine with like-minded people. For the first time, the salons come to the Dundee Literary Festival, when Kirsty Gunn introduces artist and Edinburgh book festival chair, Di Hope, for a discussion about how painting and literature come together.
