21 June 2010

2010 Literary Festival set for launch

Photo opportunity: 6pm on Wednesday, June 23rd at Dalhousie Building. The 2010 Dundee Literary Festival will officially be launched, as will this year’s edition of New Writing Dundee.

The 2010 Dundee Literary Festival will officially be launched on Wednesday when a series of events mark the beginning of the five-day celebration of literature.

Over the course of the Festival, a series of workshops, talks, book signings, and readings will take place. World renowned authors, representing fields as diverse as comics and politics will appear at the Festival, which is now in its fourth year.

The opening day will see the following events take place:

• Festival Writing School (Hospitalfield House, Arbroath from 9am onwards) - Budding writers will be able to develop their poetry and short story writing, as well as taking part in writing mastercalsses with award-winning authors Cynthia Rogerson, Alan Warner and Robin Pilcher.
• Dundee Arts Café (Dalhousie Building from 5pm, entry free) - the inaugural event in a series celebrating Arts and Humanties research in the city. The launch event The War for Tea: China and the British Imagination will see Professor Peter Kitson from the University’s History department explore how tea, the Bible and opium figured in historical dealings between the two mighty empires, and how this continues to influence us to this day.
• New Writing Dundee (Dalhousie Building from 6pm, entry free) - a party will be held to launch both the latest edition of NWD, and the Festival itself. Contributors to the anthology will read their work. Costa Prize winner Christopher Reid will also discuss and read from his poetry at the event. The fifth edition of New Writing Dundee features original contributions from award-winning authors as well as work by brand new creative writing talents from the University. There will be a chance to purchase the anthology and meet several of the authors at the event.

Tickets are selling well for all Festival events, and can be bought by calling 01382 384413, emailing literarydundee@gmail.com, from the sales booth at the Overgate Centre, and from DCA.

More details about all the events taking place at the Festival can be found at www.literarydundee.co.uk/festival.htm, where tickets can be bought online.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277