4 October 2010

New date for Literary Festival

Book-lovers from Dundee and the surrounding area are set for a treat as a second Dundee Literary Festival of 2010 is to take place.

The popular festival is moving from a summer date to take place in winter, meaning that an additional series of talks, workshops, book signings and other events will take place later this year. The first festival of 2010 took place during the University of Dundee's graduation week in June and featured appearances from the likes of Nick Cave, Rosamunde Pilcher, and Iain Banks.

The new event will take place on 27 and 28 October, and will see James Robertson, Norman Watson, Brian Johnstone and Alan Warner talk about and read from their work.

There will also be a special celebration of Dr Finlay’s Casebook’ with readings from David Rintoul, who played Finlay in the hugely successful 1990s TV series, and a discussion with biographer Alan Davies, author of ‘A.J. Cronin, the Man who created Dr Finlay’.

These events will invoke the memory of the quality of writing, characterisation and wry humour of the central figure, Dr Cameron, and take fans back to Arden House.

There will also be a workshop with University of Dundee Creative Writing tutors which is open to all, irrelevant of writing experience, but places are very limited.

The festival will also take place at new venues - the Bonar Hall and the University’s Baxter Suite.

Anna Day, Director of the Dundee Literary Festival, said, 'Dundee is a fantastic city to visit all year round - we looked at the timing of the festival and decided that we’d be working harder for the people of the city if we gave them something to look forward to during the winter months.

'There will be literary events throughout the year as usual, but the main festival will now take place in winter, giving it a very different feel. We didn’t want to leave audiences waiting for 18 months between the two festivals, so we’re offering this warm welcome to people to come and hear some wonderful authors this month.

'We’ve got our usual mix - James Robertson will be discussing his epic new book, ‘The Land Lay Still’ and Norman Watson will be reading from his book, ‘Poet McGonagall’. Brian Johnstone will be reading from his latest collection for ‘Poem and A Piece’ and Alan Warner is returning for a free event to talk about his Booker Longlisted novel, ‘The Stars in the Bright Sky’.'

Kirsty Gunn, Creative Director of the Festival and Professor of Writing Study and Practice said, 'We love the idea of moving our literary festival into winter as this time of year reminds us of all the pleasures of curling up with a good book. That’s the whole style of our new festival – cosy, relaxed, and intimate. We will also be bringing writers and readers together under one roof.'

For a full programme go to www.literarydundee.co.uk or phone 01382 384413.

Scheduled events:

Wednesday, 27 October

Alan Warner (Baxter Suite, Tower Building)
4pm to 6pm
FREE

Thursday, 28 October
Bonar Hall, University of Dundee

Creative Writing
10am to 12Noon
£5

Poem and a Piece - Brian Johnstone
12.30pm to 1.30pm
£5

Dr Finlay's Casebook with David Rintoul
2pm to 3pm
£4/£3

James Robertson - And The Land Stay Still
3.30pm to 4.30pm
£3/£2 (concession)

Norman Watson - Dundee's Poet, The Worst Poet
5pm to 6pm
£3/£2 (concession)

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