27 August 2013

An Olympic Gold medallist, The Great British Bake Off Champion, Some Prize-winning Fiction and a Dragon..

The Dundee Literary Festival 2013 programme is launched today (Tuesday August 27th) promising the most interesting and diverse event in its history.

Olympic Gold medallist Katherine Grainer, "Dragon's Den" star Duncan Bannatyne and crime writing giant William McIlvanney are among the headline names who will be appearing at this year's festival, which runs from October 23rd to 27th.

"We are delighted to be launching a programme that is absolutely packed with tremendous names and events," said Anna Day, Director of Dundee Literary Festival. "Dundee will be buzzing with a host of literary talent, poets, musicians, explorers, journalists, crime-writers and children's authors.

"As Dundee bids to become UK City of Culture in 2017 we are looking forward to welcoming so much talent from so many fields to the Literary Festival in October."

Big names such as William McIlvanney, Maggie O'Farrell and A.L. Kennedy will rub shoulders with debut novelists (including the newly announced winner of the Dundee International Book Prize).

Non-fiction subjects as varied as sport (Tommy McLean), cookery (John Whaite, winner of The Great British Bake off), music (Vic Galloway) and knitting (Jackie Holt & Ruth Bailey) will all feature along with not to be missed appearances from Duncan Bannatyne and Katherine Grainger.

There should be plenty of lively debate too with sessions on Scottish independence, historical fiction, creative writing, the banking crisis and feminism (from a male point of view).

Regular visitors to the festival will be pleased to see that our poem and a piece lunchtime slot remains as does our focus on comics and for the first time there will be a "Festival hub" with a café and craft stalls. Waterstone's will be providing the festival book shop.

For further information and ticket details see: www.dundee.ac.uk/literarydundee/

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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