2015 Dundee Literary Festival to be launched

Published On Fri 11 Sep 2015 by Grant Hill

Award-winning authors, exciting new literary talent and some of the biggest names from the comics industry will rub shoulders with a famous string-vest sporting street philosopher, a show-stopping baker and an unlikely zombie slayer at the 2015 Dundee Literary Festival.

A special pre-festival event will kick things off on Wednesday, 7th October when Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit author Jeanette Winterson talks about The Gap of Time, her reimagining of The Winter’s Tale. The main Festival programme will see a further 46 talks, readings, workshops and other events take place from Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th October.

The critically acclaimed writers appearing include Jackie Kay and Janice Galloway. Dave Gibbons, one of the world’s most esteemed comics artists, will be mentoring aspiring artists keen to emulate his success. Rab C Nesbitt star Gregor Fisher’s appearance coincides with the launch of his new book about the amazing story of the biological family he traced after finding out he was adopted.

Actor and writer Nick Frost (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) will also be discussing the personal journey recounted in his memoir Truths, Half Truths and Little White Lies while 2013 winner of the Great British Bake Off Frances Quinn will be talking about her first book of bakes, Quintessential Baking.

A series of events showcasing the freshest new voices in literature and workshops for aspiring writers will be held at the Festival, which will also see the winner of the 2015 Dundee International Book prize announced.

Peggy Hughes, Programme Manager of the Dundee Literary Festival, said, “This is our most diverse programme to date and we’re delighted to be bringing such a strong line up of established and emerging talent to Dundee.

“From brilliant writers like Jeanette Winterson and Jackie Kay, familiar faces from our screens like Nick Frost and Frances Quinn, to fantastic events designed to help writers of all levels realise their potential and ambitions there’s something for everyone across a huge variety of subjects. You’ve got no excuse for not getting along to the 2015 Dundee Literary Festival.”

The Festival website, where people can buy tickets from, will go live on Monday, 14^th September at 11am at www.literarydundee.co.uk. The programme will officially be launched at events in Dundee and Looking Glass Books in Edinburgh on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th September respectively.

Dundee Literary Festival is produced by Literary Dundee is a University of Dundee-led initiative that connects books, readers, writers and the brightest ideas, thanks to the University of Dundee and partners throughout the city and beyond.

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
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