6 May 2008

Children's authors announced for festival

Two best selling authors for children are coming to the Dundee Literary Festival in June, with tickets for under 16’s priced at just £1.

Joan Lingard and Colin Bateman will appear to talk about their work and sign copies of their books on Friday 20th June at the New Teaching Block on the campus of the University of Dundee. Joan Lingard will be appearing at 11am, while Colin Bateman will be on at 1.30pm.

Both events are aimed at children aged 10 upwards.

Joan Lingard is one of the most important British writers for children, with more than 35 titles for young people to her name, including Across The Barricades, The Twelth of July and Tug of War. Her novels have been studied by thousands of students as part of the syllabus. Her stories tackle universal teenage experiences; love, parents, growing up, religion and friendship, shaped by the environment they grow up in.

Joan Lingard has spoken to thousands of school children over the last 20 years. She says, about her writing, "It has always seemed to me that life is limited we inhabit one body and see the world through our own eyes but by writing and reading we can live in different worlds, get inside the skins and minds of other people, and, in this way, push out the boundaries of our lives."

Joan Lingard will be talking about her work, reading from her books and answering questions.

Colin Bateman’s books are challenging, funny and exciting, enticing both boys and girls to read. His latest, Titanic 2020, has been shortlisted for numerous awards -it tells the fascinating story of a new Titanic. Everyone said the original Titanic was unsinkable and we all know how that story ended. The new Titanic is also supposedly unsinkable. But there are worse things than drowning as Jimmy Armstrong quickly finds out.

Colin Bateman has three other children’s books - The Seagulls Have Landed, Bring Me The Head of Oliver Plunkett and Reservoir Pups. Colin Bateman is a hugely successful crime author for adults - his books include Divorcing Jack and Cycle of Violence. He was also the writer of the first two series of Murphy’s Law.

The full programme for the Dundee Literary Festival is available online at www.dundeeliteraryfest.org.

Anna Day, Festival Director, says, "We have a fantastic line up for children again this year, and I hope that by keeping our prices so low we will encourage as many schools as possible to come along."

For tickets, log on to www.dundeeliteraryfest.org, call 01382 384768 or email dundeeliteraryfestival@gmail.com.

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