25 October 2011
Dundee Literary Festival - Thursday, 27th October
Fresh faces, vital voices, poetry and pieces will help celebrate the written word when the Dundee Literary Festival continues on Thursday.
The day’s events will commence at 11am when historians and authors Fiona Watson and Julie Flavell examine how the past is represented. ‘Writing History’ will see them read extracts from their work and discuss the ingredients that make history come alive on the page.
That will be followed by ‘Poem and a Piece’ at 12noon. Eddie Gibbons, a poet whose verse plays with conceptions of the lighthearted whilst revealing more serious subject matter, will feed the brain whilst sandwiches and hot drinks deal with the stomach’s cravings.
At 1pm, ‘Fresh Faces, Vital Voices’ will give the public the chance to hear from talented students on the University of Dundee’s MLitt Creative Writing course. The programme has established a reputation for being one of the most innovative and exciting of its kind in the country, producing fresh new writers ready to burst on to the literary scene. The event will be chaired by Kirsty Gunn, Professor of Creative Writing at the University.
The 2pm session will see GP and writer Pamela Cairns share her experiences of practice, travel and writing. In 2004, she gave up her Kirkcaldy practice to work with children in some of the poorest parts of Peru and was so affected by the poverty and plight of street children, that she was inspired to write her debut novel ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt Us’.
Renowned author Cynthia Rogerson will share the secrets of the novelist’s trade at 3pm when she hosts the ‘Writing Fiction’ workshop. Budding novelists are invited to come and learn how they can develop their voice and ideas and overcome the frustrations all too familiar to writers.
A Literary Salon at 5pm will see Professor Gunn introduce Edinburgh Book Festival hostess, writer, teacher and painter Di Hope, who will discuss the crossover between painting and literature, as well as how she the demands of her professional life with looking after her four children.
'Thursday’s events are a fantastic chance for anyone with a passion for books to come together and engage with people who have succeeded in the very competitive literary world,' said Literary Festival Director Anna Day.
'Anyone with an interest in becoming a writer themselves will have the chance to learn from a true professional in Cynthia Rogerson and to hear Pam Cairns’ inspiring tale. It’s also an opportunity to meet with some of the best young creative writers in the country before they become big names.'
Now in its fifth year, the Dundee Literary Festival takes place between Monday, 24th and Sunday, 30th October. This year’s Festival sees some of the biggest names from the world of fiction, poetry, journalism and the publishing industry take part in a series of workshops, talks, book signings, and readings.
All events on Thursday, 27th October take place at Bonar Hall. The Writing History event costs £3 and £2 (concession), while tickets for Poem and a Piece cost £5 and include a sandwich and hot drink. The Writing Fiction workshop with Cynthia Rogerson costs £8 per person. All other events on this day are free.
The full programme can be found at the Literary Festival website, and tickets are available from Literary Dundee, 5th floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee, tel 01382 384413. Tickets will also be available at Dundee Contemporary Arts and Overgate Shopping Centre.
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 |
