Year: 2016

Get to know the author – Rebecca McKinney @bexmckinney

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Saturday 8th October 10.30-12.30pm – Portobello Baptist Church Cafe

Writing workshop – Crosscurrents: writing inspired by the sea

What does the sea mean to you? Sunny holidays, storm surges, separation, connection? In this two-hour workshop, Rebecca, author of Blast Radius, will use the sights, sounds and smells of the sea to inspire creativity, awaken the senses and capture vibrant images. We will visit the Promenade so dress for all weathers and bring pen, paper and imagination. Writers of all levels welcome.

Rebecca McKinney is a Scottish writer who came from America or an American writer who lives in Scotland, depending on your point of view. She lives near Edinburgh with her husband and two children. Her novel, Blast Radius, was published by Sandstone Press in February 2015.

Blast Radius by [McKinney, R.L.]

Sean McNicol’s best friend Mitch saved his life in Afghanistan, in an act of impulsive heroism. Now Mitch is dead and Sean has left the Royal Marines with a head full of ghosts and guilt. Mitch talks to Sean from beyond the grave, by turns encouraging him, cursing, singing and leading him to question his own sanity on a daily basis.Turning his back on his life as a soldier, Sean grudgingly returns to the downcast Scottish town of his childhood and takes a job moving second-hand furniture for the Once Loved Furniture Company. He is hired by a former schoolmate to clear her late father’s house at Cauldhill Farm, and gradually discovers that his own life is intertwined in the most unexpected way with the farm and its former occupants. In order to find the thing he wants most- a bit of peace- Sean must confront the unquiet spirits of his past: his alcoholic mother, his absent father, his old (almost) girlfriend Paula, his own fatal mistakes in Afghanistan and, of course, Mitch.

Get to know the author – Prof John Curtice

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Over the next couple of weeks, we will be telling you more about some of the authors taking part in our festival. We begin today with Prof John Curtice. 

Friday 7th October – 6-7pm – upstairs in the library

Professor John Curtice will be a familiar figure to anyone with a keen interest in politics. He is a political scientist who is currently Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and President of the British Polling Council. He is particularly interested in electoral behaviour and researching political and social attitudes. He is well known for his expert analysis on tv and radio. In this event, chaired by Jane Meagher, he will discuss the significance of polls and the recent upheaval in our political landscape.

What’s on @PortyBookFest – Sunday 9th October

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PortyBookFest launch

SUNDAY 9th OCTOBER 

FAMILY SAGAS, FAMILY SECRETS   11.00am-12.30pm      LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Debut authors Mairi Wilson, Ursula’s Secret, and Shelley Day, The Confession of Stella Moon, talk about their different approaches to creating vivid and exhilarating explorations of the impact of secrets which span generations in a family. They discuss what is said and what is left unsaid as mysteries are uncovered. The authors will be in conversation with Anne Loughnane, whose second novel, A Clarewoman’s Journey, has been published recently.

 

THE OSCAR OF MOUNTAINEERING  12.15-1.45pm    LIBRARY

In Some Lost Place by Sandy Allan, who hails from Newtonmore, is an exhilarating and harrowing account of his ascent with Rick Allen of one of the last great challenges of Himalayan mountaineering: Nanga Parbet’s Mazeno Ridge. Both climbers were awarded the 2013 Piolet d’Or, the Oscar of mountaineering, for their unique achievement.

Chair: Larry Foster

TSUNAMI: SCOTLAND’S DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION  12.45-1.45pm  LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Acclaimed political writer, Iain Macwhirter, examines the shifting political landscape in Scotland in the light of the events of the past couple of years. Where are we now and what does the future hold?

THE LOCKERBIE BOMBING: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE  2-3pm LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Kenny MacAskill discusses his latest book which details his decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, on compassionate grounds. He sets it in the context of the commercial and security interests that have overshadowed events in the decades both before and after.

Chair: Alastair Cameron

MEET THE AUTHOR – JAMES ROBERTSON  3.15-4.15pm    LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

In James Robertson’s latest novel To Be Continued…., Douglas Findhorn Elder is in a sorry state. He has just turned fifty, split up with his partner and jumped (before he was pushed) from his job at an ailing Edinburgh newspaper. On the night of his birthday, he makes an unexpected new friend: a talking toad. When a new work opportunity takes the man from the city to the Highlands, the toad goes with him…….

Chair: Jim Gilchrist

 

PLAYING DIRTY  4.30-6.00pm    LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Competitive sports have recently come into international disrepute over accusations of doping, bullying and corruption. Richard Moore, journalist, author and former racing cyclist, Alan Bissett, novelist, playwright and Rangers fan, and Maddie Breeze, sociologist and author on women’s roller derby, discuss the state of sport in the contemporary world.

Chair: John Kelly

What’s on @portybookfest Saturday 8th October

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PortyBookFest launch

SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER

WRITING WORKSHOP: REBECCA MCKINNEY

10.30am-12.30pm                 PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Crosscurrents: writing inspired by the sea

What does the sea mean to you? Sunny holidays, storm surges, separation, connection? In this two-hour workshop, Rebecca, author of Blast Radius, will use the sights, sounds and smells of the sea to inspire creativity, awaken the senses and capture vibrant images. We will visit the Promenade so dress for all weathers and bring pen, paper and imagination. Writers of all levels welcome.

 

BRIDGES OVER THE FORTH  11.00am-12.00 noon  LIBRARY  UPSTAIRS  

Michael Meighan has written widely about the local and industrial history of Scotland. From his book Forth Bridges Through Time he talks about the history and heritage of the iconic bridges and other crossings that have spanned the river.

Chair:  Peter Ross

BOOKBUG 11.30am-12.00 noon      LIBRARY

Bookbug returns to the Book Festival for a half hour of fun, songs and rhymes.

 

SPANISH BOOKBUG 12.15-1.15pm    LIBRARY

Bookbug goes international! Join Sonia for Spanish songs and rhymes.

FILMISH  12.15-1.15pm     LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Portobello-based comic artist Edward Ross, recently back from success at Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2016, discusses his debut graphic novel Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film, an engaging look at the history of cinema and the fascinating stories behind our favourite films.

Chair: Stephen Goodall

DANGEROUS WOMEN 1.00-2.30pm       PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Novelists Ajay Close and Catherine Hokin talk about what inspired them to write about women who shaped history. Catherine explores the fascinating story of medieval Queen Margaret of Anjou in her debut novel Blood and Roses.  Ajay’s A Petrol Scented Spring follows the extraordinary exploits of Edinburgh suffragette Arabella Scott.

Chair: Viv Cree

AN OLD LADY TALKING THE BLUES 1.30-2.30pm       LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Novelists Isla Dewar, Women Talking Dirty, and Catherine Simpson, Truestory, discuss their adventures while writing, the catharsis they’ve experienced and problems they’ve encountered. They exchange views on favourite books, favourite bits of books, books they’d wish they’d written and books they’d like to write. Find out about their heroines, both living and on the page, and about the characters they admire, fear, love and hate.

 

KNOW YOUR PLACE 2.45-3.45pm    PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH CAFÉ

Sean Bradley is Chair of the Edinburgh Old Town Development Trust, publisher and editor of The Evergreen: A New Season in the North, a journal in four volumes based on polymath and urban planner Patrick Geddes’s 19th century Evergreens. He will discuss the continuing relevance of Geddes’s work in urban renewal.

Chair: Bill Jameson

 

MESSING WITH THE MIND 2.45-4.15pm  LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Mary Paulson-Ellis, debut author of The Other Mrs Walker, 

joins Graeme Macrae Burnet, whose His Bloody Project has been long listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, to talk about what inspired them to write their novels. They’ll discuss how they got into the mysterious minds of their characters and the appeal of psychological thrillers and the exploration of secrets, lies and deception. 

Chair: Graeme Howard

NORTH EDINBURGH NOIR 4.30-6.00pm  LIBRARY UPSTAIRS

Lesley Kelly, A Fine House in Trinity, and Alison Baillie, Sewing the Shadows Together, talk about the joys and pitfalls of setting crime stories in places they know really well. Come along to find out what inspired them and what the reaction has been to the places their crime novels are set: Portobello, Leith and Trinity!  

Chair: Caroline Dunford

 

BOOK QUIZ  8.00-10.00pm at the DALRIADA on the prom

£1 entry per person. No ticket required

What’s on at the 2016 Portobello Book Festival?

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The programme for the Portobello Book Festival was officially launched tonight in a packed Dalriada on the prom. Authors, people chairing, organisers and past contributors all got together to hear Mae Shaw tell us about the busy and exciting programme of events planned for next month.

The book festival has grown over its 8 years from a small local community event to a larger local community event. It is run by local volunteers with a passion for books and reading who want to share their enthusiasm. It prides itself on being a free event – no-one is paid to take part and no-one pays to come along (though donations are always welcome!). As always, you can expect an eclectic mix of events with something for everyone. There are authors who have been nominated for prizes such as the Man Booker Prize and the McIlvanney Prize. You can enjoy events focussing on Tartan Noir novels, graphic novels, novels with a historical slant or listen to authors talk politics and much more besides. There is also a schools programme with events taking place in the local primaries and Portobello High School. There is even a school event with an ex-Olympian turned author – you can probably guess who! The festival is supported by Blackwell’s Book Shop who will be running bookstalls during the course of the event where you can buy books from the authors who are appearing.

Over the next few days the programme will be revealed with copies available to pick up in Portobello Library and tickets for all events available from next week. So first of all, here’s what you can look forward to on Friday 7th October. These events all take place in the library.

PortyBookFest launch

12.30-1.30pm                                                       

PORTOBELLO POTS AND PEOPLE

Sharing memories of the Buchan Potteries. Gavin May gives an informal talk on this iconic Portobello industry.

55+ Local transport provided: contact Portobello Library for information.

6.00-7.00pm                                                            

JOHN CURTICE

John Curtice is Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University and President of the British Polling Council. Well known for his expert analysis, his many publications include Has Devolution Worked? He will discuss the significance of polls and the recent upheaval in our political landscape.

Chair: Jane Meagher

 

8.00-10.30pm                                                                             

OPENING EVENT – WE’RE A’ JOCK TAMSON’S BAIRNS

Join David Francis and a host of local writers for an evening of words, music and conviviality, with special guests Liz Lochhead, poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster, and Patsy Seddon, Scottish Harp player and singer extraordinaire.