Opening Night Event – Postcards from Portobello

Joanne 2018, Home

OPENING EVENT

Friday 5th October, 8.00-10.30pm at the library 

10th book fest cover pic

Our ever popular opening night celebration event for this 10th book festival also sees the launch of the commemorative publication Postcards from Portobello. This publication has been made possible through the support of Creative Scotland and is a collection of original work from many writers which we hope reflects the diversity of life in Portobello. It will be available free during the festival.

The evening brings together contributing authors and local musicians for a lively evening of words and music. Refreshments will be available.

Host: David Francis

Tickets for all Portobello Book Festival events are free and can be picked up from Portobello Library in Rosefield Avenue.

Whodunit in Skara Brae? with B K Bryce

Joanne 2018, Home

We are delighted that the first event of this year’s festival will be at a new venue: Jameson Gate, the retirement living development at the far end of Portobello High Street. This event is open to all but, as always, tickets must be picked up from the library.

WHODUNIT IN SKARA BRAE!

Maeshowe Murders: A Neolithic Whodunnit (Marna Mystery Series Book 1) by [Bryce, B. K.]
Friday 5th October, 2.00-3.00pm JAMESON GATE

No forensics, police force or modern communications – how do you solve a Neolithic whodunit in Stone Age Skara Brae? B K Bryce (authors, researchers and sisters, Barbara and Kathleen Stevenson) let you into a few of those secrets when they talk about the books Maeshowe Murders and Evil in Eynhallow from their light crime fiction series Marna Mysteries. There might also be an insight into fire lighting, brewing bread ale and making nettle ropes!

Chair: Lorna Lawrie

Tickets for all Portobello Book Festival events are free and can be picked up from Portobello Library in Rosefield Avenue.

The 10th Portobello Book Festival programme has arrived!

Joanne 2018, Home

The wait is over! The programme for the 2018 Portobello Book Festival, 5th-7th October, has now been revealed. We have a packed programme as always this year and are very excited to be welcoming our authors, contributors and guests. Tickets to all events are, as always, free and will be available from Monday 3rd September Portobello Library.

Click the link below to see the full programme and look out for more info about each individual event over the coming weeks. 

PBF Programme 2018 – final

Please note one change to the programme since it was printed. Unfortunately Ron Butlin has had to cancel.

 

BLACKWELL’S BOOKSHOP

Books by participating authors will be available.

 

Tickets for all events can be collected in person from

Portobello Library from 4th September. Some tickets

will be available at venues 15 minutes before events.

 

PORTOBELLO BOOK FESTIVAL

is organised by local enthusiasts and Portobello Library.

If you have ideas or would like to be involved, please contact:

portobellobookfestival@gmail.com

 

VENUES

PORTOBELLO LIBRARY

14 Rosefield Avenue, EH15 1AU

 

PORTOBELLO BAPTIST CHURCH HALL

189 Portobello High Street, EH15 1EU

 

JAMESON GATE

17-21 Portobello High Street, EH15 1DW

 

DALRIADA

77 Promenade, EH15 2EL

The programme for the 10th Portobello Book Festival is coming soon…

Joanne Uncategorized

Not long to go now to find out what’s inside the programme for the 10th Portobello Book Festival. We are looking forward to revealing the line-up for our 10th Festival which, as always, includes local authors as well as those from further afield. The Festival, which runs from Friday 5th – Sunday 7th October, offers the diversity of subjects and authors that has become a distinctive feature of our programme. To celebrate our 10th anniversary, and with the support of Creative Scotland, we are publishing a collection of original work Postcards from Portobello, which we hope reflects the diversity of Portobello life. This will be available free during the Festival.

You can pick up a copy of the programme at the Village Show in Rosefield Park on Sunday 2nd September from 2-5pm or it will be available from Portobello Library and various local businesses from next Monday. Tickets for all events are free and can be collected in person from the library from Monday 3rd September. Some tickets will be available 15 minutes before events.

The full programme will be published here next Monday with more detailed posts on each event following in the lead-up to the festival.

That’s all folks….. for now anyway

Joanne Uncategorized

So that’s Portobello Book Festival over for another year. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did.

Over the weekend, there were about 1000 people in and out of the library and the Baptist Church Hall, and comments across the board have been very positive indeed.  Our intention is always to try as far as possible to make sure that those who make up the community of Portobello see themselves, their experience and their interests reflected in the programme – to be inclusive and local but never parochial! This year’s festival was perhaps the most diverse to date.  The programme is also designed to bring together a distinctive mix of subjects, writers, commentators and readers creating what we hope is an atmosphere that is convivial and stimulating

The organising team would like to thank:

The talented musicians and writers who took part in our SongBook opening event

All our participating writers for inspiring us

Our fantastic chairs for keeping everything running smoothly

Our soundman Hamish for making sure that everyone could be heard

Jock, our resident joiner!

Blackwell’s Bookshop for providing staff for the weekend and making sure all our authors’ books were available for sale after each event

Portobello Baptist Church for their help and use of the premises

Jon Davey who took some amazing photographs

A special thanks to Paul Hudson and the staff of Portobello Library, a fantastic resource on our doorstep, without whose help and time we would not be able to run our festival

And of course, thanks to everyone who came along to the events and created such a vibrant atmosphere.

The 2018 programme – our 10th festival! – will be launched early September with tickets available shortly afterwards. The organising team will be starting to plan for this very soon. Any ideas and suggestions will be warmly welcomed.

The 2018 Portobello Book Festival will run from 5th-7th October.

 

Saturday photos

Joanne 2017, Home

Just a few photos from some of today’s events at the library. More will follow. Thank you so much to all our contributors and chairs for helping make it such a fantastic day. Still some tickets available for events tomorrow. Best to come along to the library just before an event to see if you can get a ticket. Remember the library is only open for book festival events tomorrow so doors open just before each one.