Saturday 7th October, 5-6pm, Library Upstairs

There has been a change to the speakers at this event. We will now be joined by Anne Kerr,  who is a member in Ayrshire and is currently Senior Vice Chairman and Convenor of the Communications Committee,  Heather McDougall,  Secretary of Perth and Kinross Federation and a member of Cleish Institute in Perthshire, and Jay Hutchison, also a Perthshire member. 

Anne will talk about the organisation, its history and its vision for the future and the other two will chat about their roles.  They will all speak about the Centenary Cook Book, published to celebrate this significant anniversary.

There are still free tickets available at the library for this event. As there has been discussion recently on our local Facebook page about possibly starting up a Portobello branch of the SWI, this is an ideal opportunity to find out more about the organisation’s history and future.

Programme details

One hundred years after its inception at Longniddry, the SWI is still dedicated to friendship, learning and skill sharing. At this session the challenges and opportunities facing the organisation as it stands today will be discussed and we will take a glimpse inside the SWI’s celebratory Centenary Cook Book.

Chair: Linda Bradley      

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

Only four days until the 2017 Portobello Book Festival begins. Some events are already fully booked but there are still tickets left for many of them. And there will be a very limited amount for each event available immediately beforehand. To make sure of your place though, head to Portobello library this week to pick up your FREE tickets.

Sunday 8th October, 4.15-5.45pm, Library

Lately much has been made of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’. But what are we dealing with here: something new or just a new way of talking about something that is not new at all?  What is the role of social media in all this?  A distinguished panel discuss these questions: academic and researcher, Rita Marcella of Robert Gordon’s University; freelance journalist and writer, Marcello Mega; Director of Common Weal and campaigner, Robin McAlpine.

Chair: Alastair Cameron

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

Sunday 8th October, 3-4.15pm, Library Upstairs

Helen MacKinven is the author of Talk of the Toun and Buy Buy Baby. Both novels explore themes such as social class and identity, using black comedy and featuring Scots dialect. Ross Sayers’ debut, Mary’s the Name, introduces the unforgettable character of 8-year-old Mary, on the run with her Granpa following a robbery at his work. Join these authors as they discuss using dialect in their work and the delights and difficulties of having a young narrator.

Chair: James Spence

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

Sunday 8th October, 3-4pm, Library

Lesley Glaister, award winning author, poet, playwright and teacher of writing shares an insight into her work and introduces her latest novel The Squeeze. Travelling between Edinburgh, Romania and Oslo, the book explores the transactions that take place between men and women with sex, money and the desire for love at its heart.

Chair: Jane Meagher

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

Sunday 8th October, 1.15-2.45pm, Library

Until very recently, Scotland has been strangely silent about its involvement in slavery and, in particular, the enormous profits derived not only from slavery but also from its abolition.  Why has this silence now been broken? Three distinctive voices respond: the author and librettist, Louise Welsh; Jamaican-born Scots academic and human rights activist, Geoff Palmer; researcher and biographer, Steve Thomson.

Chair: Ian Martin

This session is currently fully booked but a very limited amount of tickets may be available just before the event. 

Sunday 8th October, 1.45-2.45pm, Library Upstairs

In 2015 a group of young people, supported by Young Edinburgh Action, planned and ran an event attended by about 60 young people from across Edinburgh to discuss gender. The result is Alex & Charlie, a story about Alex’s first day at school. Come and hear those involved talk about the process. 

Chair: Christina McMellon 

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

Sunday 8th October, 12.30-1.30pm, Library Upstairs

Nathan Gale came out to his mother Shirley Young as transgender on their 20^th birthday.  In this session, mother and son discuss their book on families, gender and coping with transition.

Chair: Christina McMellon

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

Sunday 8th October, 11.30am-1pm, Library Upstairs  

How does being outside in the natural environment – particularly in its wild places – affect what happens on the inside, within the human psyche? Three authors show us how they ponder such questions in their books: Robbie Nicol Canoeing around the Cairngorms; Victoria Whitworth Swimming with Seals; Geoff Allan The Scottish Bothy Bible. 

Chair: Rona Gray

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