Books, Talks, Poetry and Creative Writing Events.

hyndland bookshop inside

Books, talks and poetry events. Glasgow has everything on offer for lovers of literature, including major book festivals, book launches, poetry slams and spoken word open mics.

Plenty to choose from with events showcasing new talent as well as acclaimed writers and poets.

Events and New Books To Watch Out For

Maggie O’Farrell and Kate Mosse at Aye Write 2021

maggie ofarrell katie mosse

Friday, 21 May, 2021 at 7.15 p.m. Award-winner Maggie O’Farrell and Kate Mosse come together to discuss their latest novels. Aye Write is  delighted to welcome these two incredible authors to Glasgow’s Book Festival. Chaired by Zoe Venditozzi. Sponsored by Rathbones This event will be live and available to watch for three weeks after the […]

Read the full article: Maggie O’Farrell and Kate Mosse at Aye Write 2021

An Evening with Lesley Benzie

linda lesley

Thusday 20 May, 2021 – 8.30 p.m. until 9.30 p.m. Unwind for an evening of poetry and conversation, as Dr. Linda Jackson speaks with poet Lesley Benzie about her new collection, FESSEN/REAR. Free – Online Register at Eventbrite About this event In Lesley’s new collection, FESSEN/REAR, she writes about about pain and loss on both a […]

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Balloch Open Mic Mental Health Week – May 2021

Graham morgan

Mental Health Awareness Week (www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week) Realising it was Mental Health Awareness Week I immediately thought of a book I had read some two years ago and the strong impact it made. Graham Morgan Graham Morgan, MBE, of the Mental Health Commission (Engagement and Participating Office Scotland)> has worked in mental health for 30 years. His […]

Read the full article: Balloch Open Mic Mental Health Week – May 2021

Aye Write 2021 – Kicking Off This Weekend

aye write digital

14th – 16 May, 2021 – Online Aye Write’s online book festival kicks off this weekend with award winning writers and stars from stage and screen.  The Aye Write online book festival starts this weekend (Friday 14 May to Sunday 16 May) with a packed programme of events including award-winning writers, stars of stage and […]

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Living Our Dying – anthology pre-sale launch

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Thursday 13th May, 2021 at 7pm Invitation to pre-sale launch 10th to 16th May is Demystifying Death Week, so fitting that crowd funding appeal is launched on Thursday 13th May at 7pm for an hour. You are invited to a Zoom meeting: Living Our Dying – meet the editors, Larry Butler and Sheila Templeton…and hear […]

Read the full article: Living Our Dying – anthology pre-sale launch

Aye Write 2021 – Mel Giedroyc – debut novel

mel giedroyc

Chaired by Gabriella Bennett 15 May, 2021 4.45pm – 5.45pm Mel Giedroyc has been entertaining the nation for nearly thirty years. A comedian, writer, actor and presenter, Mel is best known for her work with Sue Perkins in the double act Mel & Sue. They have presented many TV shows such as multi Bafta-winning The […]

Read the full article: Aye Write 2021 – Mel Giedroyc – debut novel

Aye Write 2021 introduces Scottish Debuts

aye write digital

14 May, 2021 – 10.30am – 11.30am New Scottish Writing Talent Vikki Reilly from Publishing Scotland introduces a diverse range of new Scottish writing talent including Fiction, Memoir, short stories and crime. Featuring: Ross Macfarlane (Edward Kane and the Parlour Maid Murderer), Emma Grae (Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy),  Flora Johnston (What You Call Free), […]

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A WORKING CLASS STATE OF MIND by Colin Burnett

working class state of mind colin burnett

Order A WORKING CLASS STATE OF MIND by Colin Burnett Include your own shout-out, which will be printed in the finished book. Pre-order A WORKING CLASS STATE OF MIND for £12.99 (includes UK postage) by following the PayPal link on this page, and include a shout-out which will be printed in the finished book. Books will be […]

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Digging Out A Niche: In Conversation with Graham Lironi and Ian Spring

ruby mccann in convesation with graham leroni and ian spring

12 May, 2021 – 7 p.m. Online Event by Rymour Books Free –  Register at Evenbrite Graham Graham Lironi and Ian Spring in conversation with Ruby McCann Rymour Books in collaboration with the Still At Home Literary Fringe Festival presents a virtual chat about the craft of fiction writing with writers, Graham Lironi and Ian […]

Read the full article: Digging Out A Niche: In Conversation with Graham Lironi and Ian Spring

Aye Write Programme 2021

aye write digital

Aye Write announces its full cast of authors for the digital book festival  2021 – 14 May to 16 May and 21 to 23 May.  Programme and Tickets Aye Write is Glasgow’s Book Festival and is produced by Glasgow Life, the charity which delivers culture and sport in the city.   The live book festival, usually held […]

Read the full article: Aye Write Programme 2021

Aye Write 2021 – Helen McClory & Ruth Thomas

helen mcclory and ruth thomas

15 May, 2021 – 11.45 a.m.  – 12.45 p.m. Prize-winning Scottish Authors Helen McClory & Ruth Thomas chaired by Sara Davies Helen McClory’s first collection of stories, On the Edges of Vision, won the Saltire First Book of the Year. Her latest novel, Bitterhall is a story of obsession told between three unreliable narrators. In […]

Read the full article: Aye Write 2021 – Helen McClory & Ruth Thomas

Aye Write 2021 – A City and a Family’s Story of Slavery

craig lamont

Friday 14 May, 2021 – 3.30 p.m. – 4.30 p.m. Craig Lamont & Alex Renton with Graham Campbell chaired by Naomi Shoba  Through the story of his own family’s history as slave and plantation owners, Alex Renton looks at how we owe it to the present to understand the legacy of the past. His book, […]

Read the full article: Aye Write 2021 – A City and a Family’s Story of Slavery

Aye Write 2021 Creative Writing

chris dolan

Creative Writing Programme 24 – 29 May, 2021 In  collaboration with the University of Strathclyde: Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University and the Gaelic Books Council. The programme offers you the chance to develop writing skills in many different forms including sessions on: writing for television with celebrated TV writer Ann Marie […]

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Joan Eardley Centenary – Writers Celebrate her work

all becomes art

Writers celebrate the work of Joan Eardley in this special event to mark her centenary and launch a new call for work for an anthology. 18 May, 2021 at 7.30 p.m. until 8.30 p.m. Online – Free – Register at Eventbrite About this Event “All becomes art, and as if she was incensed By the […]

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Woodlands Anti Racist Community Library Launch

anti racist library

Saturday, 1 May, 2021 – 11 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. Woodlands Community new Anti-Racist Community Library will officially open Satuday 1 May, 2021 in the Millennium Park. After this launch, the library will be located there fortnightly on Saturdays between 11am-1pm. Please come along for the in person launch and come check out a free […]

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Linda Jackson, The Cabinet launch of poetry collection

lilinda jackson photo

11 May, 2021 – 7pm to 8.30pm Free event – Book via Eventbrite. Linda Jackson is joined by guest poets Sheila Templeton, Aoife Lyall and Eveline Pye. Introduced by Professor Willy Maley About this Event Red Squirrel Press invites you to the Zoom launch of Linda Jackson’s poetry: The Cabinet. ‘This is my late mum’s […]

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Book Launch: America Mules poetry collection by Martina Evans

mules carcanet

Wednesday 21 April 2021 at 7 p.m. Join Carcanet Press to celebrate the launch of Martina Evans’s new poetry collection, American Mules. Hosting the reading will be fellow Carcanet poet Thomas McCarthy. The event will feature readings and discussion, and audience members will have the opportunity to ask their own questions. Also shown during the […]

Read the full article: Book Launch: America Mules poetry collection by Martina Evans

University of Glasgow; Full Day Symposium celebrating Creative Writing

creative writing spring symposium

Thursday, 22 April 2021 11 a.m. –4 p.m. A full-day symposium to celebrate the past, present and future of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow About this Event Creative Writing at University of Glasgow is applying to become the Centre for Writing and Creative Practice. This Centre will consolidate its cross-disciplinary portfolio of research […]

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Balloch Open Mic Blog: ‘To whom it may concern –’

fsw anthology

A friend recently dropped in a new publication in which she was featured. The book, ‘‘To whom it may concern’ Arbroath Anthology, was a collection of letters of petition to commemorate the 700th Anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath (April 6th 1320). The Federation of Writers Scotland, who produced this book, decided, as it states […]

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Mongrel: Donna Campbell debut poetry collection

mongrel donna campbell

‘Not only are these poems formally elegant, punchy, compassionate, witty and heart-breaking, but they have a self-honesty that is as hard to master in life as it is in poetry… Mongrel is a luminous addition to Scottish poetry.’  Tracey Patrick Following a particularly difficult time in her life, Donna, who is from Clydebank, has created […]

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World Book Night with Denise Mina

denise mina world book night

Zoe Strachan in conversation with author Denise Mina Creative Conversations Friday, 23 April, 2021 – 7 p.m.- 8p.m. Free – Register at Eventbrite About this Event Join Creative Conversations and East Ayrshire Libraries on World Book Night where Zoe Strachan will chat with author Denise Mina about her latest novel, The Less Dead. After a […]

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Celebrate Your Story – Workshop with Samina Chaudry

celebrating stories samina

Tuesday 4 May, 2021 2 p.m. –4.30 p.m. As part of this year’s Your Stories writing project, Scottish Book Trust is offering online workshops to help inspire you to write about Celebration. Sign Up for Samina Chaudry’s Workshop – Free Online Join Samina Chaudry, Next Chapter award winner, for a free online writing workshop on […]

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Open The Door Festival 2021 – Scottish Women’s Writing

open the door

Glasgow Women’s Library Thursday 20th May – Saturday 22nd May 2021 Online Scotland’s first ever festival for Scottish women’s writing returns for its fifth edition! This year inviting the world to Open the Door again, as Glasgow Women’s Library host the festival entirely online. Inspired by Glasgow’s long history of bold, creative women, the theme […]

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Aye Write 2021 – Pre-Festival Event

chris brookmyre denise mina louise welsh

Chris Brookmyre, Denise Mina and Louise Welsh 28 April, 2021 at 7 p.m. £5 – Purchase Online Also available through the Aye Write Pass This event will be live and will also be available to view for 3 weeks after the broadcast date. The Aye Write Digital Festival will run from 14 – 23 May.

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Wee Nature Fest – Islands of Abandonment

Saturday, 27 March, 2021 5 p.m. Cal Flyn’s stunning exploration of places across the world that have been abandoned by humans… Event by Wee Three Indies, The Edinburgh Bookshop  Atkinson-Pryce and Far From the Madding Crowd  Online event Free The Wee Three Indies #Wee Nature Fest continues with Cal Flyn’s stunning exploration of places across the world that have […]

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Sheena Blackhall – Meet the Author

A Bard’s Life – Sheena Blackhall Thursday, Mar 25, 2021 06:00 PM Rymour Books cordially invite you to join them for a Zoom launch of Sheena Blackhall’s ‘A Bard’s Life.’ Now available for order at Rymour Books @RymourBooks Meet the Author Tonight, Sheena Blackhall for the launch of ‘A Bard’s Life’  JOIN MEETING  Meeting ID: […]

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Slow Nature – Woodlands Community Booklet Launch

Event by Woodlands Community Tuesday, 6 April, 2021 –  7 p.m. Free Online As part of their Nature Recovery Project, Woodlands Community have produced this publication with local wildlife and conservation enthusiast, Katrina Caldwell. Join them on Tuesday 6th April 7-8pm to celebrate it’s launch and receive a copy. Woodlands have been focused on encouraging people […]

Read the full article: Slow Nature – Woodlands Community Booklet Launch

A Year of Workers’ Stories

workers stories

24 March, 2021 – 6.30 p.m. Event by Workers’ Stories Project Online: Register at Eventbrite Price: free ‘Over the past twelve months the Workers’ Stories Project has collected and published the everyday experiences of workers across Scotland. ‘ COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns have caused significant ruptures in our working lives. The impact has been seismic […]

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Douglas Stuart & Jackie Kay: Shuggie Bain

douglas stuart

Cambridge Literary Festival Friday 23 April, 2021 – 5 p.m. £6.00 – Single event ticket £35.00 – £50.00 – Festival Pass Book ticket Douglas Stuart discusses his heart-breaking Booker Prize winning novel with fellow Glaswegian and writer Jackie Kay. Douglas Stuart burst fully-formed onto the literary landscape with his astonishing masterpiece Shuggie Bain, the deserving winner of the 2020 Booker […]

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Creative Conversations: Lisa Robertson

Monday 22 March 2021, 1 p.m. In conversation with Elizabeth Reeder Hosted by Creative Writing College of Arts, University of Glasgow On Zoom – Register for Event  You will be sent the link to attend the meeting.  About Lisa Robertson Lisa Robertson is a poet and essayist whose books include XEclogue (1993); Debbie: An Epic (1997), nominated for a […]

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