What’s On in Glasgow: Books, Talks and Poetry Events

ruby mccann

(Ruby McCann, Poet, Editor, Publisher and Playwright)

Glasgow is overflowing with literary fervour.

Both established and up and coming writers can be heard reading their work at events in the city almost every night of the week. There are various book launches, spoken word events, literary festivals and writing workshops at various venues throughout the city.

Pauline Lynch

Pauline Lynch, Glasgow Writer

On this page I highlight stuff about books, talks,  spoken word performances, writing and other literary events.

You can also read stories and poems by local writers and check out my section on Glasgow Writers.

 

Books, Talks and Poetry Events Listings

  • Jim and Pat’s West End Chat: Podcast with Magi Gibson, poet, writer and creative writing tutor
  • Stories and Poems by Glasgow Writers
  • Ten Writers Telling Lies Book and CD
  • Interview with Filmaker Samir Mehanovic – Calum Maclean
  • Mary Irvine – writer and philhellene
  •  Stuart Cosgrove Glasgow Writer
  • Glass Nylons and Woollen Combinations by Christina Byrne
  • Glasgow Writers: Graeme Macrae Burnet– nominated for Man Booker
  • Spoken Word Events in Glasgow courtesy of Stephen Watt
  • Writers’ Groups in and around Glasgow
  • GFF15 William McIlvanney, Living With Words – review Pat Byrne
  • Mother India at Home Recipes Pictures Stories by Monir Mohammed and Martin Gray review by Pat Byrne
  • Rotten English Podcast: Discussing the work of Agnes Owens
  • Jim Byrne, The Forgotten Life Childhood
  • A Bird Is Not A Stone, Palestinian and Scottish Poets Review by Pat Byrne
  • Poetry by Poets from Glasgow and Further Afield
  • Telephone: 0141 552 4267In person: At our Box Office within the Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, Glasgow G1 5HB

    Weegie Wednesdays

    A creative network for anyone interested in writing, illustration and publishing in the widest sense! Facilitated but informal, this monthly meet-up allows people of all levels and experience to make contacts, share their work and skills.

     7pm-10pm, Saramago Terrace Bar, FREE
    No booking required

    Centre for Contemporary Arts
    350 Sauchiehall Street
    Glasgow G2 3JD

    Books, Reviews, Groups and Projects

    scottish writers centre.jpg The Scottish Writers’ Centre

    A Scotland-wide resource bringing writers together and spreading information about our vibrant literary culture.

    The SWC is run solely by volunteers, therefore By Writers, For Writers and aims to to provide a space where writers can meet and share ideas and experiences about the craft of writing and learn from those further advanced. Central to that are the new facilities and activities arranged with the support of the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow) where we are currently based at 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2 8JD.

    Their Scottish Writers Centre Events Programme   Aims to  inspire and create a hunger for literature as well as opportunities for professional development.  This includes “In Process” masterclasses with renowned Scottish writers at the top of their field. Plus open-forum discussions and debates with excellent guest speakers. Please come and share your opinions and ideas. Membership of the CCA currently costs £15 per year (£10 for students/unwaged)

    Please get in touch if you have any skills or experience that you can offer to help support the running and expansion of the SWC.

    Email us at: [email protected]

    http://scottishwriters.wordpress.com

    tell it slant

    – Poetry bookshop, Renfrew Street.

    Tell it slant
    A bookshop specialising in poetry in all forms and in all languages: printed, audio and visual, including pamphlets, rare, out-of-print, and second-hand.

    Read the feature

    Book-Cover-232x300Mother India at Home Recipes Pictures Stories by Monir Mohammed and Martin Gray review by Pat Byrne. Great Book for lovers of Glasgow and fans of Indian cuisine. Fabulous photography and anecdotes. Buy at all Mother India Restaurants.

    • NewCWCOVER-230x300Inspiration From Commonwealth Writers to Boost Creativity by Jacqueline Smith.

    Coming soon an eBook to inspire your creativity by Jacqueline Smith. Inspiration From Commonwealth Writers to Boost Creativity draws together a series of interviews of writers which focused on aspects of crafting as well as inspirations and influences in their writing.

    Jacqueline’s accompanying commentary frames the inspiring responses from the contributors which will encourage readers and writers to happily consider that there are actions we can take to boost our creativity when it seems to be waning.
    The writers interviewed were include: Kei Miller from Jamaica, John Rice, Alan Riach, Brian Whittingham, Viv Gee, Anita Govan, Alan MacGillivray, Donny O’Rourke, and Liz Niven, all from Scotland, Gerry Cambridge from England, Skye Loneragan from Australia, Gerrie Fellows from New Zealand,Ryan Van Winkle from the USA, and Tawona Sithole from Zimbabwe.
    One of the contributors, the award wining poet Liz Niven, has said of the book:

    Jacqueline Smith has worked professionally and creatively to compile a series of interviews by contemporary writers… Her proposed book will join the shelves of aspiring and accomplished writers and contain content with relevance to all.’
    Further information: Pothole Press

    Inspiration From Commonwealth Writers to Boost Creativity is now available for download from Amazon, Kobo and Apple iBooks stores.

    >

    51yz09ohtjL._Utter by Vahni Capildeo

    In Utter the reader is transported by image and sound into a universe where there appear to be no limits to what the imagination is capable, and Vahni Capildeo relishes the freedoms inherent in such a world. Old boundaries come down: between the past and present, between human and animal, animate and inanimate, between the Caribbean and the global elsewhere, between the experienced world and the world of books. Rooted in an energetic sense of history, her vision remains scrupulously contemporary, wholly engaged in our present moment with poems triggered by the earthquake in Haiti, the politics of the globalized Antilles, and the islands’ industrial and agricultural contradictions. And even when the past is evoked, it remains wonderfully modern: dead soldiers welcoming a modern English apartment-dweller; Beowulf-era abandoned women pinned and pining on islands or beneath trees and recent migrants traveling their transatlantic journeys. And for all this, there live moments of community and tenderness, beauty and humour, all borne by her witty, prodigious intelligence. This is a book that rewards multiple readings, for at each reading some new untold treasure is sure to be discovered and rediscovered, making it a book as unexpected and as compendious as life.
    (Published September, 2013. Peepal Tree Press, Limited, 2013)

    Vahni Capildeo is the author of the poetry collections “Dark & Unaccustomed Words,” “No Traveller Returns,” “Person Animal Figure,” and “Undraining”” Sea,” and her work has appeared in the anthologies “Identity Parade,” “In the Telling,” and “The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.” She is a contributing editor and the UK agent and representative for the “Caribbean Review of Books” and a member of the International Advisory Board for the “Journal of Indo-Caribbean Studies.

    Buy Utter at Peepal Tree Press
    From ‘Utter‘ – Poem of the Week. Pull Out All Stops. – www.inpressbooks.co.uk
    Buy online at //www.amazon.co.uk/

    the sunlit summitA biography of Scottish climbing legend, W H Murray

    Robin Lloyd-Jones

    Described by Robert Macfarlane in his foreward as a “subtle and wonderful biography – there need never be another account of Murray’s life.”

    William Hutchison Murray (1913 – 1996) was one of Scotland’s most distinguished climbers in the years before and after the Second World War. As a prisoner of war in Italy he wrote his first classic book, Mountaineering in Scotland, on rough toilet paper which was confiscated and destroyed by the Gestapo. The rewritten version was published in 1947 and followed by the, now, equally famous, Undiscovered Scotland. In 1951 he was depute leader to Eric Shipton on the Everest Reconnaissance Expedition. In later years he became a successful novelist and pioneer conservationist.

    Robin Lloyd-Jones is a climber, teacher, and award winning author of novels, short fiction, radio drama and non-fiction. He is a former president of the Scottish Association of Writers and of Scottish PEN and has also been a tutor in creative writing at Glasgow University.
    Buy online at Amazon

     

    zest issue 2.jpgZest LiteraryJournal

    Excutive Editor – Kate Alexander-Kirk
    Editor – Amy Sibley
    Poetry Editor – Liz Bury

    Includes writing by Katy Hastie and Nicola Fitzhenry

    ‘A space that is meant to be warm and inviting to readers and authors alike.’

    ‘Our aim is always to respect, listen to, care for and be amazed by all the authors, artists, and readers we have the pleasure of interacting with.’

    Zest Issue 2 Online – don’t click on green download it’s an advert.

    Zest on Facebook

     

    four new words for loveFour New Words for Love

     

    Michael Cannon’s heartwarming, beautiful new novel, Four New Words for Love.

    £8.99

     Four New Words for Love – published by Freight. (Full details and buy the book)

    Michael Cannon Reading from Four New Words for Love

     Read an extract from Four New Words for Love

     

    The Poetry Club
    100 Eastvale Street
    www.swg3.tv

    Cover Photo

    Neu! Reekie! 34 – Glasgow – The Poetry Club Summer Storm

    The Poetry Club, Glasgow

    Listings coming soon.

    Neu! Reekie! Facebook

    An extract from Terry Welsh’s book Reflections: Lambhill, Possil and Elsewhere

    FRONT COVERTerry, who passed away in 2006, aged 74, was a very well-known face in Glasgow West End. He attended circuit training and football in the Western Baths into his seventies! In fact, in his memory the Baths now have a football tournament every year.  The year before he died Terry self-published a book called ‘Reflections: Lambhill, Possil and Elsewhere’.

    His friend Martin Greig describes it as ‘a smashing book with wonderful stories and some great images. He sold a lot of copies, too.’

    The book has fallen out of print but can be bought on Amazon as an e book. All proceeds from book sales will go to MacMillan Cancer Support. Price £2.99 on Kindle.

    – See more at: https://www.glasgowwestend.co.uk/terry-welsh/

    41bg0e8YN-L._AA160_A Spider’s Thread Across the Tay’ by Mary Edward

    What a delight to read a well-written, well-crafted book at such a reasonable price. From the Prologue, which gives us a factual account of the last minutes of the disaster, to the surprise fictional ending, I quickly became involved in two stories.
    As a new-comer to Glasgow I had read the author’s ‘Who belongs to Glasgow?’ which shows, through extensive research, how the vibrant, multi-cultural community of Glasgow came into being.
    “In ‘A Spider’s Thread’ this attention to historical accuracy is again reflected, this time woven in with a gripping fictionalised but highly credible story. Although the historical ending is no surprise – the Bridge still collapses – the fictional part of the story left me wanting to know what happened to Andrew, a man with a conscience, so I look forward to the sequel.
    This is an author who knows how to write.” Mary Spetses

    It’s available on Amazon as an e-book

    Photo:Glasgow Botanics Book Fair

    Open 10am to 4.30 pm

    Browse at your leisure through an excellent selection of rare and second hand books.

    Books bought, sold and valued.

    Admission Free

    Every month

    Hopkirk Building, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, 730 Great Western Road, Glasgow

    For more information and/or to be on our emailing list email

    www.booksatthebotanics.co.uk