Artyness columnist Barbara Henderson highlights book events happening in Inverness and Dingwall over the next 10 days
Small is beautiful – and here are a couple of small bookish occasions for us all to celebrate.
I love autumn!
It is the season of colourful leaves, rainbows, crisp days, woolly jumpers – and book festivals.
It’s like the old bus joke: You wait all pandemic, and then three come along at once!
As I write, I have just completed some school sessions for St Duthac’s Book and Arts Festival.
But of course, by the time you get to read this, the next festival is already under way – NessBookFest, the free and inclusive book festival in Inverness, is back!
Although the programme is small, it is no less ambitious.
In addition to school events with authors such as Cal Flyn – just longlisted for the Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction – Catriona Lexy Campbell and Corrina Campbell among others, the hybrid adult programme kicks off with none other than crime queen Lin Anderson, in person.
Online events on Friday, October 1include comedian, writer and broadcaster Robin Ince, and you can watch live on Facebook and YouTube, wherever you are.
Locals to Inverness are also well represented with Pauline Mackay [2pm, Saturday], Moira Forsyth, Aoife Lyall and Ruaridh Maclean [sadly cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances] to name but a few.
And I am lucky enough to have been invited to speak about Scottish By Inclination on October 2 [Barbara is speaking at 5.30pm].
NessBookFest finishes with film critic Brian Pendreigh [7.30pm], alongside a free screening of classic film 84 Charing Cross Road in Eden Court [8pm] – my tickets are certainly booked for that!
Everything is free to attend – just check out the programme at https://nessbookfest.com/nbf-2021-events
Finally, a date that should be marked in your calendar is Bookshop Day, October 9.
With my author hat on, I will attempt to visit as many bookshops as I can on that day, but Picaresque Books in Dingwall have got something special up their sleeve with their Gathering of Authors.
If you are in the Dingwall area on the day, do pop in, and you may just bump into some writers.
Proprietor David Duguid is collecting donated signed copies from as many authors as possible who can pop in or send books from afar.
He will then add them all together for auction, with all the proceeds going to www.bookaid.org
Authors, if you pop in between 11am and noon, David will take a photo and ask you to sign a large sheet for display purposes at the auction.
What a good idea, on a good day, for a good cause – don’t you agree?
Told you – as far as seasons go, autumn punches well above its weight! Happy reading!
n NESS BOOK FEST: See interviews with NessBookFest guests Cal Flyn and Brian Pendreigh, also on www.whatson-north.co.uk
