www.ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk

8-10 MAY

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The Ullapool Book Festival is marked in my diary with a gold star. It promises a weekend of warmth, friendship, high level debate, music, great food and baking, all set against one of Scotland’s most beautiful landscapes. Most of all it promises a weekend of books waiting to be discovered and discussed. It is a huge honour to be the festival’s new honorary president. One of my most exciting duties is reading books by authors who will be appearing in 2015. Through their writing I have journeyed across and beyond Scotland, to Africa, Canada and the Far East. They have taken me into parts of my own city that I didn’t know existed and back in time to the 18th century. There are more books waiting in my Ullapool Book Festival pile, more experiences, more places to discover and journey to. I hope you’ll come along for the ride. I’m looking forward to discussing our finds and meeting the authors in May.

Louise Welsh

Welcome

GUESTS

Murray ArmstrongChristopher BrookmyreLinda CracknellMichael CrummeyDuncan GilliesJohn GlendayJen HadfieldKerry HudsonAlison LangVal McDermidLisa MacDonaldNuala Ní ChonchúirPeter RossMichael F RussellIan StephenChiew-Siah TeiMike VassLouise WelshZoë WicombHighland Ceilidh

ALL SESSIONS ( EXCEPT THE READ BY THE SEA/POEMS ALOUD SESSIONS) WILL BE HELD IN ULLAPOOL VILLAGE HALL - IN THE MAIN HALL UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED.2

FRIDAY 8 MAYDIHAOINE 8 CÈITEAN10am WELCOME by LOUISE WELSH, honorary president of Ullapool Book Festivalfollowed by

CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYREChristopher is an award-winning Scottish novelist. In 2007 he won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for writing. His most recent novel Dead Girl Walking was published in February.Chaired by David Robinson £8An Open University in Scotland event

11.30am

MURRAY ARMSTRONGMurray Armstrong is the author of The Liberty Tree - a historical novel about the life and struggles of the Scottish Radical Thomas Muir (1765 – 1799).Chaired by Chris Dolan £8

2pm

LINDA CRACKNELLLinda’s non-fiction book Doubling Back: Ten Paths Trodden in Memory (Freight Books) was described by Gavin Francis as ‘a heartfelt exploration of the mental and physical landscapes that shape our lives’. It was broadcast as BBC Radio Four’s Book of the Week. Chaired by David Robinson £8

3.30pm

JOHN GLENDAY and JEN HADFIELDTwo of Scotland’s finest poets. John was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for his most recent collection and Jen won the T.S. Eliot Prize with her second collection Nigh-No-Place.Chaired by Jenny Niven £8

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7pm

LOUISE WELSHLouise’s sixth book A Lovely Way to Burn is the first novel in the Plague Times Trilogy. The second one Death is a Welcome Guest is out in June. Chaired by Chris Dolan £8An Open University in Scotland event

8.30pm

ZOË WICOMBZoë Wicomb is an eminent South African writer who lives in Scotland where she is Emeritus Professor in English Studies at Strathclyde University. Her latest work of fiction is October. She was a recipient of Yale’s 2013 Windham-Campbell Prize for fiction.Chaired by Stuart Kelly £8

10pm – 12.30am

HIGHLAND CEILIDHJoin us at a dance with the brilliant ceilidh band Highland Ceilidh. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do the dances; there will be a caller to talk you through them. Licensed (beer, wine and soft drinks).Enjoy a free taste of food at the interval. Smoked salmon from Wester Ross Fisheries, smoked cheese from Ullapool Smokehouse, oatcakes from Ullapool Bakery. £8Tickets need to be bought in advance for the dance. NO tickets will be on sale at the door.

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SATURDAY 9 MAYDISATHAIRNE 9 CÈITEAN8am – 8.45am upstairs in ferry departure lounge (on the pier)

READ BY THE SEABring some of your own writing (poems or prose) for the Read by the Sea open mic session (without the mic). Names will be pulled from the hat. 5 minutes is your limit. Free

9.30am – 10am committee room

TALES AND LEGENDS FROM LOCHBROOMCome along and listen to some old stories from Lochbroom. Roderick Mackenzie of Red Row, Ullapool (1851–1930) was the local bard and storyteller and recorded stories of the parish in a notebook around 1900. They were published in 1988 for Ullapool’s Bicentenary. Ullapool Book Festival has now reprinted them and the books will be on sale from today. Free

10.15am

PETER ROSSJournalist Peter’s book Daunderlust - Dispatches From Unreported Scotland is a collection of his best reports on Scottish life and culture, from the painters of the Forth Bridge to peat-cutters on Lewis and the rubber-clad regulars of a fetish club in Edinburgh. Chaired by Stuart Kelly £8*Free coffee and a bacon roll (or marmalade if veggie) will be served from 9.15am until 9.45am in the marquee beside the hall.

11.45am

NUALA NÍ CHONCHÚIRNuala’s critically acclaimed second novel The Closet of Savage Mementos is drawn directly from the author’s own experiences and explores heartbreak, loss, motherhood and adoption in a fictional village loosely based on Ullapool.Chaired by Zoë Strachan £8

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Alison LangKerry HudsonJohn Glenday

Duncan GilliesMichael CrummeyLinda Cracknell

Nuala Ní ChonchuirChristopher BrookmyreMurray Armstrong

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Ian StephenMichael F Russell

Val McDermidLisa MacDonald

Zoe WicombMike Vass

Chiew-Siah Tei

Peter Ross

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2.30pm

MICHAEL F RUSSELL AND IAN STEPHENBoth authors are regular visitors to Ullapool Book Festival. We are delighted to welcome them here with their debut novels. Michael’s Lie of the Land is set in a post-apocalyptic near-future Scotland, predominantly in the fictional Highland coastal village of Inverlair. Ian’s novel A Book of Death and Fish, set on Lewis, was a 2014 book of the year in The Guardian (Robert Macfarlane) and The Herald (Candia McWilliams).Chaired by Stuart Kelly £8Sponsored by The Ceilidh Place

4pm

DUNCAN GILLIES and ALISON LANGDuncan’s second collection of short stories Màiri Dhall agus Sgeulachdan Eile (Blind Mary and Other Short Stories) was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Book of the Year Award 2013 and is the winner of the An Comunn Gàidhealach Book of the Year Award 2013-14. Alison’s first collection of short stories, Cainnt na Caileige Caillte (The Lost Girl’s Language), was shortlisted for a Saltire Society first book award in 2009 and her new novel, An Aisling (The Dream), was highly commended in the Donald Meek awards 2014.This session will be in Gaelic. Non-Gaelic speakers will not miss out as there will be simultaneous translation into English through individual headsets.Translation by Morag Stiùbhart (Morag Stewart)Chaired by Mark Wringe £8A Bòrd na Gàidhlig event

7.30pm

KERRY HUDSON and CHIEW-SIAH TEIKerry Hudson’s first novel, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma was winner of the Scottish First Book Award. She will read from and talk about her second novel Thirst, published last year. Chiew-Siah Tei was born and grew up in Malaysia. She has won awards for her Chinese prose, including Hua Zong International Chinese Fiction Award. Chiew came to Scotland in 2002 and has published two novels since then. She will read from and talk about her second, The Mouse Deer Kingdom.Chaired by Zoë Strachan £8

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9pm

MIKE VASSIn 1937, Caithness-born Neil Gunn quit his job at the Customs Office to pursue his writing career full time. The first thing he did was buy a boat in the North of Skye and spend a summer sailing Scotland’s beautiful West Coast, seeking inspiration for his writing. This led to the publication of Off in a Boat. In the Wake of Neil Gunn is a new suite of music from Scottish musician/composer Mike Vass inspired by his own voyage in May 2014 mirroring Gunn’s 1937 odyssey. Mike will talk about his voyage, show some of the film from the trip and play excerpts from In the Wake of Neil Gunn. He will be joined by fellow musician Innes Watson.On the way in enjoy a taste of finest Ross-shire malt whisky from Glen Ord Distillery.Chaired by Mark Wringe £8

SUNDAY 10 MAYDIDÒMHNAICH 10 CÈITEAN8am – 8.45am upstairs in ferry departure lounge (on the pier)

POEMS ALOUDShare a favourite poem and discover new ones. Bring a poem you love and read it aloud: classic, contemporary, famous names or forgotten writers. Free

9.30am – 10am committee room

LISA MACDONALDUllapool resident Lisa writes poetry and prose in both English and Gaelic. She recently won the Wigtown Book Festival award for Gaelic poetry. Free

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10.15am

MICHAEL CRUMMEYThis year’s Canadian author is from Newfoundland. He has published nine books of poetry, stories, and novels. Galore won the Canadian Authors’ Association Fiction Award, the Commonwealth Prize (Canada & Caribbean Region), and was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Award and the Governor-General’s Award. Sweetland, his most recent novel, was a national bestseller in Canada and a finalist for the Governor-General’s Award in 2014. It is being published in the UK by Corsair this March.Chaired by David Robinson £8

11.45am

VAL MCDERMIDVal McDermid is an internationally best-selling award winning writer. She grew up in Fife. She was a national newspaper journalist for fourteen years before becoming a full-time writer. Her first novel, Report for Murder, was published in 1987. Since then she has published a further 29 novels, numerous short stories, a children’s picture book and two non-fiction works. She has also written radio drama and documentary as well as occasional journalism. Her latest book is The Skeleton Road.Chaired by Louise Welsh £8Sponsored by Ullapool Bookshop

TICKETING INFORMATION

TICKETS GO ON SALE AT 9AM ON FRIDAY 27 MARCH

WEEKEND TICKETTIOGAID DEIREADH-SHEACHDAINA small number of weekend passes are available for £95. These give admission to all events. Available only until 7 April – or earlier if sold out.

TICKETS ON SALETIOGAIDEAN GAN REIC A-NISFrom 27 March 2015

ONLINEwww.ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk

ORIN PERSON ONLY AT:Ullapool Bookshop, Quay Street and The Ceilidh Place Bookshop, West Argyle Street.

ORBY POST FROM:Ullapool Book Festival, PO Box 27, Ullapool IV26 2WY(cheques made payable to Ullapool Book Festival. Please enclose s.a.e.)

IMPORTANT – PLEASE CHECK THE START TIME ON YOUR TICKET

LATECOMERSLatecomers cause disruption to authors and audience members and will not be admitted after the start of the session. Please make sure you arrive in time to be seated by the start time on your ticket. No refunds will be given to latecomers.

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CONTACT US CUIRIBH FIOS THUGAINNUllapool Book Festival, PO Box 27, Ullapool IV26 2WYinfo@ullapoolbookfestival.co.uktel: 07754 835935

INFORMATION FIOSRACHADH* There will be no books for sale at the festival. However our sponsoring

bookshops will stock the writers’ books. Buy them there and bring them along for signing. Support independent bookshops.

* All sessions last approximately 1 hour unless indicated otherwise.

ACCOMMODATION ÀITEAN-FUIRICHFor places to stay in Ullapool and for any other information on the area, visit the website of Ullapool Dot Com www.ullapool.com

FOOD BIADHUllapool Fairtrade Group will be in the marquee alongside the Village Hall. During the daytime on Friday and Saturday they will be selling Fairtrade tea, coffee and Fairtrade baking. Between the two sessions on Sunday morning Ullapool Book Festival will be serving coffee, tea and their own homemade cakes in return for a donation to festival funds.

ACCESS COTHROMUllapool Village Hall has disabled access and toilets. Ullapool Village Hall now has a hearing loop system. (many thanks to HIE and Creative Ullapool for funding this). If anyone requires assistance please speak to one of the committee/stewards. If you think you will need any other help contact us beforehand.

ULLAPOOL MUSEUM Under the theme of Creative Ullapool, the Ullapool Museum mobile exhibition trailer will be in the hall grounds displaying some images from The Pear Tree Project - an earlier project from three of the UBF’s CU partners - Macphail Centre, An Talla Solais and Ullapool Museum.

FUNDERS LUCHD-MAOINEACHAIDHCreative Scotland, The Highland Council, Bòrd na Gàidhlig

SPONSORS URRASAIREAN Ullapool Harbour Trust, The Open University in Scotland, The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool Bookshop, Achins Bookshop, The Ullapool News, The Arch Inn, West Coast Delicatessen

SPONSORSHIP IN KIND URRASACHD NEO-MHAOINEILWester Ross Fisheries Ltd, Glen Ord Distillery, Ullapool Smokehouse, Ullapool Bakery, CNAG

Ullapool – The Book Festival that Makes a Difference

The opposite of a book festival

is not a book-burning,

it is indifference. Let them hear

us sing the difference. Love’s words

are louder, brighter than flames. Listen

I have watched Love’s sweat-earned words

plunge readers’ hands into

soft sweatpalmed lyrical hugs,

become part of an always us.

I have seen words introduce someone

to Love. Love is a work of art.

Novel. Novella. Epic. Poem. Story.

Love is an inveterate writer of letters,

emails and txts. I love Love, whose hair

is cut like a haiku, whose mind is epic

as a novel, whose hands are bright and

restless as a bookmark. I love Love.

Love is an us, Love shows us

life is an us. Listen, may this always

be the festival that loves

to make a difference. This festival

reminds us we belong with Love’s words

which, like village halls and ceilidh

places, are physical and inwardly

permanent parts of an us. Let us give

thanks to that which brought us to an us,

let us never forget that the opposite

of a book festival is not a book-burning,

it is indifference. Let us make a difference.

Kevin MacNeil