Book Week Scotland, the nation’s annual reading love-in, is back and this year the theme is rebellion!
So, it’s time to rebel against your reading habits. Head to your library to pick up something new, bag a free Book Week Scotland Book, and find authors you don’t yet even know you love!
We’ve lined up a programme of authors and storytellers who know a thing or two about rebellion…
You can find out about free tickets for all the events below on our website: www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/libraries/book-week-scotland.aspx
E.S Thomson’s Gothic Crime
Thursday 22nd November, 6.30pm, Larbert Library
The Blood, the third installment of Elaine Thomson’s Jem Flockhart series, is one of our favourite books of this year, so we’re thrilled to bring her to our libraries for the first time.
Jem, the star of the three books so far in the series, is a rebel with cause. Set in a beautifully-realised Victorian London, she lives as a man, allowing her to work as an apothecary… and get caught up in grisly crimes.
Elaine’s books are dark, gothic and atmospheric. Her Victorian London is so richly detailed that when you look up from the page, you’ll be surprised to find yourself in 2018!
Kirkland Ciccone
Thursday 22nd November, 11am, Grangemouth Library
The word rebel might have been invented for the one, the only Kirkland Ciccone!
Kirkland Ciccone has taken the teen scene by storm, with his larger-than-life personality and punk rock-fuelled pop-art style giving him the edge he needed to grab attention. A favourite with librarians and teen readers for his anarchic live events, Kirkland is in much demand. But what he does best is write twisty, weird YA fiction for the freaks/geeks/punks/teens who want to read something a little bit quirkier than the usual fare. His fiction is crammed with memorable characters, spiky dialogue, and Kirkland’s own observations.
Maggie Craig: Falkirk’s Rebels
Friday 23rd November, 10.30am, Forth Valley Sensory Centre
Maggie Craig has been bringing Scotland’s history vividly to life throughout her career. She’s written about the workers fighting for their rights on red Clydeside, knows a heck of a lot about the Jabobite Rebellion and has a particular interest in the unsung women who have played a role in Scotland’s past.
She joins us for a very special event at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre. As well as hearing Maggie’s tales of Falkirk’s Rebels, it’s a great chance to find out more about the work the Centre does to support people with hearing and sight loss – and grab a cake and a cuppa in their excellent cafe!
James Oswald
Friday 23rd November, 2.30pm, Grangemouth Library
You might say that James Oswald is a bit of a rebel himself. He doesn’t spend his days sitting in pretty Edinburgh coffee shops with his notepad and pen, he’s out roaming the fields with his Romney sheep and Highland cows!
By day, James farms and by night he writes classic fantasy and a series of eerie crime novels starring Detective Inspector Tony MacLean. DI MacLean is himself an unusual man, who is unlucky enough to see beyond the veil and the menacing evil that lurks beneath the seemingly ordinary crimes he investigates.
Jan Bee Brown: Rebel Stories
20th/21st November at Bonnybridge, Denny and Meadowbank Libraries
Storyteller Jan Bee Brown joins us for some seriously silly and rebellious tales aimed at primary age children.
Jan loves to share stories from traditional Scottish and European folktales to ancient myths and Celtic legends. She loves stories of the sea that include quests, monsters, the world at war and journeys that cross borders.
Jan speaks German and having lived and worked in Europe is drawn to Nordic myths, dark forests, tales of intrepid travellers and brave women.
Bag a book!
Grab a free copy of the Book Week Scotland book in libraries and at events.
You can also listen to all the stories, right now on the Book Week Scotland website.
Vote!
Tell us your favourite book of this year. You can cast your vote in the library, or comment below right now!
The book can be fiction or non-fiction, for any age. As long as it’s a paperback, hardback, graphic novel, audiobook or eBook released in 2018, it counts!