West Dunbartonshire Libraries and Cultural Services

Welcome to Booked! West Dunbartonshire Festival of Words

Welcome to this our 11th annual ‘Booked!’ festival; we believe that it is the most exciting line-up yet. A major highlight is The Steamie Reunion which brings the popular actresses Dorothy Paul and Eileen McCallum back together to reminisce about their roles as Dolly and Magrit. This event is supporting The Eileen McCallum Trust and there will be opportunities on the night to donate and help it with its vital work in providing support for boys and young men living with the condition Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

We are also delighted to welcome Sir Harry Burns, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, who will be delivering this year’s Alastair Pearson Lecture. The Pearson Lecture is in memory of Scotland’s most decorated soldier of World War 2, Brigadier Alastair Pearson who held the position of Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire. We are also honoured to welcome back Alasdair Gray, William McIlvanney and Allan Massie, all of whom are major literary figures in the UK, as well as Scotland.

As well as some familiar faces we are welcoming several debut novelists including local man D. A. Meyrick whose book Whisky from Small Glasses has received both critical and popular acclaim. We also have a fascinating array of non-fiction writers including Professor Tom Devine, who is Scotland’s most eminent historian. We are especially honoured to have a talk by Margaret Evison who will be discussing the loss of her son, Lieutenant Mark Evison, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. There are also family events including the sensational Snotasaurus Storytelling Session as well as our famous quiz competitions.

We believe that there should be an event to suit all tastes and hope that you find the programme as exciting as we do. We are very grateful that through the ongoing financial support of Creative Scotland this free Festival of Words continues to flourish.

Terry Lanagan
Executive Director of Educational Services

Acknowledgement: The lion symbol of the Booked! Festival is the work of the renowned Scottish author and artist, Alasdair Gray. Our thanks to him.