The Aye Write book festival will return to its home of Glasgow’s Mitchell Library for a live programme of events to be held across three weekends, between 6-22 May, whilst Wee Write, the book festival for children and young people, runs at the earlier time of 25-30 April.
This 17th edition of Aye Write – the annual festival which is usually held in March — sees the festival return to Glasgow’s Mitchell Library for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic moved the 2021 programme online, and will feature more than two-hundred author talks and panel events, and with some events also taking place at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall and Tramway.
Ahead of the full programme being announced and tickets going on sale on 25 March, organisers of Aye Write have given a hint of what this year’s festival has to offer, including: Olivier Award-winning actress turned novelist Celia Imrie; journalist, rap artist, social commentator and bestselling Orwell Prize-winning author Darren McGarvey; journalist and broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor, Scottish crime royalty Val McDermid and Ian Rankin; outspoken MP Jess Phillips; musicians Bobby Gillespie and Tracey Thorn; DJ and now novelist Annie Macmanus and veteran BBC journalist Justin Webb.
Damon Galgut, last year’s Booker Prize winner for The Promise, will lead the line-up of the Aye Write digital programme, which will run alongside the main programme of live, in-person events at the Mitchell Library. And this year’s Wee Write programme, suitable for all ages, will include Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon, a celebration of 25 years of Harry Potter Magic with illustrator Jonny Duddle, and a special appearance by classic children’s favourite The Gruffalo.
Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “The return of the Aye Write and Wee Write book festivals this spring will provide the perfect opportunity to hear from a fantastic range of award-winning, debut and much-loved authors both online and in Glasgow’s iconic Mitchell Library.
“With our city’s libraries once again welcoming people back through their doors, Aye Write and Wee Write will offer us a chance to come together again to celebrate the joy of books, through its signature mix of unusual, funny and fascinating writers and conversation.”
Aye Write programmer, Bob McDevitt, said: “We could not be more delighted to announce our return to the celebrated Mitchell Library, and it promises to be a return full of all the bookish treats that our loyal Aye Write audience has come to expect.
“If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that we should value, perhaps above all else, the ability to exchange our experiences and stories, face-to-face, within a shared space. No technology – no matter now impressive – can replicate that.
“This year, we are more excited than ever to invite audiences back into our city’s shared space of the unparalleled Mitchell Library to celebrate our reunion.”
Viccy Adams, Literature Office at Creative Scotland, said: “Bringing audiences back in person to Glasgow’s annual celebration of writers and books brings as much joy to the heart as the spring sunshine. The pandemic has shown us all, in ways we might not have imagined, how vital Scotland’s book festivals are to local economies, to supporting our individual and collective resilience through reading, and how books are also opportunities for communities to come together – whether in person or online – to listen, to question and to engage.
“This year’s programmes for Wee Write and Aye Write are as dynamic and eclectic as are their audiences, and it is wonderful that the Mitchell Library (as well as other venues) will be filled with laughter, applause and a bit of wordy magic once again.”
The full programmes will be available on the Aye Write website from Friday 25 March, with tickets on sale from that day too.