LBF 09: 30 October to 1 November 2009

Latest News:

The final programme for LBF 09 is now available here! It's a goodie: Christoper Brookmyre, Janice Galloway, Iain Banks, Michael Fry, Robert Crawford and more.

Dates for next year's festival: 28 to 30 Oct 2010

Stuff from previous years:
LBF 2008 programme;
"Double Yellows" 2007's Linlithgow Renga
LBF 2007 programme

LINLITHGOW BOOK FESTIVAL 2009: final programme

Friday 30th October:
6.45 Festival opened by The Hon Michael Connarty MP.

7.30pm Christopher Brookmyre reading from his new novel Pandaemonium accompanied by singer songwriter Billy Franks. (£8)

Saturday 31st October:
11.00am to 1.00pm. Poetry workshop with Andrew Philip. (£8)

11.00am Michael Fry on his Edinburgh: A History of the City (£6)

1.00pm Robert Crawford on his biography of Burns, The Bard. (£6)

2.30pm Janice Galloway reading from This Is Not Me and her new collection of short stories. (£6)

4.00pm Angus Konstam on There Was A Soldier: First Hand Accounts of the Scottish Soldier at War. (£6)

5.00pm The Open University Debate, "Is Scottish History Too Popular". Chaired by Ruth Wishart, featuring Maggie Craig author of Bare-arsed Banditti, Professor Robert Crawford, Professor Ian Donnachie consultant to the TV series "A History of Scotland" and Dr Mark Jardine researcher for the History of Scotland TV series. (Free ticketed event)

7.00pm Iain Banks reading from his new novel Transition. (£6)

8.30pm Festival Open Mike -- poetry and prose. (Free event)

Sunday 1st November:
(all events organised in conjunction with West Lothian Libraries)

1.00-1.50pm Linlithgow in Print through the ages. (£4)

2.15-3.15pm Six Local poets: Jane McKie, Alistair Findlay, Andrew Philip, Douglas Watt, Billy Watt and Dennis O'Donnell. (£4)

3.30-4.00 Storytelling for young children with Anne McEwan, Bookstart co-ordinator for West Lothian Libraries (Free event)

2008 Poetry Workshop: Details

Join poet Andrew Philip to consider how to bring the element of surprise into your writing. We'll talk a little about form, structure and language but, most importantly, we'll get writing. This workshop is suitable for beginners and more experienced writers alike.

Open Mike: Details

The open mike event will take place in the Festival Club, the bar area of the Masonic Halls. We welcome unknown and published writers to read their own poetry or prose.

E-mail before 9:00 am on Saturday to be sure of your place, or just come along and enjoy the cornucopia of talent! Slots will be five minutes long. Time limits will be enforced.

LBF 2008: Programme

All events are 1 hour long unless otherwise specified.

Friday October 31
6:45pm to 7:15pm - Festival opening with Scottish education secretary, Fiona Hyslop MSP. [Free.]
7:30pm - Christopher Brookmyre [SOLD OUT] (Chaired by Roy Dalgleish.)

Saturday November 1
11:00am - Roderick Graham on his book An Accidental Tragedy: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots. [£6] (Chaired by Alan Young.)
11:00am to 12:30pm - Poetry workshop with Andrew Philip. [£8]
12:10 to 12:50pm - Linlithgow in Print, with Sybil Cavanagh, West Lothian Libraries local history librarian, and Douglas Watt. [Free.]
1:00pm - Timothy Neat on Hamish Henderson. [£6] (Chaired by Ewan McVicar.)
2:30pm - James Kelman with his new book Kieron Smith, boy. [£6] (Chaired by Roy Dalgleish.)
4:00pm - Alistair Moffat on Hadrian's Wall. [£6] (Chaired by John Fowler.)
7:00pm - Crime writer Alex Gray with her new book Pitch Black. [£6] (Chaired by Roy Dalgleish.)
8:30pm - Open mike reading in the Festival Club, hosted by Andrew Philip. [Free.]

Sunday November 2, afternoon
1:30 to 2:15pm - Children's author and illustrator Catherine Rayner. [£6 per child; bring an adult free!]
2:30 to 3:15pm - Lynne McGeachie, Scots translator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. [£6 per child; bring an adult free!]
3:30pm - Alistair Findlay, editor of 100 Favourite Scottish Football Poems and author of The Love Songs of John Knox. [£6] (Chaired by Andrew Philip.)

Linlithgow Book Festival gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Robert Callander Optician and the Linlithgow Bookshop.

Linlithgow Book Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of West Lothian Council and Linilthgow's councillors.


Double Yellows: the Linlithgow renga

Double Yellows


Early November
brown leaves on the grass
a moth lands on my jacket

--did you see the geese take flight
--from the glister of the loch?

a half moon of hope
as the days slip into darkness
and dry sticks spark

--she takes time to adjust to
--her first pair of bifocals

taking the bend
he tunes the radio
into fresh sounds

--extra trains rattle the houses
--the world's off to Embra

castle silhouette
Fringe venue camped beneath
in the gapsite

--the ruined mansion
--now home to creatures of the night

3am – the baby
announces another morning
with jingling and laughter

--two new blue rockpools of eyes
--in which you fathom all that's lost

from the bridge I watch
you watching the heron
watching the river

--slate metal grey
--petrel wings flash

the palace
whitewashed
by the night sky

--ducks skitter on ice
--the smell of chestnuts

the winter playpark
frost and mud
a chilled father and his roaring kids

--outside the school gates, a row
--of 4x4s on double yellows

in two minds
dirty more pots or head
to the Golden Chip?

--bubbling vats
--potential biofuels

pungent heavy odour
spiky green
gorse in flower

--heat-hazed paths
--sandstone gods.



a nijuuin renga in autumn
The Masonic Hall, The Cross, Linlithgow
3 November 2007


Participants

Gail Boardman
Ken Cockburn (master)
Roy Dalgeish
John Fowler
James Headon
Rosemary Headon
Steve Heard
Angela Killane
Anna Loffelmann
Jill Pattle
Andrew Philip (host)
Jude Philip
Mario Relich
Alistair Rennie
Christopher Rush
Elisabet Thorin
Julie Watt

Programme of Events

***STOP PRESS***
First Minister to open Linlithgow Book Festival
We are delighted to announce that Alex Salmond, First Minister and son of Linlithgow, will open this year's festival. A short opening ceremony will take place in the Masonic Halls at 6.15 pm on Friday 2nd November. The ceremony will be free and open to the public.

Friday 2nd November

Saturday 3rd November

  • 11 am to 5:30 pm - Come along and surprise yourself! Whether you’re a complete novice at poetry or an experienced writer, you’ll find something fresh at “The Linlithgow Renga”. Drop in at any point over the day and join festival-goers in writing a collaborative poem of 20 short verses under the expert guidance of poet and seasoned renga master, Ken Cockburn. Click here for more information and renga links. Entry by donation.

  • 12 noon - Douglas Watt reading from The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the Wealth of Nations, which overthrows the long-held idea that the Darien venture of 1695 was undermined by the English government.

  • 2 pm - Christopher Rush on his autobiography Hellfire and Herring, which tells of growing up in the East Neuk village of St Monans, where the two most potent influences were religion and fishing. "few writers can paint so vivid a picture with so few words ... the writing is exquisite" (Sue Magee)

  • 3:30 pm - Trevor Royle speaking on Flowers of the Forest: Scotland and the Great War. "Trevor Royle's illuminating book is ... much more than a military history. his unique perspective is the social effect of the war" (Despatches Magazine)

  • 6:30 pm - Reading of the Linlithgow Renga.

  • 7 pm - Denise Mina reading from her new novel in the Paddy Meehan series, The Last Breath. Denise is an award-winning and prolific crime writer, graphic novelist, contributor to DC comics and playwright. According to one biography, "in between she raises children, mooches about eating toast and listens to thrash metal".

  • 8:30 pm - Alan Spence reading from his latest novel The Pure Land - a modern epic, at once a rattling good adventure, a heart-wrenching love story and a journey of the spirit.

Sunday 4th November

This is a day of celebration of our language and culture

  • 11 am - Dr Chris Robinson takes an honest but optimistic look at West Lothian Scots. The Scots language in West Lothian has seen changes in recent years, reflecting social shifts in the area. It may have been undervalued by linguistic studies, and even by its own speakers, but our linguistic heritage is part of our culture. How is the language changing and will Scots survive?

  • 2 pm - William Wallace and Scottish Culture. What do we know about William Wallace and what does his story—fact and myth—have to say to Scotland in the 21st century? Broadcaster and historian Louise Yeoman, writer and dramatist John Fowler and poet Andrew Philip have each interpreted the story. Join them for discussion of this fascinating figure, with readings from historical sources and their own writing.

  • 3:30 pm A family event to mark the publication of Doh Ray Me when Ah Wis Wee - Scots Children's Songs and Rhymes - researched and selected by Ewan McVicar. Come along and have your memories stirred while joining in.

Please note that latecomers will not be admited to any event. This does not apply to the renga, which is a drop-in event.

The Linlithgow Renga

A renga poem is made up of a series of short verses (alternating between three lines and two) written collaboratively by a group of people. References to the seasons provide a framework for the poem, and the style of writing is very similar to haiku: concrete images, usually with some nature reference, and little or no abstraction. Each verse should be able to stand alone but should also have some link, however subtle, to the verse before and after it.

Participating in a renga can be a great way into writing poetry as well as a refreshing change for the seasoned poet. Every participant has the opportunity to write something for each verse, and the renga master chooses which piece of writing goes into the renga. Because of the concrete style and short verses, it's accessible even for complete novices, who sometimes outdo the experienced writers!

The Linlithgow Book Festival renga will be written throughout the Saturday of the festival. Anyone is welcome to come along and participate for as long or short a time as they like. The event will be led by Ken Cockburn, a highly experienced renga master, poet and publisher. Entry is by donation.

Click here for a beginner's guide to composing renga from the renga platform website. You can also find examples of contemporary renga in English on the site.

Read "Double Yellows", the complete Linlithgow renga, here.

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