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On Saturday 14th October, 7pm till late, thi wurd presents its second major literary event of 2023. This takes place at ‘The Dining Hall’ in Glasgow University Union. The night will feature readings of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There will be live music, screenings, curated playlists, film reels, stalls, visual art and more.
The main event takes place from 7pm till 10.00pm, and the venue remains open till 1am, so that people can stay on to enjoy music and a well-stocked bar (operating at very reasonable prices). If other wurd events are anything to go by, we can expect people from all over Scotland, the UK, Ireland, Europe and further afield to be travelling to this one. It’s a chance to meet writers and artists from many different places.
Bernard MacLaverty
After his incredible reading at our event at Civic House in November 2022, Bernard MacLaverty returns, due to popular demand, to read for us at Glasgow University Union on 14 Oct. Bernard is the award-winning author of five novels and six short story collections. His novels Lamb (1980) and Cal (1983) were made into successful films. Lamb stars Liam Neeson with music by Van Morrison, and Cal stars Helen Mirren and John Lynch with music by Mark Knopfler. His most recent novel, Midwinter Break (2017), is currently in production, starring Lesley Manville and Ciaran Hinds in the lead roles. Blank Pages and Other Stories (2021) is his latest short story collection.
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Elle Nash
On 28th September we announced the first of our special guests, writer Elle Nash, who will read from her work. Elle Nash is the author of the novels Animals Eat Each Other (2018), Gag Reflex (2022) and Deliver Me’ (2023). Her debut short story collection Nudes was published in 2021. As I write this, Elle is off on a book tour in the USA to promote Deliver Me. The tour takes in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and New York, but she will be in Glasgow for our show on the 14th Oct. It’s a great honour to have Elle at our event. Her reading will be a major highlight.
Stevie Jackson
Our very special musical guest for the evening is Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian who will perform a mini set of songs on the night. It’s great to have Stevie coming along, and having seen a recent live performance by him, I know this is going to be an exciting experience for the audience. Stevie has written some of Belle and Sebastian’s most iconic songs, including Seymour Stein, Legal Man, Jonathan David, Roy Walker, To Be Myself Completely, So in the Moment and many others. His solo album I Can’t Get No Stevie Jackson was released in 2011.
Elysia Welch reads Agnes Owens
Agnes Owens (1926 – 2014) began writing in her 50s and emerged as a strong voice in the 1980s. She continued to write into her 80s and left behind an incredibly powerful and important body of work. The Scottish literary scene of the 1980s and 1990s seemed to many to be extremely male-dominated, and Owens writing pulled readers into different perspectives with her brilliant depictions of individuals and communities that weren’t often shown in Scottish writing at the time. Her work paved the way for other voices to emerge and she retains a loyal readership to this day. The recent creation of The Agnes Owens Archive, as a section within The Alasdair Gray Archive, will ensure that her work has a living legacy, available now and for future generations. For more information on Agnes Owens click HERE
Elysia Welch is a Scottish actress who graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Since graduating she has worked professionally in film, television and radio. Her credits include the recurring role of Morag MacKenzie in Series 4 and 5 of the popular Starz series, Outlander. Her most recent credits include featuring in Series 2 of the Scottish crime drama Annika. In addition, she has featured in films such as Eternal Beauty, Creation Stories which premiered at Glasgow film festival and the BBC film To Provide All People, based on the poem by Owen Sheers to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS. She has also featured in critically acclaimed short films, Jealous Alan (Scottish BAFTA nominated) and Ruth Paxton’s Be Still My Beating Heart.
Red Ash by David Arthur
“Mortality, memory and a game of headers play out on a red ash football pitch in Glasgow.”
It’s wonderful to announce that, at our event, there will be a special screening of the short film, Red Ash, directed by David Arthur, who will be in attendance along with others involved in the making of the film.
Red Ash is David’s debut short film as a writer/director. He is also a Bafta award-winning editor of a variety of film and TV, from Iranian cinema (Winners), to television dramas (Guilt and Outlander), to feature documentaries (Electric Malady and Where You’re Meant to Be) and the musical, God Help the Girl.
This is a must see film, and an incredible opportunity to watch it in the presence of the creative team behind it.
The venue is accessible and fully seated.
Looking forward to seeing you on the night for one of the big literary events of 2023.
Glasgow University Union (The Dining Hall), 32 University Ave, Glasgow, G12 8XL