17 – 21 September 2019

www.moray.gov.uk/moraybookfestival

Book at Elgin Library from 19 August

or call 01343 562623

Celebrating Scottish culture, writing

and illustration, promoting reading

and encouraging debate

Welcome to our programme for the annual Spirit of Moray Book Festival.

We are delighted to announce an exciting range of events for this year’s festival which will run from the 17 – 21 September, 2019.

We continue to offer events that are suitable for family participation; for schools, nurseries, playgroups and other early years’ providers; for individuals who enjoy listening to our exciting and entertaining speakers or for those who want to share an afternoon or evening with friends.

Each year our programme features a range of well-known authors, illustrators, historians and personalities as well as emerging talent. This year continues that trend and the line-up is a unique, diverse and highly creative programme that caters for a wide range of literary tastes and interests and explores many topical themes.

It features the return to Elgin of best-selling Scottish crime writer James Oswald and we also welcome Ambrose Parry (pseudonym for the collaboration between bestselling author Chris Brookmyre and his wife, consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman) for their first appearance at our annual festival.

Mark Beaumont, athlete, broadcaster, author and ambassador also returns to Elgin to speak about his latest cycling feats. Tickets for this event are expected to sell out fast, so we encourage you to book your seats as soon as they go on sale.

Once again, we are indebted to Birlinn, one of Scotland’s most successful, independent publishers, for encouraging several of their authors to make the journey to Elgin to entertain and enthral our eager audiences. These speakers include Mary Miller who will speak about her meticulously researched, beautifully written and deeply moving book about

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Jane Haining and another highlight will be Dr Gordon Noble, of Aberdeen University, introducing his book King in the North that reveals hitherto unknown elite settlements, a major silver hoard and explains the importance of the Pictish symbols found in many places across the north and north-east of Scotland.

This festival is self-funding, other than support from Scottish Book Trust for the schools’ programme and relies on public participation to fund the authors’ fees, travel and accommodation expenses. We are therefore very grateful to the National Library of Scotland for their continued support of our festival by enabling their expert staff to participate in our programme and to Elgin Writers for their sponsorship of the Rosemary Goring event on Thursday 19th September.

Our enthusiastic staff have been working tirelessly since last year’s festival to prepare another packed programme of events to celebrate Scottish culture, writing and illustration, to promote reading and to encourage debate. We look forward to the pleasure of your company from 17 – 21 September.

Booking Office opens Monday 19 August

www.moray.gov.uk/moraybookfestival

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Public Events Programme at a

GlanceTuesday 17 Sept9:30am Bookbug Festival Fun2:00pm Storytime6:30pm Launch reception7:00pm Sue Lawrence

Wednesday 18 Sept3:00pm Mary Miller6:30pm James Oswald8:00pm Ambrose Parry

Thursday 19 Sept6:30pm Rosemary Goring8:00pm Malachy Tallack

Friday 20 Sept3:00pm Blake Milteer6:30pm Brigid Benson8:00pm Mark Beaumont

Saturday 21 Sept11:00am Bookbug Picnic2:00pm Storytime 2:30pm Dr Gordon Noble

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Public Events Programme in DetailTuesday 17 Sept 9:30am FREEBookbug Festival Fun

Join Bookbug for fun-filled songs, exciting stories and rollicking rhymes. Bring along a soft-toy friend.

Tuesday 17 Sep 6:30pm InvitationOfficial launch

Councillor Shona Morrison, convener of the Moray Council welcomes guests and officially launches the 2019 Spirit of Moray Book Festival.

Tuesday 17 Sept 7:00pm £5Sue Lawrence A Cook's Tour – writing and recipes

Sue Lawrence has written three historical thrillers AND is one of the UK’s leading cookery writers with 19 cookery books under her belt. She trained as a journalist in Dundee, but after winning BBC’s MasterChef in 1991 became a food writer. Sue will discuss her latest serving of Scottish fare, A Cooks Tour of the Scottish Islands, and her most recent novel Down to the Sea, a tale full of fear and intrigue. A true feast of Scottish writing not to be missed!

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Wednesday 18 Sept 3:00pm £5Mary Miller Jane Haining: a life of love and courage

Mary Miller has worked with children and families in Glasgow and in child healthcare in Southern Africa for many years. Named Evening Times International Scotswoman of the Year in 2009, her lifelong interest in the care of children in difficult situations drew her to explore Jane Haining’s devotion to the Jewish girls in her care. She lives in Glasgow.

Jane Haining was one of Scotland’s heroines. A farmer’s daughter from Galloway, Jane went to work in 1932 at the Scottish Jewish Mission School in Budapest. She was arrested by the Gestapo in April 1944, for ‘offences’ that included spying, working with Jews and listening to the BBC. She died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz just 3 months later, at the age of 47.

Wednesday 18 Sept 6:30pm £5James Oswald Nothing to Hide

Best-selling author James Oswald talks about the process of writing a new series character from scratch when you have a well-established series already on the go.

James is the auther of the Detective Inspector McLean series of crime novels and has also written an epic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro. His latest creation is Constance Fairchild, whose first adventure is told in No Time To Cry and continues with Nothing To Hide.

In his ‘spare time’ he runs a 350 acre livestock farm in North East Fife, raising pedigree Highland Cattle and New Zealand Romney Sheep.

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Wednesday 18 Sept 8:00pm £5Ambrose Parry (Christopher Brookmyre & Marisa Haetzman) The Art of Dying

Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson – a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances. Simpson’s protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron’s name.

Join husband-and-wife crime writing duo, Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, to discuss their gripping new historical crime novel.

We sell

Arran Dairy

Ice Cream

OPENING HOURSduring the Spirit of Moray Book Festival

9am-7pm (hot food until 6pm)01343 562634

Elgin Library, Cooper Park, Elgin IV30 1HS

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The Spirit of Moray Book Festival is delighted to be working with Elgin Writers Group who have kindly sponsored this event.

ELGIN WRITERS currently meet on fortnightly Wednesday evenings in Elgin Library. The club, now over 30 years old, is open to all writers, from beginners to professionals, and tries to cover all branches of writing over any two year span using speakers, workshops and competitions. Visitors are always warmly welcomed.

www.elginwriters.wordpress.com

Thursday 19 Sept 6:30pm FREERosemary Goring Scotland: Her Story Sponsored by Elgin Writers

Scotland’s history has been told many times, but never exclusively by its women. Scotland: Her Story: The Nation’s History by the Women Who Lived It takes a unique perspective on dramatic national events as well as ordinary life, as experienced by women down the centuries. From the saintly but severe medieval Queen Margaret to today’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, it encompasses women from all stations of class and fame and notoriety, offering a tantalising view of what happened to them, and how they felt. Join author Rosemary Goring as she discusses this landmark publication and the women behind the stories.

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Thursday 19 Sept 8:00pm £5Malachy Tallack The Valley at the Centre of the World

Author of Sixty Degrees North and The Un-Discovered Islands, Malachy Tallack returns to Elgin to discuss his most recent book, The Valley at the Centre of the World. Set in a small community in Shetland, it is a novel about belonging, inheritance and love, set against the rugged landscape of the islands.

Malachy Tallack is an award-winning author and singer-songwriter. The Valley at the Centre of the World is his debut novel. From Shetland, he presently lives in Dunblane.

Friday 20 Sept 3:00pm FREEBlake Milteer The MacKinnon collection

The MacKinnon Collection of Scottish photography was recently acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland and is shared by both institutions. This collection, amassed by Murray MacKinnon, presents the work of photographers who captured images that brilliantly transport us back to a century of changing rural communities, growing cities and enduring historic sites, but also illuminate the faces and places that continue to affect our lives today.

MacKinnon Collection curator Blake Milteer will provide an overview of the collection and discuss its representation of Scottish life and identity from the 1840s through the 1940s – a century of dramatic transformation and innovation.

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Friday 20th Sept 6:30pm £5Brigid Benson North Coast Journey: the magic of Scotland's Northern Highlands

A warm invitation to experience the wonderful magic of Scotland’s northern highlands!

In ‘North Coast Journey’ Brigid Benson shares her insight and experience of characterful communities and unforgettable places along a magnificent route that departs Inverness to reach Lochcarron on the west coast of Scotland. Weaving through the mountains of Torridon and Assynt, the route explores communities of the far north coast before discovering the east coast, the Black Isle and returning to the highland capital.

This illustrated event celebrates Slow Tourism and responsible travel and features Brigid’s acclaimed landscape photography of the magnificent northern highlands through the seasons.

Friday 20 Sept 8:00pm £10Mark Beaumont Around the World in 80 Days

Mark Beaumont, World Record holding adventurer and TV broadcaster has become a household name through his documentaries about ultra-endurance and adventure. Having smashed the circumnavigation cycling World Record twice in his career, he now holds this 18,000 mile title in a time of 78 days and 14 hours, averaging 240 miles a day. His epic documentaries have taken viewers to over 100 countries, into the Arctic, the high mountains and around the Commonwealth, and he also survived capsizing in the mid-Atlantic. His book is an insight into the mind of an elite athlete and the physical limits of the human body, as well as a kaleidoscopic tour of the world from a very unique perspective.

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Saturday 21 Sept at 11am FREEBookbug Festival Picnic

Join Bookbug for fun-filled songs, exciting stories and rollicking rhymes. Bring along a soft-toy friend.

Book early – limited places!

Saturday 21 Sept 2:30pm £5Dr Gordon Noble The King in the North

Many years ago a revolution took place in Early Medieval history. The Pictish heartland of Fortriu, previously thought to be centred on Perthshire and the Tay found itself relocated through the forensic work of Alex Woolf to the shores of the Moray Firth. The implications for our understanding of this period and for the formation of Scotland are unprecedented and still being worked through. The King in the North represents an exciting cross disciplinary approach to the study of this still too little understood yet formative period in Scotland’s history.

Dr. Gordon Noble is Head of Archaeology and Honorary Curatorial Fellow to the University Museums at the University of Aberdeen. He has also been director of the Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project. He is author of a number of books, including Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire.

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Schools Programme at a

GlanceTuesday 17 Sept 11:15am Vivian French P5-71:15am Emily Dodd P3-51:30pm Vivian French P5-7

Wednesday 18 Sept9:30am Emily Dodd P1-29:30am Kate Leiper P1-29:30am History Detectives P5-711:15am Emily Dodd P1-211:15am Kate Leiper P1-211:15am History Detectives P5-7

Thursday 19 Sept 9:30am David MacPhail P3-49:30am Kasia Matyjaszek P1-211:00am Stories and rhymes for playgroups & nurseries11:15am David MacPhail P3-411:15am Kasia Matyjaszek P1-2

Friday 20 Sept9:30am Barry Hutchison P5-79:30am Chae Strathie P3-511:15am Barry Hutchison P5-711:15am Chae Strathie P3-5

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Schools Programme in DetailTuesday 17th SeptVivian French The Steam Whistle Theatre Company P5-7

Vivian French loves theatre, evil villains, the nineteenth century, poverty stricken families, steam trains, rivalry, fun, and Shakespeare... come and hear how she mixes them all together in The Steam Whistle Theatre Company!

Emily Dodd Energy: Wind and Waves P3-5

Prepare to be blown away in this fun and fact-filled interactive event with Emily Dodd, author of ‘Do You Know About Science’, ‘Find Out Energy’, Light, Tsunamis, Volcanoes and Wind Power.

Emily explains how the energy all around us changes from one form to another, giving you a better understanding of the earth’s amazing capabilities. Leave erupting with anticipation to find out more.

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Wednesday 18th SeptEmily Dodd Crime Squirrel Investigates P1-2

Rosie’s secret hazelnut store has been ransacked and her best friend Charlie agrees to help her to find the naughty nut thief. The crime squirrel investigators only have left-over nutshells as a clue, so they watch the different ways the three main suspects eat hazelnuts to try to solve the crime. Help the two squirrels discover the naughty nut thief and learn about the different ways animals eat nuts along the way!

Kate Leiper A Wee Bird was Watching P1-2

Anna and her mum stop in the woods to rest after a long, tiring journey, and there they meet an amazing wee bird, who’s keeping a bright eye on them. Join acclaimed illustrator, Kate Leiper as she shares her latest picture book, “A Wee Bird was Watching”, written by the award-winning songwriter, Karine Polwart. Enter into an enchanted woodland of delights – and danger! – and discover more about its fascinating inhabitants as you listen to a wonderful tale of bravery and kindness. And be inspired to draw your own amazing wee bird.

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History Detectives with Calum Price from the National Library of Scotland P5-7

nlsArchives and libraries are a great way to discover more about the past. In this workshop, pupils will take on the role of ‘history detectives’ and will use their sleuthing skills to discover facts about the past hidden in diaries, letters, maps, photographs and printed books.

Using high-quality digital copies of items from the National Library collections, pupils will develop their historical skills and understanding whilst learning about life in the past.

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Thursday 19th SeptDavid MacPhail Thorfinn and the Dreadful Dragon P3-4

Prepare yourself for the wrath of the Norsemen! That is, if you don’t mind and it’s not too inconvenient.

Anarchic fun as David Macphail reads from the latest instalment of Thorfinn the Nicest Viking, an ale-splashing, meat-ripping, hatchet-in-the-head kind of saga, in a world where manners cost nothing (literally), and politeness pays (usually with your life).

Kasia Matyjaszek Molly Rogers, Pirate Girl P1-2

Ferocious Captain Firebeard and his crew love to cause trouble on the high seas. But they’re in big trouble when they kidnap Molly, a small and fierce pirate girl who is scared of no one. Join illustrator Kasia Matyjaszek for a fun interactive event with storytelling and drawing.

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Friday 20th SeptBarry Hutchison Spooks, Spectres and Teddy Bears! P5-7

Join award-winning children’s author, Barry Hutchison, as he celebrates the release of the final books in both his Spectre Collectors and Night of the Living Ted series. Hear the horrifying tales from Barry’s own life that inspired both series, and help him create an all-new monstrous villain. Laughs and screams guaranteed.

Chae Strathie So You Think You've Got It Bad? P3-5

Award-winning author Chae Strathie ventures into historical reality with his ‘So You Think You’ve Got It Bad?’ series. In these books he looks at a child’s life in ancient Egypt and Greece and most recently explores Roman daily life including washing clothes in wee, snacking on dormice and even gladiatorial combat. A funny and accessible introduction to the ancient world for today’s schoolchildren!

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Festival Sales: Yeadon’s of Elgin and Banchory

All talks will take place at Elgin Library

To book visit Elgin Library during opening hours or call 01343 562623

Order online at:

www.moray.gov.uk/moraybookfestival

Booking Office opens on Monday 19 August

Book early to avoid disappointment!

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