Read All About Book Week Scotland 2014

The full programme for, Book Week Scotland, Scotland's third national celebration of books and reading has been announced!

Article Source: Book Week Scotland
Last Updated: 13 October 2014 19:11

Working with a wide range of partners, Scottish Book Trust will deliver a diverse programme of book-related events, projects and activities from 24 – 30 November.

Libraries are at the very heart of the Book Week Scotland 2014 programme. Book lovers will be encouraged to declare their true feelings for these quiet champions of the written word through the Love Letter to Your Library campaign. They will be asked to post, email or drop off their positive stories directly to their favourite library. Authors and celebrities will also reveal their own favourite library and what it has meant to them during the week.

Further to celebrating the place libraries occupy in people’s hearts, Book Week Scotland will also shine a light on the place they occupy in communities. Five large library artworks will be unveiled across Scotland during the week, with the aim of making the chosen libraries visible and valued in their local areas. The artworks will be inspired by a very special love letter to libraries, Dear Library, written by best-selling author Jackie Kay. The libraries where the artworks will appear are: Stockbridge, Musselburgh, Saltcoats, Lennoxtown and Shetland. This project is a continuation of the Artworks on Libraries project from Book Week Scotland 2013, where five libraries where transformed by five very different works of art.

For those who want to use Book Week Scotland as a chance to get their teeth into reading, the Reading Pledge campaign will serve as a motivation to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read, share a book with your child each night or simply pass on a much-loved book to a neighbour. People can choose from a list of pledges or create their own, share them on social media and then carry out the pledge during the week.

Hundreds of free book-related events will pop up in a diverse range of locations across Scotland, including some of Scotland’s best-loved writers and illustrators appearing in libraries, a programme funded by The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC).

For those who would prefer to spend the week in splendid isolation getting lost in some beautiful stories, 150,000 free copies of a short story and poem collection written by Scottish people, Scotland’s Stories of Home, will be distributed throughout the week via libraries, bookshops and other outlets. Schools will also receive an e-publication featuring Scottish pupil’s stories of home.

In addition to this, three free picture books will be gifted to every Primary 1 pupil in Scotland. The Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack will introduce children who are just beginning their reading journey to some of the best new Scottish children’s books . The books comprise the shortlist for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2015: Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor and Ross Collins, Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray and Lost for Words by Natalie Russell.

Young children can also get into the Book Week Scotland spirit by tuning in to watch two of Britain’s best loved poets, Roger McGough and Valerie Bloom, bringing rhythm and rhyme to life during a special free Authors Live webcast on 27 November at 11.00am. Many pupils will also enjoy a personal visit from Steve Cole, author of Astrosaurs and Cows in Action, who will tour schools around the country during the week.

In a fitting end to a week celebrating the wonders of the written word, Scottish Book Trust will reveal the nation’s favourite ever character from Scottish books – will Harry Potter swoop to victory, will Miss Jean Brodie sweep the board, or will they both be frightened off by The Gruffalo? Book lovers of all ages can choose from a shortlist of 50 characters, or suggest a character not on the list, when voting opens on 8 October. The top 10 books will be revealed on Friday 28 November.

For more information about Book Week Scotland 2014 and how you can get involved, visit www.bookweekscotland.com, where you can find information about all the events taking place in your local area, vote for your favourite character from a Scottish book, make your own Reading Pledge and discover all sorts of ideas to help you celebrate and share whatever it is you love to read.