We are delighted to announce that Creative Scotland has awarded funding to Ullapool Book Festival for its 18th festival in 2022 (6-8 May). We are therefore very pleased to give a very early announcement of our guest list. We do hope you will be as excited as we are about who are coming!
So we would urge you to get your accommodation booked here in Ullapool for that weekend – remember that the North Coast 500 route is increasingly popular and Ullapool is often used as a stopping point!
Starting with music…
365. Stories of 365 words by James Robertson with music from Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) and Kit Downes (piano)
Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. A band made up of 6 crime writers namely Stuart Neville, Mark Billingham, Doug Johnstone, Val McDermid, Luca Veste and Chris Brookmyre.
Author sessions
Stuart Neville, Mark Billingham, Doug Johnstone, Val McDermid, Luca Veste and Chris Brookmyre (the crime writers from Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers) will also appear in a couple of sessions (3 writers to each session) to talk about their books, crime writing and more.
Leila Aboulela – was born in Cairo, grew up in Khartoum and now lives in Aberdeen. Award winning writer and has been long-listed three times for the Orange Award for Fiction.
Graeme Macrae Burnet –was shortlisted for the Booker Prize with His Bloody Project. He will talk about his latest novel Case Study which has received stunning reviews such as “A page-turning blast, funny, sinister and perfectly plotted …” James Walton, The Times.
Lynn Coady – Canadian novelist, journalist and TV writer. Won the Giller Prize (Canada’s Booker prize equivalent) in 2013 and has since been short-listed for same prize. Her latest novel is Watching You Without Me.
George Gunn – George is from Thurso. In 2021 he published his 10th book of poems “Chronicles of The First Light” (Drunk Muse Press). His second novel “The Vinegar Wind” will appear in 2022. He has had over 50 plays produced for stage and radio.
Hannah Lavery – playwright (Lament for Sheku Bayoh) and poet. She is the new Edinburgh Makar.
Rhoda Meek Rhoda – will discuss her essay Let My Language Die With Dignity in an event with Mark Wringe. This will be in Gaelic with simultaneous translation by Morag Stewart. Rhoda is a digital consultant, broadcaster and crofter in Tiree.
David Pratt – journalist, photographer, broadcaster. Foreign correspondent at The Herald. Talking about Afghanistan and showing his photographs of working there.
James Robertson – acclaimed Scottish author with his latest novel News of the Dead
Triin Soomets – award-winning Estonian poet
Ian Williams –Canadian author of six books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He won the Giller Prize in 2019 and his poetry has won awards. His latest book, Disorientation, considers the impact of racial encounters on ordinary people. He is a tenured professor of English at the University of Toronto and in 2022 he will be the Visiting Fellow at the American Library in Paris.
Chairing events – Jim Carruth, Chris Dolan, Ruth Wishart, Mark Wringe
Details of who will be on when will be announced in late January.
Tickets for the festival will go on sale in early March.