Events celebrate books and reading

Nov 26 2012

A week of events to celebrate books and reading is getting under way.

Book Week Scotland, a national campaign by the Scottish Book Trust, will see more than 350 events taking place across the country.

The programme includes a festival at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, with workshops from children's author Mairi Hedderwick, who penned Katie Morag, and talks by Scotland's Makar Liz Lochhead and science fiction writer Iain M Banks.

Members of the public will also have the chance to track down new works by the "mystery book sculptor", who caused a stir by leaving anonymous sculptures made from the pages of books at the Edinburgh International Book Festival last year.

Five paper sculptures, all inspired by classic Scottish books, have been created by the artist and hidden in secret locations around the country.

The first clue will be posted at www.scottishbooktrust.com/booksculptures today.

As part of the celebrations, every primary one pupil is to receive a Bookbug pack with three free books - The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell, Jack and the Flum Flum Tree by Gruffalo creator Julia Donaldson and Catherine Rayner's Solomon Crocodile.

It is hoped the initiative will help create a link between school and home, and emphasise the importance of both in supporting a child's reading.

People are also being encouraged to stop what they are doing at 11am on Friday and pick up a book, as part of The Reading Hour.

Mark Lambert, chief executive of Scottish Book Trust, said: "Book Week Scotland is set to be an inspirational week of reading across the country. We are thrilled with the level of interest from communities around the nation and are pleased to have created an exciting, inclusive programme that will appeal to the people of Scotland."