Scottish writing to be celebrated by Canada

20/10/2009

Ian Rankin to lead tartan tide heading across Atlantic

The best of Scottish writing talent is to be showcased at a major festival in Canada.

With the support of the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, 14 top Scottish authors will attend the International Festival of Authors in Toronto this week as part of the Writing Scotland initiative.

Crime writers Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and Quintin Jardine will be highlighted alongside novelists A.L.Kennedy and Andrew O'Hagan. Former filmmaker and Sean Connery biographer Murray Grigor will join leading thinking Richard Holloway at a series of events designed to show-off the nation's intellectual abilities. The Scottish authors will be appearing alongside eminent Canadian writers of Scottish descent including Alistair MacLeod, Alice Munro, Ken McGoogan.

Roland Gulliver, Programme Manager of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “We are delighted to be working so closely with this prestigious Canadian Festival. There are so many historical and modern day links between Canada and Scotland, it seems fitting that in this, the Year of Homecoming, we can showcase the tremendous breadth of Scottish writing to an international audience.”