Saturday 30 May 2009

About Dundee Book Events

Dundee Book Events

Dundee Book Events has been bringing together writers, books and readers since the spring of 1995. Originally part of the Scottish Arts Council's Readiscovery campaign, Dundee Book Events proved to be the most vibrant and successful element of that campaign. It has since continued as an independent, non-profit-making, voluntary organisation whose only aim is to share a love of books.

Events take place in the University of Dundee, generally at 7 p.m. on weekday evenings, although we have organised some day-long events on Saturdays. The usual venue is a conference suite, accommodating about 100, but for larger events we book a 300-seat lecture theatre. Book sales are handled by Waterstone's, Dundee. Flyers are sent out to a mailing list of over 700, and posters are distributed throughout the surrounding area. The Dundee Courier (readership over one million) regularly publishes half-page spreads featuring our visiting authors. We aim to cater for a wide range of ages and interests, so the scope of our programme is varied and exciting. Our audiences are large, lively gatherings, our book sales excellent, and our reputation is now so well established that many publishers approach us first when they are planning their authors' publicity tours.

Topics previously covered include: Archaeology, Astronomy, Biography, Crime, Current Affairs, Exploration, General Fiction, History, Humour, Literary Fiction, Poetry, Photography, Rambling, Television, Travel, Theatre, Wildlife, Wine-tasting.

A Selection of Past Speakers:

Tom Baker, Iain Banks, Colin Bateman, Colin Baxter, Jack Black, Theresa Breslin, Oz Clarke, Isla Dewar, Douglas Dunn, Dorothy Dunnet, Victoria Glendinning, Andrew Greig, Alvin Hall, Kazuo Ishiguro, P D James, David Lodge, Deric Longden, Bernard MacLaverty, Magnus Magnusson, Val McDermid, William McIlvanney, Giles Milton, Mo Mowlam, Jill Paton Walsh, Rosamunde Pilcher, Libby Purves, Eileen Ramsay, Ian Rankin, Elaine C Smith, Alan Spence, Ann Swinfen, Aline Templeton, Joanna Trollope, David Wishart... and many more

Speakers during the last few years, including return visits:
Brian Taylor, Salley Vickers (twice), Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Santa Montefiore, Jeremy Bowen (twice), Tom Devine, Alexander McCall Smith (twice), Simon Brett, Sally Magnusson, Alvin Hall, Malcolm Gluck, Katie Fforde, David Scott, Malcolm Archibald, Lindsey Davis, Kate Adie, Ian Rankin (twice), Lord Hattersley, James Robertson, George Alagiah, Charles McKean, Sandi Toksvig, William McIlvanney, Aline Templeton, Alex Gray, Jasvinder Sanghera, Andrew Greig, Jodi Picoult, Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Menzies Campbell, Quintin Jardine, Jeffery Deaver, Christopher Brookmyre, Lorraine Kelly, Bill Paterson.

Thursday 28 May 2009

Welcome

Welcome to Dundee Book Events. This 'blog will be your place to discover what authors are coming to Scotland's City of Discovery and to keep abreast of the latest developments. We hope you will sign up to our new e-mailing list as soon as it is available and look forward to seeing you at forthcoming events.

The Committee