In this episode we dig deeper into storytelling and the community of creatives inspired by the reach landscape of myths and legends of the Highlands. 

Our guests are Virginia Crow, author of Haunting Whispers of Highland Waters - a book created from stories submitted for the Spirit: 360 project. 

The initiative reached out to people of the Highlands in order to collect stories that reflect and encapsulate its rich storytelling tradition. 

Virginia's book drew from several of these stories to create a special journey into the heart of stories and landscapes of the Highlands. Joining us today is also Bryan Beattie, Creative director at Spirit: 360. 

More about Virginia's work can be found at www.crowvus.com/author-virginia

Find out more about Spirit of The Highlands and Spirit: 360 here: www.spiritofthehighlands.com

Find out more about Scotland's Year of Stories' events and rescources here: www.visitscotland.com/about/themed-years/stories

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere and We will feature the reviews in our future episodes! If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod) Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

2022 marks Scotland's Year of Stories and we couldn't do without a dip into how the North of Scotland will be celebrating its incredible storytelling traditions.

To start off, we hear from Elaine Downs, who is on the committee for Ness Book Fest, a literary festival in Inverness which will (finally!) be returning from 6th October until 8th October 2022. 

Find out more about the festival here: nessbookfest.com or at facebook.com/NessBookFest

Find out more about Scotland's Year of Stories' events and rescources here: www.visitscotland.com/about/themed-years/stories

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere and We will feature the reviews in our future episodes! If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod) Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

To end our mini-series in conversation with the finalists of the Highland Book Prize 2021, we bring you a dive into the past and present of the award with Moniack Mhor center director Rachel Humphries.

You can follow the Awards Ceremony from Zoom and book your place at: https://www.moniackmhor.org.uk/courses/2021-highland-book-prize-award-ceremony/

Or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Reading Panel this year, more information on how to get involved is available at https://www.highlandbookprize.org.uk/call-for-readers/

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A mini-series in conversation with the finalists of the Highland Book Prize 2021 ahead of the awards ceremony on May 26.

We end on a high with the fantastic work of journalist and writer Cal Flynn. Her latest work, Islands of Abandonment, explores the past, present and becoming of places where mankind has left its print and then gone away, and the mesmerizing changes that nature can go through in absence of humans. Going around the world, this is a fascinating and hope-instilling work. 

You can find out more about Islands of Abandonment and read an extract at highlandbookprize.org.uk/2021-shortlist/islands-of-abandonment-by-cal-flyn

(They are available for all the 2021 shortlisted books!)

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Time has come for us to close up with our mini-series. In this last glimpse into the amazing experience that was the Ullapool Book Festival, we talk to the powerhouse behind the festival. 

Last but not least, this episode of our Dispatches From Ullapool features the fantastic Joan Michael, who has been running the event since it first started 18 years ago.

We talk to her about the very start of the festival from an epiphany inspired by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and how it then grew, starting from its first home at The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool before moving to the bigger venue of the village hall.

You can find out more about the festival at ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Our second last episode of these Dispatches From Ullapool brings you a conversation with acclaimed novelist James Robertson, whose latest novel, News of The Dead, is longlisted for this year’s Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. 

A former honorary president at the Ullapool Book Festival, he talks about the beauty of this event and his love for research and history. 

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Right everyone, we are only three episodes away from the end of this Ullapool Book Festival special reel of sneak peeks, but we have some amazing voices still left to be heard. 

Next on is the multi-talented and newly appointed Edinburgh Makar, poet and playwright Hannah Lavery. She was at the festival presenting her latest collection of poems, Blood Salt Spring. We spoke to her about her work as a writer, social justice, as well as her acclaimed lyrical play, Lament for Sheku Bayoh. 

You can find out more about her work at hannahlavery.com and more about the festival at ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Welcome back to you all dearest bibliophiles. We are back with some more juicy snippets from the latest amazing edition of the Ullapool Book Festival. 

This time we sit down with the energetic Canadian writer and Giller Prize winner Ian Williams. He was at the festival presenting his latest poetry collection, Word Problems, as well as a collection of essays called Disorientation and his novel Reproduction. We hear about his style and talk about the different ways in which racism permeates different societies in the world. 

You can find out more about his work at www.ianwilliams.ca and ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

A mini-series in conversation with the finalists of the Highland Book Prize 2021 ahead of the awards ceremony on May 26.

We are taken back to the 50s by Lewis-born poet and writer Donald S. Murray, and talk about the potential tragedy that was Operation Cauldron, which sets the background for the novel we will be talking about this week.

Inside In A Veil of Mist, he explores the daily lives of residents of the Outer Hebrides and how they overlap with the landscape of history. 

You can find out more about In a Veil of Mist and read an extract at https://www.highlandbookprize.org.uk/2021-shortlist/in-a-veil-of-mist-by-donald-s-murray/

(They are available for all the 2021 shortlisted books!)

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We went to the wonderful Ullapool Book Festival this year and we wanted to bring you a souvenir from it. So, here are seven special episodes all from the latest edition of the festival.

In this episode we bring you a fascinating conversation with writer Jan Carson (@JanCarson7280) about her latest novel The Raptures and the state of things in Northern Ireland. 

Find out more at www.jancarson.co.uk and ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk. 

Do you have a book you love and would love to share with us? Click here to send us a short voice message: speakpipe.com/northernbibliosphere

We will feature the reviews in our future episodes!

If you have an author, book or literary project that you would like to hear from on our podcast, drop us an email at [email protected] or get in touch on Facebook at NorthernBibliospherepodcast, Twitter, or Instagram (@NorthBibliopod)

Or why not join our Goodreads group?

Music:

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license