HI~Arts is very proud to present the first events in the Scottish Island Writers Network, a new, two-year programme showcasing and promoting the wealth of contemporary literary talent from, living and working in Scotland’s Islands.

The first event features readings from two of Scotland’s finest writers – Robert Alan Jamieson and John Aberdein.

Robert Alan Jamieson is a Scottish and Shetlandic novelist and poet, born in Lerwick, Shetland on Up Helly Aa in 1958 and was raised in the crofting community of Sandness. He is currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he works as a Creative Writing tutor at Edinburgh University. He was co-editor of the Edinburgh Review from 1993 – 1998, as well as being a Creative Writing Fellow at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, 1998-2001. He has written four novels including Soor Hearts (1984), Thin Wealth (1986) and A Day at the Office (1991), which was named by the Edinburgh based List Magazine as one of the 100 Best Scottish Books of All Time, commenting that “each page of this book – a precursor to much modern experimental Scottish fiction – looks more like a work of art than a novel”.

In Autumn 2010 Luath Press published RAJ’s latest novel Da Haapie Laand , to considerable critical claim, including from The List: ‘Jamieson achieves something quite extraordinary. And it’s the sheer scope of his writing and what it achieves for his native Shetland that leaves the biggest impression here.’

John Aberdein was born and educated in Aberdeen and now lives in Hoy. He worked fishing herring and scallops before teaching English and outdoor education, becoming the first person to kayak round mainland Scotland. John’s debut novel Amande’s Bed won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award in 2005 and he was a runner-up in the inaugural Scotsman Orange Short Story Competition. His long-awaited second novel, Strip the Willow, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Award, winning the Fiction category. Active in politics – he was a member of the Kirkland Five who campaigned for more democratic schools and a main organiser of Labour’s move to ditch nuclear power in 1985 and ‘86 – John stood as a Labour candidate in the 1987 and 1992 general elections for the constituency of Orkney and Shetland.

Robert Alan Jamieson and John Aberdein are nothing short of jewels in Scotland’s literary crown.

Commenting on the new Network and these events, HI~Arts’ Writing Development Coordinator, Peter Urpeth, said:

‘Scotland’s Islands are home to a unique and thriving literary culture, that has, over many years, been an essential part of Scotland’s culture. In this project we aim to raise the profile of the contemporary wiritng from the Islands – whether it be in Scots, Shetlandic, Orcadian, Gaelic or English – and to make the work of Island authors much more available and accessible to island communities, and the nation in general. The first events feature two of Scotland’s finest novelists, and great ambassadors for the literary culture of the islands.’

Robert Alan Jamieson & John Aberdein will be reading at:

Glen Mhor Hotel, Inverness: 7.30pm Wednesday 8th December 2010; free

The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool: 7.30pm Thursday 9th December 2010; free

The Stornoway Literary Salon, Stornoway Library Cafe, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis: 6pm-8pm Friday 10th December 2010; free.

The Scottish Island Writers Network is funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural Initiatives Fund.

For further information, please e-mail Peter Urpeth at: peter@hi-arts.co.uk

Source: HI~Arts