Scottish Books Events: June 2023
It's a poetry heavy month, with the launch of two new poetry nights in Glasgow and plenty of spoken word at Hidden Door and Spit It Out Festival
It’s a spoken word extravaganza this month. June kicks off with Hidden Door Festival (31 May-4 Jun) in Edinburgh, featuring performance sets from a host of Scottish talent including Janette Ayachi, Edwin Morgan Poetry Award winner Alyson Kissner, Patrick James Errington, Annaliese Broughton, Bibi June, Fiona Robertson and Oliver Robertson, who has just received the first Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award for Spoken Word. This year the performances will all centre on the themes of interiors, exteriors, Scotland and beyond.
Spit It Out Festival returns with a huge range of events in Glasgow, Edinburgh and online, including some delicious poetic offerings. There’s Twaano: From Zambia to Scotland (20 Jun, online), an evening of spoken word featuring Scottish and Zambian writers, and the launch of Sophia Bharmal’s exhibition Coming Home (22 Jun, Summerhall) with performances from poets including Hannah Lavery and Etzali Hernandez.
Two new poetry nights are starting up in Glasgow – at SWG3 on 14 June the first iteration of Leyla Josephine and Friends takes place, hosted by Amelia Bayler and featuring Bee Asha, Eyve, Kate Ireland and Sara Mostafa. The Acid Cabaret is Glasgow’s new variety night (24 Jun, Old Hairdressers), where both musicians and poets will be performing – Stephen Durkan and Annie Muir are on the inaugural bill. The classics are still happening in Glasgow too, don’t worry – Poetry at Inn Deep is on every Tuesday evening, The Poetry Experiment is last Wednesday of the month at The Alchemy Experiment, and June’s Candlelight Open Mic at the Old Toll Bar (5 Jun) is a Pride special.
Those on the lookout for more bookish events should head to Category Is Books in Glasgow (7 Jun) for the launch of the formidably talented Heather Parry’s debut short story collection, This is My Body, Given for You. The latest issue of Extra Teeth magazine is launching at Portobello Bookshop (22 Jun), and Juno Dawson’s up in Scotland to launch her new book The Shadow Cabinet (9 Jun, Edinburgh).