Walking through the village of Ullapool today (about 12 miles from where we live) I saw that the local fish van (he delivers house to house in the local area and also ships local fish elsewhere) had painted on the side of his van: Ullapool, New York, London, Paris. Made me laugh but actually it’s not so crazy – fish from Ullapool does end up all over the place, including overseas. Just as books from Two Ravens Press in Ullapool do … And so although you may think the idea of a book festival in Ullapool is funny – unlikely to be a big hitter – actually Ullapool has a good few big annual events that draw the crowds – including the increasingly lauded music festival, Loopalu, which attracts some surprisingly big music acts.
This year’s book festival has one ‘big hitter’ that I’m seriously looking forward to meeting – Canadian writer Alistair Macleod, author of Island and No Great Mischief. Not only is he doing a reading, but he’s running a workshop that David and I are participating in. And, in anticipation, browsing through his books that have sat on my bookshelves for some years now, I still get the same frisson of excitement when I read that unique and beautiful prose. And it reminds me of two things: how, in spite of all the hype and bullshit and celebrity biographies that seem to dominate the world of publishing, there really are masterpieces and works of art out there, still being published. And second, how lucky we are to work in this business and have the privilege of meeting writers like Macleod.
So anyone who fancies a trip up the west coast this weekend – it’ll all be happening in Ullapool and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date on this blog!
I should also mention that Two Ravens Press poet George Gunn will be participating in an event on Saturday afternoon, to celebrate the launch of his new collection, The Atlantic Forest.
See www.ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk for more information.
Sharon
