Paisley Book Festival 2021 writer-in-residence
As Co-Producer of Paisley Book Festival 2021, we have used the funding from Creative Scotland to widen the reach of the festival and extend our programme to include a digital residency. This has not only given us the ability to provide a great opportunity for a Scotland-based writer, but also an opportunity for local groups within Renfrewshire to engage with the themes of the festival as well as creative writing or performing.
Glasgow-based writer, musician, and educator, Imogen Stirling, was selected from an extremely strong shortlist. She has a strong background in poetry, playwriting, and performance, and she also took part in Paisley Book Festival 2020. Imogen has performed extensively throughout the UK and abroad and has been highly commended for her five-star debut show, #Hypocrisy. Imogen was a participant in the BBC Words First talent development scheme (in partnership with BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Asian Network and BBC Contains Strong Language) and will be featured in the upcoming Sky Arts documentary, Life & Rhymes, hosted by Benjamin Zephaniah.
As Digital Writer-in-Residence, Imogen will be hosting 15 online workshops with Renfrewshire community groups in January and February 2021, and writing her own response to this year’s festival theme, Radical New Futures. She has also curated three of our public Festival events this year and will be hosting these during February.
Paisley Book Festival is delivered by Renfrewshire Leisure and supported by Renfrewshire Council as part of the Future Paisley programme, an ambitious approach to cultural regeneration that harnesses the power of culture to support positive social change.
Find out more about Paisley Book Festival and all their programming for 2021 on their website
