Creative Conversations - a new series of Monday lunchtime literary events featuring readings and conversations from internationally renowned writers. The audience is encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch. Books by featured authors will be for sale in John Smiths bookshop.

Creative Conversations is organised by the Creative Writing programme. The series is sponsored by the Ferguson Bequest

Free (seats subject to availability)

Jackie Kay

Monday 18 January, 1pm, Glasgow University Chapel, Jackie Kay

In the last 20 years, Jackie Kay has moved from marginal voice to national treasure. Yet throughout her widely-ranging career – encompassing poetry, plays, children’s writing, short stories, prose and the novel – her work has continued to gravitate around key themes of identity, and the importance of poems and stories as affirmations both of individuality and of human connectedness.

Jackie Kay’s publications include The Adoption Papers (1991) Trumpet (1998) The Lamplighter (2008) Red Dust Road (2010) Reality, Reality (2012)

Her many awards include 2011 Costa Poetry Award, 2011 PEN/Ackerley Prize, 2011 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award, 2011 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Award (Non-Fiction) 2010 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, 2009 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award.

Jackie Kay is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University.  

Janice Galloway

Monday 25 January, 1pm, Glasgow University Chapel, Janice Galloway

Janice Galloway is the author of novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction, collaborative works (books and exhibitions) with visual artists, musicians, typographers and videographers. She has been writer in residence to four Scottish prisons, Research Fellow to the British Library, resident at Jura Distillery, and was recently the first Fellow in Residence at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Her radio work includes two series for BBC (Life as a Man and Imagined Lives) and programmes on music and musicians. She also works extensively with musicians, visual artists and typographers.

Janice Galloway’s publications include The Trick is to Keep Breathing (1989) Clara (2002) This is Not About Me(2008) All Made Up (2011) Jellyfish (2015)

Galloway's many awards include The American Academy of Arts and Letters EM Forster Award, Saltire Award, Creative Scotland Award and Scottish Book of the Year (2012)

Bernard MacLaverty

Monday 1 February, 1pm, Glasgow University Chapel, Bernard MacLaverty

Bernard MacLaverty has published four novels and five collections of short stories most of which are gathered into Collected Stories (2013). Northern Ireland, Scotland and themes such as Catholicism, guilt and tension, inform his novels and short stories. He is also the author of two books for children and has written several screenplays and libretti for opera.

McLaverty’s publications include Collected Stories (2013) Matters of Life & Death (2006) Grace Notes (1997) Cal (1983) Lamb (1980) His many awards include The Lord Provost of Glasgow's Award for Literature (2004) BAFTA Scotland (2003) BAFTA (2002) Creative Scotland Award (2001) Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award (1997) Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlisted 1997)  

First published: 12 January 2016

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