TOP authors will discuss a “vision of a better Scotland” at a free online event.
Darren “Loki” McGarvey – the Orwell Prize-winning author of Poverty Safari – will host “Imagine a Country” on March 17 this year.
The announcement was made to mark National Storytelling Week, which ends today.
Organised by Community Justice Scotland, Scotland’s national body responsible for reducing reoffending, speakers include best-selling author Val McDermid, poet-playwright Lemn Sissay, award-winning Scottish writer Ely Percy and feminist political geographer Professor Jo Sharp.
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McGarvey will be speaking to the guests about the experiences that inspired their books and the power of people and communities in Scotland to affect positive change in society.
The annual literary event, returning for its fifth year, brings speakers from the literary world to discuss their unique perspectives on social justice in the present – and where Scotland could be in the future.
Past speakers have included Roza Salih, Dr Kitty Stewart, and people with lived experience of the justice world.
This year’s title, “Imagine a Country”, is named after the book compiled and edited by McDermid and her partner Sharp, which collates ideas, dreams and ambitions, aiming to inspire change, hope and imagination for a better Scotland for all.
The book collates voices and perspectives from a range of prominent Scottish writers, among them Jackie Kay, Ian Rankin, Carol Ann Duffy and Stuart Cosgrove.
Community Justice Scotland describes its vision of social justice as the “promotion of a fair system which looks at the needs of individuals, providing support in areas such as housing, wellbeing, health, addiction and education so that communities and people can thrive.
It highlights the support and tools needed to help people based on the best evidence such as what works to prevent offending, repair lives and make Scotland a safer place to live.
Karyn McCluskey, chief executive of Community Justice Scotland, said: “After the times we’ve been through, we need an opportunity to explore together what a fairer future – a more just society – could look like and how it might happen.
“We’ve invited some talented creative minds to help us imagine what that might look like. We know it will be provocative, inspiring and fill us with hope.”
McDermid, who is from Kirkcaldy, has sold more than 17 million books across the globe and her work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
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She is best known for her Wire In The Blood series, featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, which was adapted for television starring Robson Green and Hermione Norris.
Bafta-nominated international prize-winning writer, broadcaster and speaker Sissay was the official poet for the 2012 London Olympics and penned the Sunday Times bestseller My Name Is Why, which reflects on growing up in care and finding hope, determination and creativity.
“Imagine a Country” will take place online on Thursday, March 17, from 3pm to 4.30pm.
To book a free ticket, search for the event on eventbrite.co.uk or go directly to www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/imagine-a-country-tickets -261692006837
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