Paisley Book Festival has announced Victoria McNulty is to be its second-ever writer-in-residence.
Victoria is a poet, performer and community arts worker and her writing centres around local stories and histories.
It’s the second time the festival has had a writer-in-residence after Imogen Stirling held the post earlier this year.
Victoria’s collection Confessionals was developed into a spoken word show called Sonnet Youth and toured nationally to critical acclaim.
She has performed at established arts festivals across the UK and Ireland including The Edinburgh Festival, BBC 6 Music Festival, Fèile an Phobail in Belfast and the James Connolly Festival in Dublin.
Work from her recent publication and feature length film Exiles was awarded the John Byrne Award this year third quarter prize and she was awarded Writer of the Year at the Scots Language Awards 2021.
Victoria said: “I’m really interested in stories. Stories of the ordinary, of every day resistance and power. I’m excited to uncover these through the residency and support others in crafting and sharing their own.”
One of the main aims of this role is to work with local communities and help the book festival reach wider audiences.
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Paisley Book Festival consists of more than 50 unique events running between February 17-26 next year. As well as the Victoria McNulty’s residency, the programme is filled with workshops, author events, book launches and opportunities for both established and emerging writers to showcase their work on the international stage.
Next year has been designated Scotland’s Year of Stories and the programme of live and online events showcases literature inspired by, or written in Scotland.
Jess Orr, Associate Programmer for the Paisley Book Festival said: “Bringing some of Scotland’s best writers and storytellers to Paisley for a 10 day extravaganza of events, we’re thrilled to be back this February to celebrate the stories that make us who we are, and who we’re going to be.
“Whether you’re a fully subscribed book-lover or haven’t picked up a book since school, check out the Paisley Book Festival programme this year and be part of the conversation. We’ve all got a story to tell, after all.”
Paisley Book Festival is supported by Future Paisley. It is delivered by Renfrewshire Leisure and funded by Renfrewshire Council.
