A PACKED programme of events has been announced for the 2023 Paisley Book Festival.
Headline acts include Scottish rapper and social commentator Darren McGarvey and TikTok star Coinneach MacLeod, also known as The Hebridean Baker, along with Scottish poets Jackie Kay and Michael Pederson.
The majority of events at the Paisley Book Festival, which is hosting its first full in-person programme since the pandemic, will allow those attending to pay what they can in recognition of the cost-of-living crisis.
Produced and delivered by OneRen, the festival is set to run over four days from Thursday, February 16, to Sunday, February 19.
There will be a significant schools' programme with a number of free events bringing authors to Renfrewshire schools, which aim to inspire a passion for literacy and books amongst children and young people.
Paisley Book Festival is also home to the Janet Coats Memorial Prize for poetry and this year's writer-in-residence Kerry Hudson.
She will be bringing taster sessions to communities across Renfrewshire as she helps people of all ages to discover the joy of writing.
The festival will be based in the University of the West of Scotland’s Union as a main venue, as well as Paisley Central Library and a new venue at the Art Department, Outspoken Arts.
Heather McDaid, an award-winning independent publisher, and Sha Nazir, a multi-skilled artist, writer and producer, have been responsible for bringing the cream of the literary crop to the town next year.
Heather said: "We're happy to finally reveal the 2023 line-up for Paisley Book Festival, and we can't wait to bring such a fantastic range of authors to Paisley, some returning, others for the first time.
"From crime fiction, poetry, memoir, children's and far beyond, we're looking forward to welcoming audiences to celebrate and discover new books and authors in their many forms, particularly after the last few years of disruption, both in terms of events, and life more broadly."
Louise Oliver, festival producer at OneRen, added: "We know how hard it’s been for so many in our communities and we don’t want cost to be a barrier to participation.
"The Paisley Book Festival is for everyone and for most of our events, we’re offering a tiered pricing structure.
"We hope this will help to make the arts accessible to all and in that spirit, we'll ask patrons to pay what they can afford, no questions asked."
For more information about the upcoming festival, visit paisleybookfest.com.
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