21st & 24th-29th September 2024
2024 is the fifth WayWORD Festival, featuring Ben Aaronovitch, Leila Aboulela, Amira Al Shanti, Rachelle Atalla, Dean Atta, Sarah Bernstein, Mae Diansangu, Victoria Hawthorne, Aleksandra Hnatiuk, Danielle Jam, Chris Kohler, Margot Livesey, Liz Lochhead, James Lovegrove, Elle McNicoll, Grace Nichols, Len Pennie, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Jen Stout, Zoe Strachan, Louise Welsh, Maud Woolf, Morna Young and many more!
There is plenty to entice audiences of all ages and interests and the festival is open to the general public.
All tickets are FREE and BSL is available throughout: book now below!
All tickets are free of charge but if you would like to make an optional donation to the festival, you can do so while booking your ticket.
Nature Poetry with Anthony Vahni Capildeo
Wednesday 13th Nov. 6.30-7.30pm | Sir Duncan Rice Library (MR1, Floor 7)
Join us for our final 2024 Nan Shepherd event: an evening of readings and discussion with Trinidadian Scottish poet Anthony Vahni Capildeo, winner of the 2016 Forward Prize for Poetry. Their latest collection Polkadot Wounds wrestles with life in our restless times, playing on traditions of travel and nature writing.
In Conversation with L.R. Lam - Here Be Dragons
Monday 18th Nov. 6.30-7.30pm | Sir Duncan Rice Library (224, Floor 2)
As part of Book Week Scotland, Aberdeen graduate L.R. Lam will read and discuss their Sunday Times-bestselling novel Dragonfall as well as exploring maps and fantasy creatures in relation to the latest library exhibition, ‘Imagined Norths’. Presented by UoA Museums and Special Collections with support from the Scottish Book Trust.
Queer Indonesian writing with Nuril Basri
Tuesday 26th Nov. 6.30-7.30pm | Sir Duncan Rice Library (MR1, Floor 7)
Nuril Basri was named as one of five Indonesian authors to read now by the British Council. Join us as he discusses his best-known novel Not a Virgin, a queer coming-of-age tale set in Jakarta, and his most recent publication Maya, a tragicomic tale of an Indonesian migrant worker's voyage.
Winter WayWORD
Interactive Activity - Found Poetry Living Exhibition
12-6 daily | King's Pavilion
Interactive activity bringing new life to old texts. Use provided materials to re-shape and re-form found texts into new pieces of poetry and display them as part of our living exhibition.
Exhibition: Dreaming Again... & Moving Forward
12-6 daily | King's Pavilion
Another chance to view ‘Dreams and Dangerous Ideas’, artefacts from twenty years of the Womens Liberation movement in Aberdeen brought together for exhibition at Peacock’s Worm gallery in spring 2023. These fragments from the 1970s and 80s offer a window onto local activism in response to growing awareness of the position of women as workers and domestic labourers. Now includes new contextualisation of contemporary activism.
Exhibition of work by Bryan Angus, from Gardenstown
12-6 daily | King's Pavilion
A vivid evocation of changing seasons in the Northeast’s much-loved village “Gamrie” from spring to winter. Bryan Angus is an Aberdonian who now lives in Banff. His great pleasure is landscape - whether that’s painted, drawn or printed - and finding the stories that are held in the fabric of the land.
Throughout the festival
Tuesday 24th -Sunday 29th
Workshop with Ross Couper & Tom Oakes
1.45pm, 21/9 | King's Pavilion
Join Ross Couper and Tom Oakes for a fantastic workshop led by Ross on fiddle and Tom on guitar.
This workshop is aimed at players that are of an intermediate level and above. Bring a reusable water bottle to refill in the building, your instrument, and plenty of enthusiasm!
Liz Lochhead
5pm, 21/9 | King's Pavilion
A conversation with Liz Lochhead, Scotland’s former Makar (national poet), exploring her new publication, A Handsel: New and Collected Poems, reflecting upon its relationship to Lochhead’s remarkable experiences as one of Scotland’s most distinguished writers. There will be readings, discussion, and an audience Q&A.
Ross Couper & Tom Oakes | SC&T Youth Concert
7pm, 21/9 | King's Pavilion
Fiddle meets guitar. Foot-tappingly banging. Ear-pleasingly melodic. A beautifully rich combination of string on string that oozes charisma. Ross and Tom keep their music simple – spine-tingling tunes with a sprinkle of banter.
Concert opens with performance by the young musicians of SC&T Youth.
Saturday 21st
Rachelle Atalla & Vikki Patis (Victoria Hawthorne)
5pm, 24/9 | King's Pavilion
Join us for a thrilling start to our main festival week as two of Scotland’s most exciting writers return to WayWORD to discuss their new novels and the art of writing twist-filled suspense narratives across different genres, with University of Aberdeen alumnus Rachelle Atalla and Aberdeenshire-based Vikki Patis (Victoria Hawthorne).
WayWORD at The Lampie
7pm, 24/9 | The Blue Lamp
Poetry and music with local, national and international artists, featuring North-East poets, Sheena Blackhall & Noon Salah Eldin, combined with Iranian and Kurdish musicians, Amin Hashemi, Amir Tahghigh, Yahya Salehi and Madeh Mohammadi, spoken-word performance by Jacob Sam-La Rose, with violist Fiona Winning and music by Luke Styles. Finally, Syrian musicians Shamband return by popular demand to round off the night.
Tuesday 24th
Psycho-geography Walk with Jo Vergunst & Emily McKay
10.30am, 25/9 | Old Aberdeen
Embark on a psycho-geographical exploration of Old Aberdeen with us. Breaking from the norm, this will not be a guided tour, but rather an engaging and collaborative experience inspired by situationism, culture, and community. We will start our walk at the New Kings building on the University of Aberdeen campus.
Gaelic Picnic: Gàidhlig Srùbag – Cake & Conversation
12 noon, 25/9 | King's Studio
Learn a few phrases of Gaelic. All levels of speakers and learners welcome. The Celtic Society will have a cake sale. With Carola MacCallum.
Beagan abairtean Gàidhlig ionnsachadh. Tha fàilte air a h-uile ìre de luchd-labhairt agus luchd-ionnsachaidh. Bidh fèill-reic chèic aig An Comann Ceilteach.
Zoology Museum Tour
12 noon, 25/9 | Zoology Museum
Are we currently in a mass-extinction event? If so, what's causing it?
This tour looks at species at risk of extinction and the major issues plaguing our global biodiversity. Our guides are passionate about zoology and can't wait to share their passion with you!
Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature
1pm, 25/9 | Online
Louisa Adjoa Parker, Khairani Barokka, and Dr. Durre Shahwar come together to discuss their deeply personal and moving contributions to Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature, a collection of essays by women of colour, reflecting on their relationships with nature, decolonisation, and healing.
Collection Doodles | Interactive Activity
2pm, 25/9 | King's Pavilion
The Museums & Special Collections team will be bringing along a selection of items from the University’s collections for you to draw.
Let your creativity flow as you sketch and doodle away. It's a great opportunity to unwind, meet new people, and explore your artistic side. No experience necessary.
Verbal Remedies | New Creative Writing by Medics
3.30pm, 25/9 | King's Pavilion
Celebrate the launch of the long-awaited fifth in the Verbal Remedies series of Creative Writing by Medical Students. How many amazing pieces will we cram into this bumper edition? What terrible pun will we come up with for the title? Hear student writers read their work and talk about the process of creating it.
Confronting Climate Change with Creativity and Collaboration
5pm, 25/9 | King's Pavilion
A panel discussion with Aberdeen-based artists and writers responding to climate change: UoA Interdisciplinary Fellow, Dr Rebecca Macklin, will chair sound artist Maja Zećo and curator Rachel Grant, to discuss their Soundwalk series about Torry's St Fittick’s Park, and poet Genevieve Carver, whose work explores ecology and interactions between human and non-human worlds.
Margot Livesey
7pm, 25/9 | Online
Margot Livesey has been hailed as ‘one of the strongest and subtlest voices in Scottish fiction' (Glasgow Herald). This is a rare opportunity to hear her discuss her newest novel, The Road from Belhaven, a rich portrait of twentieth-century Scotland inspired by Nan Shepherd and Willa Muir, which is one of her best yet.
Wednesday 25th
Scripting Dance 1: Balkan
10 am, 26/9 | King's Pavilion
Come along for some feet-on experience of Balkan Dancing and an insight into how these dances are constructed and can be written down to help you remember them. Easy dances from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and more.
All welcome.
No previous experience needed.
Scripting Dance 2: Going Off-Script: Argentine Tango - a conversation without words
10 am, 26/9 | MR614, Dance Studio
Argentine tango is a total improvised dance and, as such, relies on communication within the dance partnership and a shared understanding of the building blocks and structure (or grammar) of the dance. John and Fiona Newton lead a Tango Workshop suitable for all levels.
Scripting Dance 3: Scottish Country
10 am, 26/9 | King's Studio
Come along for some feet-on experience of Scottish Country Dancing, and an insight into how dances are improvised, constructed and can be written down to help you remember them.
All welcome.
No previous experience needed.
Gaelic Picnic: Gàidhlig Srùbag – Song and Sandwiches
12 noon, 26/9 | King's Studio
Song and Sandwiches - Bring along your lunch and learn a puirt a beul (Gaelic mouth music).
Òran is Ceapairean - Thoir leat do lòn agus ionnsaich puirt a beul.
With Carola MacCallum.
Found in Translation: Celebrating Modern Languages
1pm, 26/9 | King's Pavilion
Celebrating modern languages and their contribution to cross-cultural understanding and literary enjoyment, Maria Sanchez-Otiz (Spanish & Latin American Studies) chairs this panel with Lesley Crerar (BSL), Taylor Strickland (Gaelic) and Zhu Zhu (Chinese). What is lost and gained in translation, and why is this important?
Striking Impressions | Exhibition Talk
2.15pm, 26/9 | Sir Duncan Rice Library Exhibition Space
Join a bite-sized (15 minute) tour of the exhibition ‘Striking Impressions’. Meet at the Gallery, opposite the Welcome Desk. Student-guides will be waiting to welcome you.
Round Table Discussion: Music & Migration
3.30pm, 26/9 | King's Pavilion
What happens to music and musicians when they migrate to other places? How is their creative musical practice involved in their integration and how is their distinctive identity preserved? Amin Hashemi, Nicolas Le Bigre, Amir Tahghigh and Matthew Machin-Autenrieth discuss the ways Iranian, Polish and other communities have brought with them music and much more.
Aleksandra Hnatiuk & Jen Stout: Women on War
5pm, 26/9 | King's Pavilion
Journalist Jen Stout’s Night Train to Odesa charts her time in war-torn Ukraine while Aleksandra Hnatiuk has written on Ukrainian women’s courage in World War II and Ukraine’s struggles for independence and identity. Come along to hear them discuss women in war zones, cultural identity, unearthing truths and battling falsifications of history.
Don Quixote Rides Again
6.30pm, 26/9 | King's Pavilion
A spellbinding storytelling experience as Spanish Storyteller Inés Álvarez Villa brings the iconic adventures of Don Quixote to life, transporting us to the heart of Spanish culture, accompanied on stage by flamenco musician Javier Dominguez. This is a comical yet poignant show, directed by Jelena Bašić, which explores our right to be human, challenging prejudice, and encouraging us to embrace our true selves.
Thursday 26th
Clowning Workshop with Jessica Hernandez
11am, 27/9 | King's Studio
Clowning is a state of playfulness that brings us to experience child-like, naive and vulnerable ways of being. This workshop aims to provide a safe, inclusive and accessible environment for all to explore the side of us that takes fun very seriously.
Art, Expression and Identity Across Cultures:
Leila Aboulela, Amira Al Shanti, and Dean Atta
1pm, 27/9 | King's Pavilion
How does an identity formed of multiple cultures inform the art you create? This panel with writer Leila Aboulela, actor, playwright and artist Amira Al Shanti, and poet Dean Atta, will discuss identity, expression and acceptance across cultures.
Striking Impressions | Exhibition Talk
2.15pm, 27/9 | Sir Duncan Rice Library Exhibition Space
Join a bite-sized (15 minute) tour of the exhibition ‘Striking Impressions’. Meet at the Gallery, opposite the Welcome Desk. Student-guides will be waiting to welcome you.
No booking required.
Toulmin Prize for Writing in North East Scots | Sheena Blackhall
3pm, 27/9 | King's Pavilion
In honour of Aberdeenshire writer David Toulmin (John Reid, 1913–1998), the Toulmin Prize writing competition is held annually by the Elphinstone Institute and sponsored by the Reid family. Join us for this appreciation of North-East writing with this year’s prize-winning story read aloud by North-East Makar, Sheena Blackhall.
Gardenstown with Martin Malone and Bryan Angus
4pm, 27/9 | King's Pavilion
Join poet Martin Malone and artist Bryan Angus for a discussion of their joint publication, Gardenstown, which offers a vivid evocation of changing seasons in the Northeast’s much-loved village “Gamrie” from spring to winter. Here they watch the year pass as, like the tide, the seasons come and go.
Len Pennie and Shane Strachan
6pm, 27/9 | Cowdray Hall
TikTok Scots sensation Len Pennie’s fiercely feminist Poyums became an instant bestseller on its release, praised for its unflinching look at mental illness and domestic abuse. 2023 Scots Champion and winner of the 2024 Loud Poets Slam North Heat, Doric performer Shane Strachan’s DWAMS looks anew at the Northeast through a fast-moving carousel of voices.
Sunset Song: Morna Young & Danielle Jam
7.30pm, 27/9 | Cowdray Hall
Aberdonian actor Danielle Jam and Morayshire playwright Morna Young, fresh from their recent production of Sunset Song, discuss writing and performing in Doric, staging the North East, and the future for the performing arts in Aberdeen, reflecting on their experiences bringing this beloved text to new audiences.
Friday 27th
REPURPOSE ABERDEEN: Scriptwriting Workshop
10.30am, 28/9 | King's Studio
This two-hour workshop offers a low-pressure creative space to experiment, meet other local writers and share ideas on the theme REPURPOSE ABERDEEN. Prepare to be inspired by a range of prompts, exercises and activities. There will also be an opportunity to scratch a short-form text to be showcased at our Scratch Night the following evening.
Colonial Walking Tour with Abeer Eladany
1pm, 28/9 | Starting at Elphinstone Hall
Join us for an enlightening walking tour that delves into the colonial history of the University of Aberdeen and its historic Old Aberdeen campus. This tour offers an opportunity to explore the university’s ties to colonialism and the impact of these connections on its development, architecture, and academic legacy.
Writing Horrible Songs: Richie Webb of Horrible Histories
1.30pm, 28/9 | King's Pavilion
Know all your kings and queens? Richie Webb, lead songwriter for CBBC’s Horrible Histories, gives a glimpse into the creative process behind all your favourite hits. Find out what it takes to create not only an ear-catching tune, but also funny, historically accurate lyrics from a master craftsman.
James Lovegrove: Solving the Mysteries of Crime Writing
3pm, 28/9 | King's Pavilion
Delve into the rich and complex world of crime fiction writing with New York Times bestselling author James Lovegrove, in an engaging and enlightening discussion, exploring his reimagined Sherlock Holmes series The Cthulhu Casebooks and investigating the world of speculative fiction.
GIANTS Trans Choir Performance
4.15pm, 28/9 | King's Pavilion
A fabulous pop-up acapella performance by GIANTS (Global Intersex, Agender, Nonbinary & Trans Singers).
GIANTS is a worldwide project to establish accessible, inclusive singing groups of trans & nonbinary voices, as well as allies, with an emphasis on the joy of group singing. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Ben Aaronovitch & Maud Woolf
5pm, 28/9 | King's Pavilion
The Centre for the Novel is proud to host Ben Aaronovitch and Maud Woolf, who will be discussing their latest books and reading some of their favourite extracts, followed by an audience Q&A. A must for fans of speculative fiction, sci-fi, and re-imaginings of the world we think we know.
Grace Nichols & Mae Diansangu
7pm, 28/9 | King's Pavilion
Grace Nichols, winner of the 2021 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, will share work from across four decades of her prize-winning career, exploring Caribbean-British connections, womanhood, nature and well being, and including readings from her latest poetry collection, Passport to Here and There and other works. while Aberdonian poet Mae Diansangu launches her debut, Bloodsongs, which disrupts colonial and heteronormative conceptions of the past by giving voice to long-overlooked queer, Black and feminist perspectives in Doric and English.
Saturday 28th
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Neurodiverse Writing | Elle McNicoll & Sarinah O’Donoghue
12 noon, 29/9 | Online
‘’I’m a neurodivergent author. I write about anything and everything, but I always write about neurodiversity’’ - Elle McNicoll, bestselling author of A Kind of Spark, in conversation with Sarinah O’Donoghue, recent UoA PhD graduate researching representations of autism in literature and popular culture.
Sarah Bernstein & Chris Kohler
1.30pm, 29/9 | King's Pavilion
Two of the most exciting novelists working in Scotland today: Sarah Bernstein and Chris Kohler talk realism, identity and current literary culture, with Alan Warner. Sarah’s second novel, Study for Obedience, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Chris’s debut Phantom Limb is a clear landmark in contemporary Scottish writing.
A Nan Shepherd Event: Art Interpreting Literature - Susie Leiper's The Living Mountain
3pm, 29/9 | King's Pavilion
Artist and calligrapher Susie Leiper discusses her relationship to Shepherd's work and her evocative handwritten and illustrated edition of Shepherd's celebrated nature writing text, The Living Mountain. This event includes prizegiving for Nan Shepherd Creative Writing Competition for Young Writers.
Spectrum Ensemble & Fusion Dance Performance
4.15pm, 29/9 | King's Pavilion
Student compositions come to life with performances by young dancers in this collaboration between Spectrum Ensemble and Fusion.
Hear new works from Spectrum, the University of Aberdeen’s student-led new-music ensemble, brought to life with dance and choreography by Fusion, Citymoves Dance Agency’s youth dance company.
Zoë Strachan & Louise Welsh
5pm, 29/9 | King's Pavilion
Acclaimed Scottish writers Zoë Strachan and Louise Welsh discuss their latest novels, common themes, differing genres, and creative collaborations. Set in Glasgow and Kilmarnock and spanning the 1930s-60s, Zoë Strachan’s Catch the Moments as They Fly is her most personal novel to date. Louise Welsh’s latest gritty novel, To The Dogs, explores organised crime, institutional corruption and moral compromise in Glasgow with much dark humour.
Repurpose Aberdeen:
Scratch @ The Blue Lamp
7pm, 29/9 | The Blue Lamp
A new Scratch Night celebrating the performing arts community in the North East, curated by Annabel Lunney. Showcasing the talent of local writers directors and performers,
Want to get involved? You can submit writing via the call-out the top of this page and/or attend our accompanying workshop on Saturday 28th
Sunday 29th
Polish Scottish Choir drop-in
A free drop-in with the Polish Scottish Choir. No booking needed, and no experience required. Thursday 26th, 8-9pm in MacRobert 055 with refreshments beforehand in Elphinstone Institute Office 7.45pm
ROAR - Live Music Drop In
Three exciting young traditional musicians, Rasmus, Owen and Reuben, who met through Scottish Culture & Traditions Youth Camps in Aberdeen. Drop by to hear them perform Saturday 28th September outside King's Pavilion at 11.30 am and inside at 12.30pm.
Don't miss their rollicking tunes on smallpipes, Highland pipes, whistles, melodeon and guitar - and why not stay around for the Horrible Songs event with Richie Webb at 1.30 pm (see programme above)?
Foresterhill: Past, Present and Future - Talk
A Hundred Years of the Joint Hospitals Scheme - Talk and Publication Launch with Fiona Musk, NHSG Archivist
A Project by Grampian Hospitals Art Trust
Wednesday 2nd October at the Information Centre, Aberdeen Central Library, 6-7.30 pm
Foresterhill: Past, Present and Future - Walk
A Hundred Years of the Joint Hospitals Scheme - A walking tour of the Foresterhill site led by Fiona Musk, NHSG Archivist
A Project by Grampian Hospitals Art Trust
Saturday 5th October, 11 am – 12 pm
Bringing Life to the West End of Aberdeen - Aberdeen Women's Alliance Walking Tour
11am, Sunday 6th October, beginning at Harlaw Academy
Banter and beats – an evening of Doric at Cowdray Hall
In partnership with Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Cowdray Hall - open to the public. 7.30-9pm, 25th October 2024.
Book here
Community events:
Open to the Public
Additional community-based events to be announced
Jacob Sam-La Rose Poetry Workshop with St Machar Academy
In partnership with Sound Festival
Barbara Henderson: The Boy, The Witch, & The Queen of Scots, at Riverbank Primary and Woodlands Care Home
Poet & Gaelic Translator
Taylor Strickland at Hazlehead Academy
Fiona Winning Wirds an Soonds Workshop at Aboyne Academy
In partnership with Sound Festival
Community events:
Closed to the Public
Additional community-based events to be announced