WayWORD continues this weekend with events in The Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen Central Library, and The Blue Lamp. Browse the events on offer at the Cowdray Hall below and view the full programme at www.waywordfestival.com
Friday 3rd October
ACE Voices Ceilidh (6.30, Cowdray Hall)
Move your body and enjoy music, song, and poetry with ACE Voices Intergenerational Ceilidh Band. Even if you’ve never danced before, this is the perfect opportunity to learn new dances in this fun and beginner friendly session. Co-led by ACE Voices Youth Leadership Team, this event will also incorporate ceilidh traditions such as singing and poetry readings from performers.
Saturday 4th October
Margaret McDonald and Danielle Jawando: Award-Winning YA Fiction (11am, Art Gallery Seminar Room)
Two of Britain’s most exciting Young Adult fiction authors – Danielle Jawando and Margaret McDonald – join us to discuss their award-winning novels. Jawando’s third book, If My Words Had Wings, is a life-affirming story of rehabilitation and hope after prison; was recently shortlisted for this year’s YA Book Prize, an award she won in 2023 for her second novel, When Our Worlds Collided. This year, McDonald became the youngest ever winner of the Carnegie Medal for Writing for her debut novel Glasgow Boys which explores mental health, trauma, inequality and identity through the friendship between two boys who have grown up in foster care.
Ideas of North – New Poetry from Scotland and Ireland’s North (12.30, Art Gallery Seminar Room)
Charles Lang, Jake Hawkey, and Zara Meadows are three of the most accomplished, thematically pertinent, and innovative poets to have emerged within their tradition in recent years.
ACE Voices Choir Performance (12:45, Sculpture Court)
A performance by Aberdeen’s own intergenerational choir led by ACE Voices. With members ranging from 0 to 80+ years old, ACE Voices is formed on the basis that ‘Everyone can sing, everyone is musical, and everyone has a voice worth hearing.’
Michael Pedersen and Chris McQueer: Muckle Masculinities (2.30, Cowdray Hall)
Scottish writers Michael Pedersen and Chris McQueer are joined by Nicola Sturgeon to discuss their compelling 2025 debut novels Muckle Flugga and Hermit, which both explore isolation and masculinity in unique ways.
Fusion Dance pop-up performance
Don’t miss this pop-up 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.
How to Kill a Witch with Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell (4.30, Cowdray Hall)
The Witches of Scotland campaign is dedicated to seeking justice for the nearly 4,000 individuals, predominantly women, who were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1736. Following the success of the campaign and Witches of Scotland podcast, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell discuss their new book, How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy which explores this historic injustice in detail and considers its relevance today.
Nicola Sturgeon: Writing Frankly (6.30, Cowdray Hall)
(This event is SOLD OUT)
Sunday 5th October
Love in Lyrics – Fiona Soe Paing, Cameron Stewart Grant & Florence Jack (11.30, Cowdray Hall)
How does love sound? Is it loud or quiet? Sweet or painful? Smooth like silk or tangled like guitar strings? Love in Lyrics is an intimate, one-hour live chat with some of the most emotionally resonant emerging and established musicians in Scotland.
Aberdeen Gaelic Choir | Còisir Ghàidhlig Obar Dheathain (12.45, Sculpture Court)
Come hear a selection of traditional and modern Gaelic songs performed by Còisir Ghàidhlig Obar Dheathain (Aberdeen Gaelic Choir) before they are off to the Royal National Mòd in Lochaber!
Len Pennie and Peter Mackay: Celebrating Scotland’s Languages (1.30, Cowdray Hall)
Join us for an afternoon of lively readings and discussion with two of Scotland’s best-known poets working in these languages. Our new national Scottish Makar, Gaelic poet Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay), is joined by Scots-language sensation Len Pennie, hot off the release of her second poetry collection, Poyums Annaw.
Damian Barr and Keava McMillan: Scotland’s Hidden LGBTQ+ Art History
Uncover the queer lives behind some of Scotland’s finest 20th century art with award-winning author Damian Barr and art historian Keava McMillan. Barr’s latest novel, The Two Roberts, tells the moving story of painters Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, deeply devoted to their art and their love for one another. Dr McMillan will share insights from her WayWORD-commissioned pamphlet exploring the queer art of artists Dorothy Johnstone, Cecile Walton and Anne Finlay, all featured in Aberdeen Art Gallery’s ‘Art of Empowerment’ collection.
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