What's on in the libraries
Events managed by libraries in the Stirling Council area
The Bone Folder: book launch and live poetry readings, Cáit O’Neill McCullagh and guests
Date
Thursday 17 April
Time
5:30pm-6:30pm
Location
Central Library
Event details
Join us at Central Library as poet Cáit O’Neill McCullagh introduces and reads from her new poetry collection The Bone Folder. Cáit will be joined by local poets Chris Powici and Charlie Gracie, and the wonderful Morag Anderson, who will be reading alongside.
About Cáit O’Neill McCullagh
Cáit O’Neill McCullagh is a published poet and essayist, and an experienced educator in community and Higher Education settings. She has worked throughout the Highlands and Islands as a public ethnologist and archaeologist. Originating from Kerry, in south west Ireland, and a childhood in London, Cáit, has lived in the Highlands since she was a teenager. At her home in Easter Ross, she is completing a PhD thesis with Heriot-Watt University that is based on an extended period of ‘creative ethnology’ conducted while working and living in island communities across Orkney and Shetland.
About Charlie Gracie
Charlie Gracie grew up in Baillieston, Glasgow and now lives in Thornhill, north of Stirling. Charlie has four publications: a novel, short stories and poetry. His latest collection of poetry and short prose, Belfast to Baillieston, an industrial and family narrative, was published by Red Squirrel Press, who will publish his forthcoming pamphlet, a collaboration with Mairi Murphy and Donal McLaughlin.
About Chris Powici
Chris Powici lives in Perthshire, where he writes poems and essays. He has taught creative writing at The University of Stirling and The Open University, and is co-editor of New Writing Scotland. Chris is one of the people behind Paperboats (paperboats.org), a bunch of writers campaigning for action on climate change and other ecological threats. His latest poetry collection is Look, Breathe (Red Squirrel Press).
About Morag Anderson
Morag Anderson’s second chapbook, And I Will Make of You a Vowel Sound (Fly on the Wall Press, 2024), won the Aryamati Poetry Prize and was described by TS Eliot Prize-winning poet Joelle Taylor as Delicate and furious…a haunting act of worship, of rebellion.
She was poet-in-residence for the 2024 Birnam Book Festival and Creative Brain Week 2024, Trinity College, Dublin. Recent commissions include The Scottish Poetry Library, The Canmore Suicide Prevention Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, and Perth Festival of the Arts.
Morag is currently a delegate on Arvon’s two-year Advanced Writing Programme.
Free event. To book contact Central Library on tel. 01786 237760, or email centrallibrary@stirling.gov.uk
Book sales cash only.
Off the Page
Our Stirling Libraries Off the Page Book Festival is running this year starting on Thursday 8th May to Thursday 15th May. This year’s festival will be a celebration of art and nature featuring an exciting line-up of authors and events for all ages.
Lecture at Legends
Dr Angus Vine
Date
Thursday 8 May
Time
7pm-8pm
Location
Legends Coffee House
Event details
Join us for our annual Lecture at Legends. Dr Angus Vine will be talking about George Buchanan and we’ll be hearing from our prize winning Stirling University student. Chair Liam Bell.
George Buchanan, Pedagogue and ‘Prince of Poets’ with Dr Angus Vine
Today, George Buchanan is best-known as a political philosopher and historian. In his own day, however, he was much more celebrated as a teacher and poet. This lecture, therefore, sets out to reconstruct Buchanan’s career as a pedagogue, from his earliest itinerant days across continental Europe through to his later role as James VI’s tutor, and will survey the range of pedagogical works that he wrote from textbooks on grammar and prosody through to didactic plays (both translations and original compositions). In parallel, it will also trace his career as sixteenth-century Scotland’s leading Neo-Latin poet.
With this two-fold approach, the lecture will reveal what it meant to be a ‘humanist’ in sixteenth-century Europe, what a ‘humanist’ education looked like in the early modern world, and how Buchanan by the end of the century had come to be the pre-eminent example of a ‘humanist’ poet and pedagogue not only in Scotland, but also in the whole of the British Isles.
How to book
Suggested donation (£5)
Visit Stirling District Tourism on Eventbrite to book.
Scottish Nature Writer (Jim Crumley)
Date
Friday 9 May
Time
7:15pm-8:30pm
Location
Thomas Graham Library
Event details
A brilliant and fascinating speaker Jim Crumley will inspire and entertain you with stories of his encounters with wildlife in Scotland and beyond. Join us at Thomas Graham Library, Strathblane, where we will be chatting to author Jim Crumley about his books and life as a Scottish nature writer. We’ll have all of Jim Crumley’s books on display at this event including his most recent book ‘Seasons of Storm and Wonder’, and we’ll be getting a preview of what’s coming soon…
About Jim Crumley
Jim Crumley is the author of more than 40 books, mostly on the wildlife and landscapes of Scotland, many of them making the case for re-introduction, rewilding and conservation. He is a regular columnist for the Scots Magazine.
How to book
General admission: £4.50
Concession: £2.50
(50p from each ticket sale will be donated to ‘Wee Spuds’ kids gardening club)
To book, visit, email or tel. Thomas Graham Library
Tel: 01360 770737
Email: strathblanelibrary@stirling.gov.uk
Ticket payment cash or card payment (can pay at the door)
Book sales cash only
Children’s Book Illustrator
Kate McLelland
Art workshop: for children age 6-9
Spaces limited
Date
Saturday 10 May
Time
10am-11am
Location
St Ninians Library
Event details
Children’s book illustrator will be visiting St Ninians Library. Come along and join our art workshop for children age 6-9. We’ll be visiting our Secret Garden at the Mayfield Centre for inspiration for our drawing and creating a collaborative nature inspired piece of art for display in the library.
About Kate
Kate McLelland is an illustrator, author and designer. She is the illustrator of bestselling picture book There Was A Wee Lassie Who Swallowed a Midgie. Kate has illustrated many successful book series, including Where's My ... for Little Tiger Press, Press Out and Decorate for Nosy Crow and RSPB Nature Guides for Bloomsbury Publishing.
How to book
Entry £1:50 (cost of entry will be donated to Friends of Mayfield Secret Garden)
To book, visit, email or telephone St Ninians Library
Tel: 01786 472069
Email: stninianslibrary@stirling.gov.uk
Ticket payment cash payment (can pay at the door)
Waters of Life
Nature Talk: author and conservationist Tom Bowser
Nature Walk: Active Stirling
For children 8-11 approx.
Spaces limited (children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult)
Date
Tuesday 13 May
Time
Nature Talk 3:30pm-4:30pm
Nature Walk 4:30pm-5:30pm
Location
Cornton Library
Event details
Come along to Cornton Library as we chat to author and conservationist Tom Bowser about the wildlife in our local rivers. Tom will be sharing some of the photos, videos and information about the beavers that have been reintroduced on his farm. Bring along and share with us your stories, videos or photos of the wildlife you’ve spotted near you.
For those keen wildlife watchers our talk with Tom Bowser will be followed by a River Walk organised by our friends at Active Stirling. Join us in a wee exploration of our local riverside.
About Tom
Check out Tom Bowser’s latest book Waters of Life: Fighting for Scotland’s Beavers. Tom is a nature writer, journalist and wildlife guide. From his family farm near Dunblane he runs the award-winning Argaty Red Kite project. His first book, A Sky Full of Kites, A Rewilding Story tells the story of the project and of the history of red kites in Scotland. It also details his attempts to rewild his farm, making it a home for red squirrels, pine martens, otters and many more incredible animals. Tom loves writing about and talking about wildlife.
How to book
Free event
To book, visit, email or tel. Cornton Library
Tel: 01786 237904
Intro to Upcycled Bookbinding
Bookbinder Cass Barron
Craft workshop for adults
Spaces limited
Date
Tuesday 13 May
Time
10am-1pm
Location
Bannockburn Library
Event details
Join Cass for a morning of creative bookbinding, that will result in an A6 sized handbound leather or pleather covered journal, complete with decorative pages, handy pockets and exposed stitching. A colourful mix of decorative papers will be provided along with lots of papery ephemera from the library for you to incorporate into your book, including old maps, ex library books and copies of out of copyright publications from the library collection.
This is a great opportunity to learn the satisfying craft of bookbinding, get some nifty ideas on working with remnant materials and leave with a unique and usable journal for writing, sketching, to use as a memory book or give as a gift.
Following the workshop you will receive a handy kit list, videos and step-by-step instructions should you want to make more books at home.
How to book
General admission £40
Concession £25
To book, visit, email or tel. Bannockburn Library
Tel: 01786 812286
Email: bannockburnlibrary@stirling.gov.uk
Ticket payment cash payment (can pay at the door)
Forage to Fork: Natural Cooking with Theo Chana
Chef Theo Chana
Cooking demonstration and talk
Spaces limited
Date
Wednesday 14 May
Time
6pm-7pm
Location
Central Library
Event details
Join MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Theo Chana as he shares how to forage and cook using natural ingredients to support sustainable, healthy living. Enjoy a live demonstration featuring delicious recipes you can try at home. Whether you're a keen cook or a curious beginner, you’ll leave inspired your create your own wild dishes!
About Theo
Theo is a celebrated private chef based in Braco, with over twenty years’ experience in the culinary arts. He has worked alongside some of the world’s finest Michelin-starred chefs and has appeared on MasterChef: The Professionals, Bake Off: The Professionals, Amazon, Channel 4, and ITV.
How to book
General admission: £4.50
Concession: £2.50
To book, visit, email or telephone Central Library
Tel: 01786 237760
Email: centrallibrary@stirling.gov.uk
Ticket payment cash or card payment (can pay at the door)
Evening with Makar and Friends
Stirling Makar Kevin P. Gilday
Guests: Alan Bissett, Hannah Lavery, Jane Borges
Spoken word performance
Date
Thursday 15 May
Time
6:30pm-8pm
Location
Stirling University Library
Event details
We’re delighted to be bringing Stirling Makar Kevin P Gilday and guests Alan Bissett, Hannah Lavery and Jane Borges together for a very lively evening of spoken word performance and conversation.
This event is going to be hosted by Stirling University Library at the heart of the University Campus with beautiful views and open spaces.
About Kevin
Kevin P. Gilday is an award-winning poet and performer from Glasgow. He is a National Theatre of Scotland Associate Artist, a BBC Writersroom Scottish Voice, a UNESCO City of Literature Writer in Residence and one of Scotland’s most celebrated contemporary poets. He was recently included in the Saltire Society’s ’40 under 40’ list celebrating outstanding Scottish creative talent and is the official Makar of Stirling. Kevin has performed his poems internationally, from Hollywood to East Kilbride, including major festivals like Glastonbury, runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and large-scale tours of the UK, Europe, the US and Canada.
About Hannah
Hannah Lavery is a poet and playwright from Edinburgh. Her debut poetry collection Blood Salt Spring (Polygon) was nominated for a Saltire Prize in 2022, her second collection Unwritten Woman was published by Polygon in August 2024. Hannah is the former Makar (poet laureate) for the City of Edinburgh, co-host of feminist arts podcast QuineCast and was an Associate Artist at National Theatre Scotland (NTS) her plays for NTS The Drift and Lament for Sheku Bayoh and The Protest have toured extensively.
About Alan
Novelist, playwright, performer and Falkirk boy Alan Bissett is very much in demand as a live act. As well as appearing in countless schools across Scotland, he has performed at prestigious international festivals in New York, Toronto, the Hague, Melbourne, Bejing, Zagreb, Kikinda and Lagos. His novels include Boyracers, The Incredible Adam Spark, Death of a Ladies’ Man and Pack Men. His works for the stage include his award-winning trilogy of plays The Moira Monologues. He has been shortlisted for numerous awards including Best New Play at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland in 2010 and 2017, Best New Fiction at the Scottish Arts Council Awards, 2010 and 2012, and Scots Language Writer of the Year in 2021 and 2023.
About Jane
Jane Borges is an India-based independent journalist, author and oral historian. Her debut novel, Bombay Balchão (2019), was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puruskar and Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. She has also co-authored the non-fiction Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands (2011) with S. Hussain Zaidi. The Bollywood film Gangubai Kathiawadi was based on a chapter from the book. In 2022, she won the RedInk Journalism Award. She leads Soboicar, an oral history project chronicling the lives of Christians who migrated from the Konkan to the city of Mumbai. Her upcoming novel draws from her research on Catholic neighbourhoods in Mumbai, where she lives.
How to book
Free event
Book your ticket via the University of Stirling on Eventbrite
Stirling’s Literary History
Exhibition
Date
February 2025 to December 2026
Location
Central Library
Event details
This exhibition celebrates Stirling’s extraordinary contribution to Scotland’s literary heritage through the centuries. From the legend of the Wolf on the Crag to the voices of today’s writers and poets, explore a timeline of Stirling’s remarkable literary history. You’ll see plenty of familiar figures – Blind Harry, Mary Queen of Scots, James VI, Robert Burns, Walter Scott, and Louis Stevenson, to name just a few. We’ll highlight some wonderful stories, showcase our rare poetry collection, and celebrate Stirling’s remarkable 20th-century literary legacy – from its writers and poets, to book festivals and Stirling University’s contributions.
How to book
Free entry