Passengers to receive book showcasing nation’s favourite parts of Scotland

By BRIAN FERGUSON
Published on 21/11/2012 02:36

THOUSANDS of ferry and rail passengers are to get a free story-book showcasing the favourite parts of Scotland of celebrities and ordinary members of the public.

Michael Palin, Alexander McCall Smith, Alasdair Gray, Liz Lochhead and Aidan Moffat are among those who have contributed to “My Favourite Place”.

Around 150,000 copies of the book will be given away on Calmac vessels and at Waverley and Queen Street railway stations during the first ever national celebration of reading.

The Scottish Book Trust, which is behind the project, has compiled more than 30 stories and poems over the last few months for the book, which will be given away at the end of this month.

Eight ferries in the Calmac fleet will be taking part in the scheme, which will also see the books given away in branches of Specsavers as well as leading arts venues.

During the Book Week Scotland initiative, supported to the tune of £150,000 by arts agency Creative Scotland, thousands of Scots will be urged to down tools for an hour on St Andrew’s Day to read a book, while big-name authors like Christopher Brookmyre, Debi Gliori, Janice Galloway, Iain Banks and Val McDermid will be travelling around the country for one-off events in the likes of Orkney, Benbecula and Carnoustie.

Every primary pupil in Scotland is to get their own “bookbug” family pack to help encourage them to read at home, the National Museum of Scotland will be hosting free celebrity readings and the Mitchel Library in Glasgow will be boasting its own pop-up festival for a day.

Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, said: “Book Week Scotland is set to be an inspirational week of reading across the country.

“We’re thrilled with the level of interest from communities around the nation and are pleased to have created an exciting, inclusive programme that will appeal to the people of Scotland.”

Andrew Collier, head of commercial development at CalMac said: “A ferry journey is the perfect opportunity to relax and read a book, so we are delighted to lend our support to Book Week Scotland by making this special free publication available on our larger ferries.”

Book Week Scotland runs from 26 November-December 2.