Aberdeen University’s literary festival WayWORD promises to champion diversity and inclusion when it returns next week with events including queer horror, fan fiction panels and talks on social media identities.
“We represent the diverse reality that’s in the arts,” said Dr Helen Lynch, WayWORD’s creative director, who worked with a team of students to explore many unconventional forms of expression at the September festival.
“We tried to have a really diverse line-up and we did that deliberately because we found that if you’re not careful, it reverts and defaults to being not as diverse and inclusive as you’d want it to be.
“We’ll talk about the kind of literature that isn’t normally included (at literary festivals) and we’ll also talk about the kind of literature that is included – but in a different way.”
Aberdeen WayWORD festival to return in person for the first time
WayWORD – which was launched in 2020 to celebrate Aberdeen University’s 525th anniversary – will be back from September 20 to 25.
Returning for its third outing, this will be the first time the festival will be a mostly in-person event.
Helen, who’s also a director of Aberdeen University’s WORD Centre for Creative Writing, said: “This year we’ve got six online events but everything else is in-person.
“It’s going to be a really nice mix of events for people to choose from. We hope lots of people will feel like they can come out and spend the whole day at the festival.
“We’ll have food, tea and coffees, music, dance… The plan is to really get people back enjoying the arts face-to-face – how it really should be.”
King’s Pavilion to become ‘proper performance space’
And Helen’s thrilled that almost all of the in-person events will take place at the King’s Pavilion on the university campus.
She said: “It’s quite exciting as that’ll be the first time that building will be used in its entirety – green room, bookshop, and workshops all in one place.”
If everything goes well, Helen revealed that Aberdeen University has plans for King’s Pavilion to become “a proper performance space for all kinds of events”.
“We’re pioneering it. It’s something the university really needs. We’ve got so much going on and there are so many things that could be happening in that lovely space.”
Learn more about award-winning author Douglas Stuart
But there is one online event she knows many people will be looking forward to – an interview with Booker Prize-winner Douglas Stuart who penned Shuggie Bain.
“It’s pre-recorded but we asked people to send in questions so you can listen to it online and we can also screen it at the King’s Pavilion,” said Helen.
Monica Ali, Raymond Antrobus, Christopher Brookmyre, Jenny Colgan, C.J. Cooke and many more authors will also take part in the Aberdeen University festival.
This year’s line-up also features public workshops in song-writing, street art, Gaelic song, and creative writing about mental health and landscape.
Other performers include international visual artists, horror writers, theatre directors, besides weel-kent local voices Sheena Blackhall, Shane Strachan and Jo Gilbert.
WayWORD festival’s community programme in Aberdeen
In addition, the festival also boasts a great community programme: comic workshops in the city and shire, and two mini-festivals co-organised by 14-15-year-olds, with mentoring from staff and university and college students.
WayWORD Community Festival features events at Riverbank Primary School and Tillydrone, plus the Art for Life mini-fest at Hazlehead Academy.
Click here for more information on WayWORD Festival.
Conversation