Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and crime writer Val McDermid have told how books drew them together and remain the “mainstay” of their friendship, ahead of a December event in Edinburgh.
The two will discuss the joys of reading at a festive edition of In The Company Of Books, at Assembly Hall in Edinburgh on December 15, while “interrogating” guests and drinking mulled wine.
The women described their friendship as “improbable” and said that all their conversations revolve around reading.
Former journalist McDermid has sold more than 19 million books internationally and her work has been translated into more than 40 languages. She has received six honorary doctorates and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford.
MSP Sturgeon was the longest-serving and first woman first minister of Scotland, and represents the Glasgow Southside constituency.
After the event in Edinburgh they will host a similar one at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
They said: “Books are magic. Portable magic, according to Stephen King. And like magic, books build bridges. In our case, an improbable friendship between a passionate politician and Scotland’s queen of crime.
“Our love of books is what first drew us together and it remains the mainstay of that friendship.
“Every conversation we have eventually meanders round to the books we are reading, what we’ve been enjoying, what has been making us laugh or cry, or keeping us on the edge of our seats. And now we want to share the love.
“First up, festive fun at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms with two stellar mystery guests, then off to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival where we’ll be joined by two top names from the comedy world.
“We’ll be interrogating our guests about the books that shaped them and why they love reading. Revelations galore await as we explore the love and laughter between the covers.”
The event is part of Edinburgh’s Christmas.
A spokesperson for Unique Assembly, producers of Edinburgh’s Christmas said: “We are thrilled to have Val and Nicola bring their in-conversation event to Edinburgh’s Christmas this year.
“This is sure to be a highlight in the Christmas calendar and we invite everyone to grab a glass of mulled wine and settle in for what will be a witty, warm and insightful event.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel