Nicola Sturgeon interviews Ali Smith at OU Edinburgh International Book Festival event

The First Minister of Scotland, The Right Hon, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, interviewed Booker Prize-shortlisted author and playwright Ali Smith at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2018, as one of a series of events supported by The Open University (OU) at the festival. 

The event focused on Ali Smith’s new novel Winter, the second novel in the seasonally titled series from the author of Autumn and How to be both. 

They discussed how her new novel addresses a feeling of “dark times” politically and socially across the world, in anticipation of brighter times, to be explored in her forthcoming novel Spring. 

Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, closed the event by thanking the First Minister and Ali Smith and said:
 
“A huge thanks to The Open University for supporting this event and for the opportunities it offers people across Scotland to access higher education.”

An OU reception following the interview was attended by the First Minister, the Acting OU Vice-Chancellor Mary Kellett, and around 70 key stakeholders, such OU honorary graduates and contacts from the Scottish Government and cultural engagement, widening access, business and voluntary organisations. 

Susan Stewart, Director of the OU in Scotland, welcomed the guests to the reception and said: 

“We are proud to be one of the sponsors of the book festival. We were especially pleased to partner with the festival in their new activities of taking the festival to other parts of Scotland at other times of the year, such as Glenrothes in Fife.”

At this month’s book festival (August 2018) in Edinburgh, we are also supporting three creative writing workshops, an event with American actress and activist Rose McGowan, and a session with literary critic and academic Prof Stefan Collini, chaired by Susan Stewart. 

The OU in Scotland supports a wide variety of cultural engagement events across Scotland as part of our knowledge exchange activities. 

You can try Creative Writing course content for free, on the OU site OpenLearn, such Writing what you know, or Start writing fiction. 

The OU offers the modules Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing, a BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Writing.

Pictured, left to right: Susan Stewart, Ali Smith, Nicola Sturgeon and Mary Kellett.