SOME of Scotland s most well known authors are to pay tribute to the life of Alasdair Gray. The first ever Gray Day is to take place today celebrating one of the country s most important literary and artistic talents. Today is the 40th anniversary of the publication of Gray s novel Lanark and a special, one-off evening hosted by Neu Reekie at Oran Mor is to take place. Sorcha Dallas, of The Alasdair Gray Archive, said; “Gray Day was born of a desire to foster a continued dialogue with Alasdair through the rich and multi-faceted works he has left behind. Alasdair was an incredible man and we hope this tribute will allow his admirers a chance to reminisce, while bringing his work to many more who have still to discover it.”
Celebrated Irish director John Crowley just can’t get enough of quality literature – and his latest project is based on a book by a Belfast writer.
Crowley earned himself and his cast a trip to the Oscars for turning Colm Tóibín’s celebrated novel Brooklyn into a wonderful film, starring Saoirse Ronan. Crowley is currently working on an ambitious, big-screen adaptation of Donna Tartt’s best-selling novel The Goldfinch, due out next year.
After that, it has been confirmed that Crowley will direct a film entitled Mid-Winter Break. The film is based on Belfast-born writer Bernard MacLaverty’s latest novel. The book, published last year, is about an Irish couple struggling to hold their marriage together. Published reports suggest that Crowley will begin shooting Mid-Winter Break once The Goldfinch wraps up, and that MacLaverty himself will write the screenplay.