We are delighted to announce that this December the Book Festival will host a special day of online events as part of our ongoing Citizen project. The Citizen Winter Warmer will be streamed live via our Facebook and YouTube channels on Saturday 12 December, but will be available to watch on demand immediately following the live stream. These short, interactive videos will be perfect to keep classes entertained in the last few weeks of term, with DrawAlongs, workshops, poetry and live music, as well as a stellar line-up of guests including Maggie O’Farrell, Alan Bissett, Leyla Josephine, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Tinderbox Collective and many more. All events are free to view.

The morning’s sessions will be suitable for primary pupils and include interactive 15-minute DrawAlongs with super-talented illustrators Eilidh Muldoon and Katie Chappell, sensational storytelling from Macastory, and a joy-filled poetry workshop by our Citizen Schools Writer in Residence, Leyla Josephine. Finally, you can be one of the first to hear Maggie O’Farrell read from her new picture book, Where Snow Angels Go.

10.30am DrawAlong with Eilidh Muldoon! (5yrs+)
11.00am Four Seasons – Storytelling with Macastory (3yrs+)
11.30am Self Portrait Poems with Leyla Josephine (7yrs+)
12noon Drawings Diaries with Katie Chappell (5yrs+)
12.30pm Where Snow Angels Go – A Reading by Maggie O’Farrell (5yrs+)

From 2.30pm, a programme for secondary-aged pupils kicks off with a workshop led by the incredible artists from the Edinburgh Zine Library, and some spirit-rousing music from the Tinderbox Collective (enjoyable for all ages). Acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet Courtney Stoddart will also perform some of her protest poetry, and Citizen Community Writer in Residence Eleanor Thom leads a workshop helping participants to explore their local area with their very own memory map.

2.30pm Pass the Zine with Edinburgh Zine Library (11yrs+)
3.00pm Music from the Tinderbox Collective (all ages)
3.30pm Poems for Today with Courtney Stoddart (11yrs+)
4.00pm Route of Memories with Eleanor Thom (11yrs+)

Our evening session will begin with a hilarious reading from The Incredible Adam Spark by Alan Bissett. From there, it’s a double bill from talented local writers from The Citizen Collective and The Citizen Writers’ Group, who have been working with the Book Festival over the course of 2020, thinking about what community and citizenship mean. The evening will close with a reading of Daughter of Stories by Nadine Aisha Jassat, a tale about how family, friendship, and stories themselves can be a beacon in dark times.

6.00pm The Incredible Adam Spark – A Reading by Alan Bissett (YA and adults)
6.30pm The Citizen Collective – Sharing (YA and adults)
7.00pm Citizen Writers’ Group – Sharing (adults)
7.30pm Daughter of Stories – A Reading by Nadine Aisha Jassat (YA and adults)