Award-winning Renfrewshire author will be returning to book festival as Duck Feet is added to SQA’s high school reading list
Renfrew writer Ely Percy says people from all walks of life can be inspired by the stories that will be shared at this year’s Paisley Book Festival.
The award-winning Duck Feet author is one of the festival’s staunchest supporters and will be among a stellar line-up of authors taking to the stage to discuss their work.
Ely believes that the event – with headliners including Trainspotting creator Irvine Welsh and award-winning writer A L Kennedy – is one of the most open and diverse of its kind in Scotland.
Centered around the theme The Lives We Live, sessions at the festival from April 25 until 27 will delve into competing ideas about modern life, tackling major issues and celebrating the things that bring joy.
It is a theme which could not chime better for the experiences which shape Ely’s work, with Duck Feet charting the life of Kirsty Campbell, a pupil at the fictional Renfrew Grammar School.
Ely said:
“I wrote Duck Feet for people like me – so ordinary people can read stories about people and places they recognise. That’s why so many people from Renfrewshire have got behind the book.”
Showcasing a talented array of writers, poets and storytellers, Paisley Book Festival considers concepts such as home and identity, travel, love and work, drawing inspiration from Paisley’s rich, creative history – celebrating the distinct personal experiences which shape superb Scottish writing and storytelling.
Duck Feet, which is written in Scots and was the 2021 Scottish Book of the Year, was recently added to the Scottish Qualification Authority’s (SQA) National 5 English Scottish set text list following a nationwide consultation.
Paisley Book Festival will also once again feature a schools programme, which aims to inspire a love of books and encourage budding writers.
Ely, who began writing aged 15, said:
“It’s absolutely amazing to have Duck Feet on the syllabus. When I set out to write it I didn’t think it was going to end up on a list of books that kids can study in schools, but it’s amazing.
“For kids and teachers to be able to have their say about what books they want to read is just brilliant. It’s the way it should be. Kids should be able to have a say in the books they’re studying because learning’s meant to be fun – reading’s meant to be fun.”
At Paisley Book Festival on Sunday April 27, Ely will take part in the Fierce Savage session, celebrating a new anthology of Scottish LGBTQ+ writing alongside author, journalist, and musician Carrie Marshall and poet Mae Diansangu.
Ely added:
“I really love Paisley Book Festival. One of the things I like is that it’s so diverse. It has people from all walks of life.
“You have folk who maybe haven’t written before, but would like to, you’ve got people who’ve started their career who are local to Paisley and Renfrewshire then you folk from different parts of Scotland. You’ve also got people from groups who are maybe not always represented at other festivals or in publishing.”
Organised by OneRen, Paisley Book Festival 2025 is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Full details about the Paisley Book Festival line-up – including booking information – are available at www.paisleybookfestival.com.
