Brief
Paisley Book Festival is seeking creative and inclusive contributions and ideas for events to be part of the programme for the 2024 Festival, taking place between 25th and 28th April.
The Festival seeks to showcase local writers, groups, and other contributors, and provide opportunities to develop local talent.
Here are some ways you could get involved:
- BE A GROUP HOST / CONTRIBUTOR – are you a Renfrewshire based community and /or cultural organisation, project, or initiative that has an idea for an event to be part of the Paisley Book Festival programme?
- BE A PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTOR – are you a Scottish writer / artist / creative / organisation with an idea or current strand of activity that fits the remit of the Paisley Book Festival? We welcome submissions from creatives working in a variety of disciplines.
About the festival
The Paisley Book Festival is a platform for the celebration of books, reading and writing in Paisley over the course of 4 days. It is a festival with creativity and innovation at the heart of its programme, seeking to showcase some of the best and most diverse voices being published today in Scotland and beyond.
The Festival will connect readers and writers with bold, contemporary ideas, engage established audiences, inspire new ones and be an effective marketplace for the writing and publishing world.
In 2020, the inaugural festival was inspired by the actions of the 1820 Paisley Radicals, celebrating Paisley as a place where people value their unique rich history.
Now entering its 5th year, we’re still Paisley Radicals at heart, so the festival’s trademark thread of edge and progressiveness continues to run through the programme.
The theme for Paisley Book Festival 2024 is Imagine Something Different.
To Make a Proposal
Please consider how your activity responds to the festival outcomes and 2024 theme and provide the following information.
- Idea/summary (up to 300 words)
- A Biography (you/your group) and what you do (up to 300 words)
- Please be sure to indicate your approach to access, diversity and inclusion within your application.
- Links to previous work/relevant supporting material
- Details on what technical and production support you might need to deliver your project. Please be clear about what you can provide yourself and what you need.
Note: There is no guarantee that the festival will be able to provide/facilitate technical needs.
Our standard fee for authors/participants/workshop facilitators is £200. Our fee structure is informed by industry-standard rates as set by the Scottish Artists Union and the Scottish Book Trust. We are able to provide funding of up to £300 to support successful applicants to the Open Call depending on the nature of your event.
Previous Festival programmes have involved innovative and site-responsive events of varying genres, so depending on the nature and length of the contribution, we are happy to have a discussion about something a bit out of the box, and whether we have the
resources to support it.
We welcome any questions and feedback you might have about the submission process.
Submission Proposal
Please send your proposal material saved as one document (PDF or Word). Please ensure to include all relevant contact details (contact details, email address, location)
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and all sections of the community.
Please submit to: OneRen_arts@renfrewshire.gov.uk
Deadline: Friday 8th December
Late submissions will not be accepted.
About the festival
Submissions will be reviewed, scored and selected by Jess Orr (Associate Programmer) and a representative from OneRen Paisley Book Festival project team.
Timeline and key dates
Friday 22nd December 2023 – Successful applicants notified by
Friday 19th January 2024 – Event title, description and image to be provided to the festival by OneRen is the local charitable trust in Renfrewshire providing culture, leisure and sporting opportunities to help people enjoy active and healthy lives.
Future Paisley is the radical and wide-ranging programme of events, activity and investment using the town’s unique and internationally significant cultural stories to transform its future
