Paisley Book Festival is set to return next year with two new programmers bringing the cream of the literary crop to the town for the new look event. The festival, which is delivered by OneRen, is set to run over four days from 16 - 19 February 2023 and will bring some of the best writers to Paisley for discussions and events. Heather McDaid, an award-winning independent publisher, and Sha Nazir, a multi-skilled artist, writer and producer, will drive forward the Paisley Book Festival as its new programmers.
Heather, is the co-founder and independent publisher of 404 Ink and runs the Year of Stories Programme at Publishing Scotland. She was also the Books Editor at The Skinny for the past five years, and formerly Co-Chair of the Society of Young Publishers Scotland. Heather, named a Bookseller Rising Star for 2022, said: “One of my first freelance roles was programming a festival back in 2016, and I’ve always loved the opportunity to find talented writers and creators and share their work more widely. I’m really looking forward to being able to do so again, working with Sha to bring an exciting programme to Paisley in 2023, and find new ways to engage with books while continuing the brilliant work of Paisley Book Festival’s first few years.”
Sha Nazir runs the acclaimed comics publisher BHP Comics and is Events Producer at ACME Events, the company behind events including Glasgow Comic Con, Rai Con and the cornerstone ACME Scotland Comic Con, which takes over Glasgow’s SEC twice annually. He has worked with a number of organisations including Aye Write!, Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Scottish Book Trust, as well as a large number of cultural events and organisations. He said: “Programming and community engagement are at the heart of my practice and I’m really excited to work alongside Heather to help guide the Paisley Book Festival into a new era of live events at the heart of the city.”
OneRen’s Louise Oliver, Producer at Paisley Book Festival, said: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome Heather and Sha to the Paisley Book Festival team as joint programmers. They both bring years of experience in the literary world and diverse skill sets to the role, which I know will reflect and amplify the festival’s spirit of revolution, equity and quality. The Paisley Book Festival is moving into an exciting new phase in its journey, and Heather and Sha are going to be a vital part of that. They bring a wealth of new ideas to the festival’s programming remit, that will build on previous success and will help the Paisley Book Festival to continue to be a regular and beloved staple of the Scottish cultural events calendar.”
Sha and Heather have already begun work on next year’s festival and are inviting pitches of books and authors for the 2023 festival. The theme will be revealed in due course. Further info can be found at paisleybookfest.com.
