Scotland’s First Minister will be heading to Paisley next week to take part in a special event during the town’s annual Book Festival.
Nicola Sturgeon – who will be returning to the festival for a second year – has been confirmed as the Chair of a special event which discusses the friendship formed by a Jewish refugee. who fled Nazi Germany, and award-winning journalist and author, Chitra Ramaswamy.
The event, which takes place on February 17, will see Sturgeon and Chitra discuss her book, Homelands, which tells the story of the decade-long friendship between Chitra and 98-year-old German Jewish refugee Henry Wuga, who came to the UK on a Kindertransport in the spring of 1939 and settled in Glasgow. Homelands traverses a century of history, exploring Chitra and Henry’s friendship and interweaving their family histories.
It is a story of migration, antisemitism, racism, family, belonging, grief, resilience and – above all – heart.
Commenting on the event, which will be held in the University of the West of Scotland Student Union, Chitra said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be chaired by the First Minister, and look forward to discussing some of the ideas raised in Homelands which I know also hold meaning for her – such as the importance of cross-cultural and intergenerational relationships, the lessons we can and must learn from history, and what it means to belong in a modern Scotland.”
Last year, the First Minister was guest host of the ‘What Maks a Makar’ session at the anticipated annual festival.
She was in conversation with Scots Makar Kathleen Jamie, who discussed her career and insights from her first six months in the role of Makar.
The festival, produced and delivered by OneRen, runs over four days from February 16-19, and features events with the Hebridean Baker, Darren McGarvey, Jackie Kay and Michael Pedersen, and Denise Mina and Tariq Ashkanani among others.
In a first for Paisley Book Festival, the majority of events will allow those attending to pay what they can, in recognition of the cost-of-living crisis.
To book tickets, and for more information on Paisley Book Festival, visit the website.
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