Details, as always, on the Forthcoming Events page of the website.

October 7th 2010 – Alexander will be appearing in Stratford Upon Avon to discuss his brand new Isabel Dalhousie novel, The Charming Quirks of Others.

October 9th & 10th – Alexander will be a guest of the Cheltenham Literature Festival for two events (the second of which is already sold out, alas…)

As always, please check the the Forthcoming Events page for more details of these events (and more) and links to the relevant websites.

Alexander will be appearing at the following events later in the year:

16th August : Vancouver Writers Festival

20th & 21st August : Woody Point (Newfoundland) Writers’ Festival

24th – 28th August : Edinburgh International Book Festival 2010

See the Forthcoming Events page for a quick summary of each appearance and links to the event organisers’ websites.

Times, dates and ticket prices are yet to be confirmed – we’ll bring you the details as soon as we know them – but you can sign up to receive information as it’s announced at the EIBF website: www.edbookfest.co.uk.

Here Alexander entertained (and was entertained by) 20 ladies who meet to knit and discuss the world. He took tea and scones with them in the garden hut at the back of the Wivenhoe Bookshop, and he talked to them about The Double Comfort Safari Club while they continued with their knitting.

An hour later, they emerged from the hut and went into the bookshop where he discovered the entire village had crammed into the shop, and were blocking the pavement and road outside. He signed books for about forty people and left, very happy.

Here’s a selection of pictures taken on the day:

Click the thumbnails to see a larger picture.

The performance featured students from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow with members of the Edinburgh Studio Opera.

Visit www.timesonline.co.uk to read an interview in which Alexander talks more about how the opera came about.

This book, written specially by Alexander McCall Smith for young readers, is unique for two reasons. First, it is a completely new story about how Precious Ramotswe, aged eight, solves a mystery at her school. Second, it has been translated into Scots by James Robertson, and will not be available in any other language, including English, during 2010.

The No.I Ladies’ Detective Agency stories have been translated into more than 45 languages but, for Alexander McCall Smith, the fact that this new story is appearing in Scots is ‘the icing on the cake’. He writes in his introduction to the book:

“Language is one of our great treasures. It is a great pity in my view that some languages are dying out, because that means that the richness and the variety of human life are diminished. Every language has something to offer – a way of looking at the world, a story to tell about a particular group of people, a stock of poetry and song. The disappearance of a language is like the silencing of some lovely bird.

“I have long admired the Scots language. I was brought up with a few Scots words – not many enough – but those that I did know, I liked. I have always enjoyed reading the Scots language and I admire people who are determined that we should not forget how to speak and read the Scots language.”

Precious and the Puggies, which is lavishly illustrated by Iain McIntosh, is published on 25th February 2010 by Itchy Coo, the Edinburgh-based publisher specialising in books for young readers written in Scots. For more information, go to www.itchy-coo.com.

Visit www.rabiescontrol.net for more information on the vital work carried out by this charity in Africa.