LEADING Scottish novelists are to gather at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday to mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Crime writer Louise Welsh and Sara Sheridan, creator of the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries, will be joined by Panopticon author Jenni Fagan and more at the annual event, organised by Scottish PEN.
The organisation is the national chapter of a global network which champions freedom of speech and literature, and also campaigns for justice for those writers subjected to violence, persecution and imprisonment over their work.
Nicola Sturgeon will also attend as others including James Robertson, Nadine Aisha Jassat and Chitra Ramaswamy read the work of at-risk and imprisoned writers from around the world to “stand in solidarity with them and ensure their voices cannot be silenced”.
Nik Williams, project manager at Scottish PEN, said recent murders of journalists in Malta, Slovakia and Bulgaria mean an “unprecedented erosion of press freedom” is taking place in Europe.
Arguing that free expression is integral to democracy, he said: “This evening we will speak the words of those who have paid too high a price for expressing themselves.
“We will try to keep their voices alive, share their work and actively push back against those trying to silence them, with a simple message – we will speak louder for those you target and we will speak every word you try to stifle.”
Williams continued: “There is power in the written and spoken word. That is why states go to such lengths to drown them out.”
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