Glasgow's annual book festival returns to the Mitchell Library this March. The programme boasts all sorts of literary types from fiction writers, via comedians, comic artists and politicians to Bake Off winner Frances Quinn and Cosmopolitan's agony aunt Irma Kurtz. 2016 sees the launch of new strand Aye Con! with events dedicated to comics, gaming and graphic novels. Some events at the festival have already sold-out, including The Books That Made Me with Nicola Sturgeon, she is the First Minister, and Limmy – Daft Wee Stories, but there are still tickets up for grabs to these fine events.

Louis de Bernières
The author of international best seller Captain Corelli's Mandolin presents his new collection of love poems, Of Love and Desire, written throughout his life time. Expect the same blend of absurdist comedy and tragic loss of his early novels, the Latin America trilogy.
Fri 11 Mar, 6pm, £10.

James Yorkston & Colin MacIntyre – An Evening of Novels & Song
Best known as singer-songwriters Fife's James Yorkston and Colin MacIntrye of Mull Historical Society have both turned their writing talents to novels. The pair mix readings with songs as they discuss Three Craws (Yorkston) and The Letters of Ivor Punch (MacIntrye).
Sat 12 Mar, 7.30pm, £12.

Jackie Kay – A Modern Classic
You've got to celebrate when your debut novel is published as a classic. Author Jackie Kay reads from her 2012 collection of short stories Reality, Reality, her most recent collection of poetry The Empathetic Store and from her debut novel, 1998's Trumpet, a chronicle of a transgender jazz artist.
Tue 15 Mar, 7.30pm, £9.

Hollie McNish – Nobody Told Me
The UK poet continues to lift the lid on the lesser discussed realities of motherhood. Her latest collection of poems Nobody Told Me chronicles her time from discovering she was pregnant aged 26 through her first three years as a mother and takes a honest, rather than idealised, at the horrors, wonders and judgements of being a modern mum.
Thu 17 Mar, 6pm, £9.

Leila Aboulela – The Kindness of Enemies
Leila Aboulela’s work has already been translated into 14 languages. Her latest novel examines what it is like to be a Muslim in a post 9/11 world. Set in contemporary Scotland it follows Muslim-born Natasha who is researching conflict in nineteenth century Russia when she meets student Oz, who is later accused of terrorism.
Thu 17 Mar, 6pm, £9.

Alexei Sayle – Thatcher Stole My Trousers
The stand-up comedian and star of The Young Ones and The Comic Strip Presents… discusses his memoir. Thatcher Stole My Trousers mixes social commentary and humor as Sayle recounts his time on the alternative comedy circuit.
Fri 18 Mar, 7.30pm, £10.

Aye Con: Alan Grant, Frank Quitely & Metaphrog – The Many Faces of Scottish Comics
Four comic creators explore comic art and Scotland's contributions to this burgeoning genre. On the panel are artist Frank Quitely (New X-men, All-Star Superman), writer and editor Alan Grant (Judge Dread, Batman) and John Chalmers and Sandra Marrs , aka Metaphrog (The Red Shoes and Other Tales).
Sat 19 Mar, 3pm, £9.

Matt Haig – Reasons to Stay Alive
Author Matt Haig discusses his 2015 non-fiction work Reasons to Stay Alive, an authentically optimistic account of his experiences with anxiety and depression. The book offers insight and advice on the illness that will effect one in five of us at some point in our lives.
Sun 20 Mar, 3pm, £9.

Lucy Ribchester & Jenni Fagan – Sophomore Fiction
Two female Scottish writers present their second novels after highly successful debuts. Lucy Ribchester follows suffragette novel The Hourglass Factory with The Amber Shadows, a novel about secrets set in Bletchley Park. Jenni Fagan moves from the young offenders institute of The Panopticon to a caravan park in the grips of a freak winter in The Sunlight Pilgrims.
Sun 20 Mar, 4.30pm, £9.

Aye Write!, Glasgow, Mitchell Library, Thu 10 Mar--Sun 20 Mar. See the full programme