This exhibition showcases new work from Pakistan, made by artists Asad Ali, Hira Noor, Ume Laila, and Waleed Zafar. The artists use photography in adopting socially engaged processes and exploring narratives of community, public space, identity and diaspora. Their work questions the archive, community and public space. Based in Lahore, Pakistan, the artists took part in an international exchange in 2023/24 devised and produced by photography organisations GRAIN Projects, UK and Tasweerghar, Pakistan, part of the British Council’s Arts Residency Programme. The images you see here are a selection curated from the projects started during the residency and expanded following dialogue, mentoring and an R&D visit to the UK, which included Glasgow. The residency also created new connections and networks within the UK, including with Street Level Photoworks. The exhibition at Hillhead Library marks the 20th anniversary of the twinning of Glasgow and Lahore, in September 2006. One of the purposes of this is to strengthen cultural dialogue, education and community connections, supporting the large Glasgow-Pakistani diaspora originating from the Punjab region, of which Lahore is the capital. GRAIN Projects and Tasweerghar are organisations that support photography as an art form, developing new ways for artists to experiment and extend their practice and for participants and audiences to engage. The exhibition features as part of Street Level’s offsite programme, which forges partnerships locally and regionally to grow audiences for photography. The exhibition is part of the Season of Photography 2026, a celebration of photography in Scotland running from 1st September – 20th December 2026. Image: © Hira Noor

Yasmin will conduct a reading of the book interspersed with bear colouring-in and naming activities, a bear themed dance and sing-along, chatting about Eid and exploring the real-life inspiration behind the story through the illustrations. Yasmin Hanif is a children’s writer and educator, previously a writer in residence at St. Albert’s Primary School, and an advocate for diversity and inclusion within children’s writing and publishing. She has had short stories and poems published, and her debut picture book Abdullah’s Bear Needs A Name! was published last year.

The acclaimed French children’s book Chien Pourri has been translated in Gaelic by Gillebrìde MacMillan and in this session he will read from the story. Will good overcome evil - all through the eyes of the loveable Cù Giobach? Gillebride MacMillan is a highly acclaimed Gaelic writer, translator and singer. He has translated a number of books including Paddington, The Little Prince and the Captain Bobo stories. From South Uist, Gillebrìde now works at The University of Glasgow where he teaches on a range of topics including Gaelic language, literature and culture.

Come along and create your own new monster with the help of illustrator Tom Morgan-Jones. There will be draw-alongs full of monster fun, top illustrator tips and you will have the chance to create your own monster story. Fun for all the family, grown ups are welcome to join in too! Tom has illustrated over 80 books for children. He’s also had his work appear on the side of milk cartons, on top of cakes, all over satirical board games, inside museums, on the outside of schools, behind bands and poets, on chocolate bars and the back of buses, all the way around tins of dog biscuits and Norway’s National football stadium. Recently he has made a piece of art that a university plans to send to the Moon, so you will be in safe hands!

Join Lachlan Goudie and discover the stories behind some of history's greatest paintings and the techniques that shaped artistic innovation across centuries. Lachlan Goudie is an artist, writer and BBC broadcaster known for making art history accessible to wide audiences

Songs and stories for the wee ones. Bookbug is a free, fun and friendly session for babies, toddlers and children under 5 years of age accompanied by their parents and/or carers. Each session is relaxed, and includes songs, stories and rhymes.

Join Maisie Chan as she introduces all things Panda! Maisie will chare her new picture book Chi Chi the Panda and you will learn some panda facts. You can follow Maisie and learn to draw your own panda! Maisie Chan is an award-winning children’s author. She is best known for Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths which won the Jhalak Prize and Branford Boase Awards. Her debut picture book is a non-fiction book called Chi Chi the Panda with illustrations by Jo Lindley. Chi Chi was a real panda who became the face of the World Wild Life Fund and lead an extraordinary life. Maisie also writes the Tiger Warrior series and is one of the authors of the The Very Merry Murder Club. She regularly appears at festivals and travels around the world visiting schools to encourage reading for pleasure.

Lex Lamb will be in conversation with journalist Mark Smith. The discussion will revolve around the neglected importance of the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival to Glasgow’s history, the stories behind it and how writing about the event reveals a snapshot of Scottish civic, cultural and economic life in the late ‘80s. Lex Lamb is a graphic and web designer based in the West End of Glasgow. He was chair of New Glasgow Society for two years and subsequently project leader of the After the Garden Festival project, conducting walks, talks and discussions related to the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival. He has been interested in unusual and designed landscapes and spaces from an early age.

Join Niall O'Gallagher and Taylor Strickland for an engaging conversation exploring Contemporary fiction, character development and the craft of writing and translation. They will be reading poems and translations, discussing their relationship with the Gaelic language, and touching on future projects. Audience questions will follow the discussion. Niall O’Gallagher is the author of three collections of poetry and of Fuaimean Gràidh / The Sounds of Love: Selected Poems (London: Francis Boutle, 2023). His verse novella, Litrichean Plàighe (‘Plague Letters’) will be published by CLÀR in 2026. Niall is currently translating poems by Josep Carner (1884-1970) from Catalan into English, and by Florbela Espanca (1894-1930) from Portuguese into Gaelic. He lives on the west coast of Scotland with his wife and their two children. Taylor Strickland is a writer and translator from the US. His latest books are Dares Paradise (Princeton University Press, 2026) and Dwell Time (Tapsalteerie, 2025). He won the 2023 Saltire Award for Scottish Poetry Book of the Year and his work has been Poetry Book Society Recommended. He has published in Poetry London, the TLS, and New Statesman, and his poem v was adapted to film and selected for Raleigh.

Doug Johnstone is celebrating a landmark twentieth year as a published writer with his twentieth novel, Ghost Notes, which is the seventh in his acclaimed and award-winning Skelfs crime fiction series. His first two novels - Tombstoning and The Ossians - have also been reissued this year with new introductions by Chris Brookmyre and Val McDermid, and he’ll be discussing all of this and much more as he looks back over two decades of murder and mayhem. He’ll also be playing some live music, so a joyous hour is guaranteed. Doug Johnstone is the author of twenty novels, many of which have been bestsellers. The Space Between Us was chosen for BBC Two's Between the Covers, while six of his books have been shortlisted or longlisted for the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year or the McIlvanny Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Doug has taught creative writing or been a writer in residence at universities, school, writing retreats, festivals, prisons and a funeral directors. He's also been an arts journalist for over twenty-five years. He is a songwriter and musician with ten albums released, and drummer for the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers.

Join award-winning Glasgow crime writer Callum McSorley for an engaging conversation about Rat Race, the thrilling final instalment in his acclaimed crime trilogy. In discussion with the session chair, Callum will share the inspiration behind his bestselling novels, discuss the process of bringing his unforgettable characters to life, and reflect on his journey from his prize-winning debut Squeaky Clean to becoming one of Scotland’s most exciting voices in crime fiction. The session will conclude with an audience Q&A. Callum McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow whose short stories have been published in Gutter Magazine and New Writing Scotland and produced for BBC Radio 4. His debut novel, Squeaky Clean was published in 2023. With it, Callum became the youngest ever author to win the prestigious McIlvanny Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. His second novel, Paperboy was one of The Sunday Times books of the year 2025 and was longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year.

Nicola Meighan will be joined by a very special guest for a live edition of A Kick Up The Arts at Byres Road Book Festival, discussing their favourite Scottish books from across the decades, along with their wider work. Nicola Meighan is joined by legendary Glasgow musician and songwriter James Grant (Love and Money, Friends Again, Butler Blake & Grant) for a special live edition of her arts and culture podcast, A Kick Up The Arts. James will discuss some of his favourite Scottish books, along with his own life and work - and he’ll also perform a few of his wonderful songs... James Grant’s incredible songwriting has mapped, explored and enlivened his home city of Glasgow for decades, both lyrically and musically - from his early-80s days in Friends Again, to Love and Money’s hugely-loved hits like Strange Kind of Love, Jocelyn Square and Winter. And that’s not to mention a glorious solo career, and his myriad collaborations - the latest of which is his union with Bernard Butler (Suede, Jessie Buckley, McAlmont and Butler) and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake. Whatever the incarnation, though, James is - and always was - one of the most identifiable, warm and welcome voices in our Scottish landscape.

Join award-winning novelist Kirstin Innes for a relaxed, friendly and interactive creative writing workshop focusing on how to build empathy between reader, writer and character, with a particular look at the characters Agnes Owens created in her short stories. Suitable for writers at all levels, including complete beginners-come prepared to write and share!

Join award-winning novelist Kirstin Innes for a relaxed, friendly session showcasing work from new and emerging writers.

Andrea Gibb will be in conversation with acclaimed novelist and screenwriter John Niven and will be discussing screen adaptation in all its forms, including the relationship between novelist and adaptor and the pros and cons for a novelist of adapting their own book. Andrea Gibb is a Bafta award winning Scottish screenwriter. Best known for her book to screen adaptations, her work includes Miss Austen, Mayflies, Elizabeth Is Missing and Swallows and Amazons. Current projects include adaptations of Gill Hornby’s The Elopement, Alexander McCall Smith’s Isabel Dalhousie series and Sarah Winman’s Tin Man. John Niven’s debut novella Music from Big Pink was published in 2006. His next book Kill Your Friends (2008) became an international bestseller and was later made into a feature film starring Nicholas Hoult and James Corden, with a script by Niven himself. He has since published a further ten novels and the memoir O Brother, which became an instant Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for The Gordon Burn Prize and Scotland’s National Book award. He continues to work as a screenwriter and his credits include Cat Run (2011), How to Build a Girl (2019) and The Trip (2021)