Hosted Chat - 24th January, 5.30-7pm with writer Anne Donovan
In our last newsletter we included a link to a short story called 'But', written by acclaimed Glaswegian writer Anne Donovan. This powerful piece of writing provoked a very positive response from carers and we are delighted to announce that Anne will be attending the first hosted chat of 2006, on Tuesday 24th January from 5.30-7pm.
Anne, author of the award winning novel Buddha Da, was commissioned to write the piece by Artlink, the Edinburgh arts organisation working within marginalised communities, and the Scottish Book Trust. The result was But, a short story that presents a fictional snapshot of a carer's life, shining a light on some of the issues, feelings, and frustrations faced by those who care for individuals with learning disabilities.
The writing in But was informed by time spent by the author with carers of people with learning disabilities over a period of two months. Through these interactions, Anne gained an insight into the lives of those who care. The resulting story is an affecting and thought provoking glimpse of the "forgotten ones", the strong but tired legion of overstretched carers for whom caring is a round-the-clock, often lifelong, responsibility.
But, dedicated 'to carers everywhere' by Anne, has been co-published by Artlink and Scottish Book Trust. The publication will be distributed to all MSPs, social work departments and policy makers in the Scottish Executive and is also available to download below.
But - Anne Donovan If you have any difficulties viewing the above document, please see: Help accessing PDF files.
Anne will be talking about her experiences of writing But and fielding questions about her life as a writer in general, so make you sure you put this date in your diary. We have a really exciting schedule of hosted chats planned for this year, which we will be publishing shortly.