You are cordially invited to a night of quality local literary and musical entertainment this Saturday 7pm at Benjamin Barker Barber & Shop, 212a Perth Road, Dundee. The evening will feature Doug Johnstone, Ana Stewart, Zoe Venditozzi, Sam Longden and Josephine Jules Andrews as part of Dundee’s Westfest.

There will be readings and music in the fantastic surroundings of Dundee’s finest barber shop, and mibbes some free wine thrown in if you’re lucky.

The event is FREE but space is very limited, so get down early if you don’t want to be peering in through the steamy windows wishing you could make out what’s going on. Details on all performers below:

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Doug Johnstone is a writer, musician and journalist based in Edinburgh but originally from Arbroath. He’s had three novels published, most recently the whisky-based thriller Smokeheads (Faber). His band Northern Alliance have released five albums, and he recently released his debut solo EP ‘Keep it Afloat’. At this event Doug will be reading from his work and playing songs.

Ana Stewart completed the MLitt in Creative writing at The University of St Andrews in 2010, since then she has been working on a short story collection called Pleasureland: Selected Stories. She has worked as a Teaching Assistant in a Speech and Language school, and studied Theatre at Dartington College of Arts. Last year she won the Dragons’ Pen at Edinburgh’s International Book Festival. She is a member of The St Andrews Playwrights Lab and is currently writing life stories for the Mid-lin Day Care Centre in Dundee.

Zoe Venditozzi’s novel, Anywhere’s Better Than Here, was shortlisted for last year’s Dundee Book Prize and she has had work published in a variety of places including New Writing Scotland and New Writing Dundee. An experienced English teacher, Zoe has taught Creative Writing at Pitlochry Winter Words Festival, the Dundee Literary Festival and and through her own business Two Dolls.

Sam Longden graduates with a first in English Literature next week and is now considering embarking on a Masters in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone. Ultimately Sam plans on becoming a robotic aethetisist.

Josephine Jules Andrews was born in Dundee and trained in Anthropology and Ecology and lived in Madagascar for ten years where she founded an award-winning lemur conservation project. She was runner up in the Dragons’ Pen at the edinburgh International Book Festival 2010 and has contributed to a book, “In Memoriam” to be published in the Autumn.

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