Aberdeen’s youth-led literary festival pairs Douglas Stuart with geothermal sound art this May.
Most literature festivals follow the same pattern: authors, readings, Q&As, repeat. WayWORD’s Spring 2026 programme, running through May in Aberdeen, is doing something less predictable.
The programme moves between poetry workshops and pond-dipping, between Cowdray Hall and the Cairngorms, and at one point takes participants on a walk that asks them to think about what is happening 500 metres beneath their feet. The range suggests people who are genuinely curious rather than just filling a schedule.
Those people are young. WayWORD is produced through the University of Aberdeen’s WORD Centre for Creative Writing, with programming shaped by young people in the city. Creative Director Dr Shane Strachan puts it plainly: “Young people are at the heart of every decision. Their ideas and energy drive the festival.” The main festival follows in October, but the spring programme is a decent indication of where their heads are at.
Would you like to see your message here? Let's talk.
POST highlights Aberdeen’s creative scene, from theatre and music to visual arts. We focus on showcasing the city’s unique talent and supporting local voices.
Through stories, artist profiles, and event coverage, we’re here to share what makes Aberdeen vibrant. Sign up for free or support us and go ad-free for just £3 a month.
Douglas Stuart and the headliners
Douglas Stuart, whose debut novel Shuggie Bain won the Booker Prize in 2020, appears on Sunday 17 May at Cowdray Hall to launch his third novel, John of John, a story of homecoming, family, and the island of Harris. A book signing follows.
Earlier that afternoon, the Cowdray Hall hosts Women in Nature, bringing together nature writer Karen Lloyd and members of We Are Nature Collective, a women-led creative group from the North East. The session follows walks the group took in the Cairngorms and Seaton Park, supported by WayWORD, with new poetry drawn directly from those experiences.
Publishing, poetry and artworks
The programme opens on Tuesday 12 May with a double bill at the Sir Duncan Rice Library. A panel on publishing in Scotland today features Duncan Lockerbie of Aberdeenshire’s Tapsalteerie press and poet Sarah Stewart, exploring what happens to writing once it leaves a writer’s hands. A Tapsalteerie showcase follows that evening, celebrating the press’s 13th year with readings from Stewart Sanderson and Sarah Stewart.
Sanderson returns the following day to lead a poetry workshop in which participants translate artworks from the Aberdeen Artworlds exhibition into original poems. A new poetry prize, running alongside the workshop, will also be launched in May.
Below the surface
The programme closes on 22 May with what might be its most unusual offering: a Geothermal Soundwalk led by artist-researcher Maja Zećo, developed in partnership with Peacock & the worm. Participants move across the University campus, listening to the environment above ground while imagining what lies below, in a process connected to the University’s own geothermal drilling project, which is currently boring over 500 metres into the city in search of low-carbon heating solutions. Talks from the research team and Peacock & the worm’s curator Rachel Grant follow.
It is an odd and interesting pairing. Art and energy transition do not often end up on the same programme, but POST is here for it. WayWORD’s Spring events run throughout May 2026, with the main festival following from 3–11 October. Full programme details and tickets are at waywordfestival.com.
