Bulgaria-born Kapka Kassabova has been calling the Scottish Highlands home for more than ten years. Elixir: In the Valley at the End of Time sees her returning to her native Balkans, in order to meet the wild plant gatherers living along the banks of the Mesta River. The result is a spellbinding work of travel writing that explores the deep connections between people, plants and place.
Chaired by Jenni Minto
Ticket Information
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About the speaker
Kapka Kassabova is a poet and writer of narrative non-fiction. Her work is fuelled by a fascination with the spirit of place through time. Her Border (2017) was awarded multiple awards in the UK, Europe, and the USA, including the Saltire and the Highland Book Prize. To the Lake (2020) was awarded Best Foreign Book of Non-Fiction in France. Elixir (2023) explores themes of suffering and healing through the human and plant inhabitants of three mountains united by an ancient river. The fourth book in this nature-culture quartet set in the Balkans will be out next year. Her work is translated into many languages. Kapka Kassabova grew up in Sofia, was university-educated in New Zealand, and for the last eighteen years has lived in Scotland.
Browse all the books featured in the Islay Book Festival 2023 at The Celtic House