Clive, Geraldine and Stewart Finlayson to participate at the Gibraltar Literary Festival

The Finlaysons have all published in major international journals and have authored a range of books locally and internationally. At the 2024 Literary Festival they will talk about two books. One is a recent book on the Neanderthal Extinction, which has been published by the prestigious Spanish publisher Salvat. The other is a brand-new book entitled Gibraltar: geography, nature, history, heritage which will be launched at the Literary Festival. In it, the Finlaysons describe decades of research and give an overview of Gibraltar’s rich history and how geography and nature have shaped it. They also describe the heritage which survives from this incredibly rich and varied past. The work is illustrated by their own photographs as well as archival images of Gibraltar in the past. It promises to be a unique and personal overview of Gibraltar, written by those who have researched it firsthand. It will be a landmark book that will be an essential read for all those interested in Gibraltar and its past.

Professor Clive Finlayson has a doctorate from Oxford University. He is Beacon Professor at the University of Gibraltar and Visiting Professor at Liverpool John Moores University; he was formerly Adjunct Professor in Toronto University. He is an elected member of the European Academy. Clive’s interests also range far and wide, but he declares that the study of birds has always been top of his list. He is well known internationally for his work on Neanderthals.

Professor Geraldine Finlayson has a doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University and is an Adjunct Professor at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom. Her principal research line has been in the reconstruction of the past landscapes of Gibraltar. Her interests are varied and include understanding of how cuisine has developed historically in Gibraltar; nuances of the way we speak in Gibraltar; and underwater archaeology, for which she is an underwater archaeology instructor.

Dr Stewart Finlayson, Geraldine and Clive’s son, also has a doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool John Moores University. His passion for birds, something of a family tradition, took him to study the way in which Neanderthals exploited birds, revealing in detail how they exploited a wide range of species, not just for food but also for their feathers and talons. The implications of this work had a far outreach, as it had huge implications for our understanding of Neanderthal cognitive capacities. Stewart follows the family line of a diversity of interests. He is a bat specialist, dedicating much of his research time to understanding the ecology and movements of Gibraltar’s bats; the research takes him to caves and other bat roosts across much of southern Iberia.

The Minister for Tourism and Culture, the Hon Christian Santos, said: ‘This impressive array of international and local authors shows both the depth and diversity of the Festival programme. From international relations to historical novels and local heritage, there’s something for all interests and tastes.’