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Wee MacNessie tales are told in range of languages and spread around the world from the Highland capital; Loch Ness Monster crosses the language barrier to become global hit


By Ian Duncan

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Author and Ablekids Press owner Pauline Mackay.
Author and Ablekids Press owner Pauline Mackay.

Stories of a popular Highland children’s character – Wee MacNessie – have been published in 13 different languages and are taken from the region by tourists from all over the world.

There are six books in the series and they were written by Inverness-based author Pauline Mackay, who runs publisher Ablekids Press, which has a shop on Market Brae Steps.

She said the inspiration for the character came to her when she was living in the Loch Ness area.

As well as English the books are available in languages including French, German, Spanish, Gaelic, Scots, Mandarin , Japanese, Russian and Polish.

And, as well as the books, there are a range of souvenirs including a new bib (below) which are available from the shop.

Miss Mackay has a lifelong love of languages – she studied English literature and French language and literature at the University of Glasgow – and learned Polish and a little Russian when she was teaching English in Poland.

When she returned to Inverness she initially helped her brother at his record shop, DR Records which was also in Market Brae Steps, before setting up Ablekids as a bookselling business in 2005.

“I was selling other people’s bilingual books,” she said. “I thought it brings together everything I love – books and children.”

Two years later she set up Ablekids Press and has gone on to publish her own stories. She said: “I thought it would be amazing to do something with my own ideas – I love creating my own books.

“For a few years I didn’t do very much at all but in 2012 I published my first Wee MacNessie book. It has been going very strong ever since and we’ve got six books in the series.”

She is currently working on a Wee MacNessie play, adding: “Last year there was a group of students going around schools in Inverness putting on the Wee MacNessie play and I am looking to get that into shape for publishing.”

Miss Mackay said customers should feel safe in her shop.

“I have the safeguards in place, everything that needs to be done is there,” she said. “Shops are doing a fantastic job.

“Nothing beats going into a shop, especially a small shop, where they have invested in the products and they know about the products.

“I know everything about my products – where there’s a huge back story to it and people like that.”

And she said she felt optimistic about what lies ahead, adding: “People are sensible.”

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