Wigtown Book Festival
What's it all about? Set in glorious rolling countryside in the shadow of the Galloway hills and a stone's throw from the Solway Firth, the royal burgh of Wigtown is Scotland's National Book Town. It ha
s often been described as a sort Hay-on-Wye with a kilt: the ancient market town has more than 15 bookshops. It's also home to the Wigtown Book Festival (24 September to 3 October 2010), the largest annual literary gathering in Scotland outside Edinburgh.
Now in its second decade, the Visit Scotland Thistle-award winning festival has almost doubled in size over the past three years and its reputation has grown as well. Last year, The Guardian picked the event as one of the UK's top five literary festivals. The Scotsman has been equally enthusiastic. "It may only have a population of 1,000," its reporter wrote, "but Wigtown doesn't just punch above its weight when it comes to attracting big name authors, it punches above pretty much everybody else's weight, too."
One of the things that makes this festival unique is the level of community involvement. Set up originally as part of a project to reinvigorate a (then) rather down-at-heel town, it relies on dozens of local volunteers. More than 10 per cent of the town's people give their time. The result is an event that oozes friendliness. Visitors tend to get the personal touch.
Who? Some (early) 2010 confirmed name/events for this year include: -
Peter Hain on Nelson Mandela -
Ian Rankin (above) -
Richard Holloway -
Margo MacDonald -
Val McDermid (left) -
James Robertson on And the Land Lay Still -
Jenny Colgan on The Good, The Bad and The Dumped -
Andrew Greig -
Alasdair Gray -
Jackie Kay on Red Dust Road -
Phyllida Law on Notes to My Mother-in-Law -
Allan Massie on The Royal Stuarts -
Gervase Phinn -
Martin BellIrma Kurtz on Happiness -
Sally Magnusson on Iceland -
Iain M Banks -
Barbara Dickinson (autobiography) -
Festival Ceilidh -
Des Dillon's Tall Tales -
Wigtown's Got Talent (our locals vs authors talent show) -
a Jim Haynes Dinner Party
Where? Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | AA Route Planner
When? September 24-October 3 , 2010
How much? Events £5 - £10 (in 2009)
Previous festivals: Recent speakers have ranged from Top Gear’s James May to Booker Prize-winner Roddy Doyle; from a political firebrand such as George Galloway to distinguished Scottish writers like James Kelman, Janice Galloway, AL Kennedy and Alasdair Gray.
Past festivals: Iain Banks, Roddy Doyle, Kenny Logan, Roberta Taylor, Giles Foden, Allan Little, Max Arthur, Louis de Bernieres, Charlie Allan, Sara Maitland and Allan Massie, Michael Morpurgo, Louis de Bernières, Sophie Hannah, James Kelman, Janice Galloway, Richard T Kelly, Hardeep Singh Kohli, , Menzies Campbell, Scottish Opera, Kathleen Jamie, Sandra Howard and Edward Lucas
Festival Website: www.wigtownbookfestival.com
Front Page | Top | Festival Calendar |A-Z of Literary Festivals | Books | Authors A-Z
