This year’s Wigtown Book Festival will feature more than 250 events – including appearances by famous names – with a series of special themes ranging from Scottish debut novels to witchcraft.
There will also be live music, film, theatre, podcasts, guided walks, awards, panel discussions and workshops – at the 10-day event in Scotland’s National Book Town.
The programme has been unveiled today, and the public can buy tickets from 24 July.
Paterson, a Scottish national treasure and star of shows like Fleabag, and the voice of everything from the BBC’s coverage of the Edinburgh Tattoo to The Repair Shop, will be talking about his book, Tales from the Back Green, and his upbringing in 1950s Glasgow.
A patron of the festival since his first visit in 2008 (when the book was originally published), he has a strong affection for Wigtown and said: “I’m really looking forward to returning to Wigtown after nearly 20 years. The festival has grown so much in that time and this year’s programme looks dazzlingly varied.”
Paterson has slightly updated his book which is a series autobiographical tales from his childhood and early teens. One, Twilight of the Trams has a special resonance for him, and to this day one of his fondest possessions is a an original “destination sign” (pictured in accompanying photos) from one of the trams which ran past his home.
Taking place from 25 September to 4 October, Wigtown Book Festival provides a platform for writers, poets, journalists, scientists, celebrities and others. Guests come from all across the nation, overseas and are also drawn from its home ground in Dumfries & Galloway.
Comedian Lucy Porter will discuss her new book Middle-Aged Women Get Sh*t Done (published 13 August) on 28 September and broadcaster Sophie Raworth will be talking about her book, Running on Air, and how she found her feet through running, on 2 October.
The festival finale is provided by Outlander star Sam Heughan, born in the region in Balmaclellan, who will chat about his love of Scotland and long association with Dumfries & Galloway. There will also be tours and festival events at the Galloway Distillery not far from Wigtown, near Newton Stewart, which was co-founded by Heughan.
As ever, the festival is designed to appeal to all tastes and ages. Young adult attractions range from the Make a Scenefilmmaking workshop to the Sunday Sessions, poetry events featuring the likes of Michael Mullen, Morag Anderson, Shasta Ali, Taylor Dyson and Susi Briggs.
There is also an entire series of Big Wig children’s events.
Galloway connections abound with a taut Tartan noir novel, Snowstorm in June, by crime writer and comedian and creator of Scotland Unplugged RMG Parker – a man who has also spent years hunting down internet fraudsters.
Isla Rosser-Owen, Wigtown Festival Company CEO, said: “There’s so much in this year’s programme – life stories, family tales, Scottish fiction, witchcraft, crime, poetry, film, theatre, young adult and children’s literature.
“Over the 10 days we will present everyone from household names like Bill Paterson, Lucy Porter and Sam Heughan to a whole selection of up-and-coming debut novelists.
“As ever we will be showcasing some of the best in international and national writing while championing the creative talent of Dumfries & Galloway.
“We hope people will seize the opportunity to come to the festival, explore Scotland’s National Book Town and discover more about what our beautiful rural region has to offer.”
Lee Randall, this who curated this year’s main programme, added: “My goal was to create a richly varied menu with much to tempt a variety of interests — and to do justice to much-missed Wigtownshire writer Alastair Reid, whose centenary year we mark this year in a variety of ways and whose phrase, ‘Patina, gloss and whorl’, we’ve taken as this year’s theme.”
Among the other guests will be:
- Manjeet Mann: Roar. An empowering novel of resistance inspired by Sampat Pal and the Pink Sari Gang from the award-winning author of Run, Rebel and The Crossing.
- Maclean brothers: Three Brothers in a Boat. Meet the three Scottish brothers who in 2025 set out to row 9,000 miles non- stop across the stormy Pacific Ocean.
- Louise Welsh and Chris Brookmyre: Killer Stories. Two smart, funny crime writers discuss their friendship, the state of Scottish crime fiction, and the fine art of murder.
- Coinneach MacLeod: Hebridean Hygge. The TV star and internationally best-selling cookbook author (whose new book A Scottish Christmas is out in November) celebrates life’s quieter pleasures, offering ideas for enjoying seasonal creature comforts.
- Polly Pullar: In the Company of Sheep. Polly tells us about journeying from Dartmoor to Shetland to find out all there is to know about this humble, farm animal.
- Manni and Reuben Coe: Little Ruins: Rebuilding a Life. A touching story of brotherly love. Learn about Manni’s life before rescuing his younger sibling amid the emotional turbulence of the pandemic and a fracturing care system.
- Mairi Kidd: Newes of Witches. The best-selling historical novelist transports audiences to 17th-century Scotland – a dangerous time to be a woman, especially one accused of witchcraft (part of the festival’s witchcraft theme).
- Alice Strang: The Scottish Colourists. Why was Galloway such a crucial factor in moulding the work of Scottish Colourists like Samuel John Peploe (an exhibition of Peploe’s work is on display at Kirkcudbright Galleries, until 4 October).
- Anne-Marie Te Whiu: Mettle. This year’s Cove Park International Fellowship Winner, from Sydney, Australia, will read from her debut poetry collection, talk about her fascinating family background, her latest project and her work as a weaver.
There will also be events featuring Matthew Sweet (discussing The Great Dictator: A Life of Barbara Cartland), Jenni Fagan (The Delusions), Sara Sheridan (The Jewel Keepers) and Chris Chibnall (The Parkwood Murders).
Panel discussions will tackle subjects such as Scotland’s international and domestic challenges, and how to reverse the country’s rural depopulation. There will be the Wigtown Poetry Prize awards plus the unveiling of the winner of this year’s Anne Brown Essay Prize.
Live music will be provided by the likes of The Bookshop Band, based in Wigtown, while author, filmmaker and former NASA storyteller Jessica Fox co-hosts a series of Moon Snacks podcasts.
Driftwood Cinema will present a curated series of films with literary links such as Irish road movie The Spin. Scotland’s smallest theatre, The Swallow (which is celebrating its 30th birthday), will present a series of productions including a solo adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
There will be mindful walks, foraging expeditions and tours of the town highlighting its history. A multitude of workshops will be taking place covering everything from the art of writing and character development through to making zines and signwriting.
Cathy Agnew, Chair of Wigtown Festival Company, said: “Yet again we are extremely proud to present a truly diverse 10-day programme of stimulating and challenging experiences of literary related talks, panels, walks and films. It’s a terrific opportunity to share our literary offer with those who live locally and with those whom we welcome from far and wide each year.”
- For tickets and information see www.wigtownbookfestival.com.
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Notes
About Bill Paterson
Bill Paterson was born in Dennistoun, Glasgow, in 1945. He has had a long-established career spanning theatre, film, radio and television is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Scottish BAFTAs. He is an Honorary Doctor of Glasgow University and a Fellow of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Names already announced in the festival’s early bird ticket offer included
- Sally Magnusson: The novelist and broadcaster talks about The Shapeshifter’s Daughter her electrifying Orkney-based reimagining of the Norse tale of Hel — queen of the underworld.
- Neil Forsyth: From Bob Servant to BAFTA. The creator of dramas Legends, Guilt and The Gold, and the man behind Brian Cox’s greatest comedy role (and Dundee’s most famous comic creation since Dennis the Menace), Bob Servant, discusses his life, career, writing for the screen and the comedy of being human.
- Professor Catherine Heymans: How to Design a Universe, Scotland’s Astronomer Royal, and astrophysicist, takes audiences on a mind-bending journey through the silence of reality. Prof Heymans is also running sessions for children called Ask the Astronomer Royal Anything, where they can quiz her on all aspects of science.
- Gerda Stevenson: Cat Wumman: Tales O Nine Lives. The celebrated actor (Braveheart and Shetland), singer and writer discusses her new book of Scots language short stories. A chance to see one of the country’s great storytellers.
- Dougie Payne: After more than 30 years with one of Scotland’s best bands the Travis bass player is now also a children’s author. In an event for youngsters aged 3-6 he will be reading from Poochie Pete and his Very Big Feet. Watch out for the full programme launch for details of his other event, Dougie Payne: My Life in Culture.
- Larry Lamb: An Audience with Larry Lamb. A poetic journey through Lamb’s colourful life and career. Best known as the ever-patient Mick Shipman from Gavin & Stacey, Lamb is an acclaimed actor, presenter and storyteller, who’s recently embarked on a new project as a poet! He hopes to publish his first collection, entitled From Womb to Tomb, in 2027.
- Harriet Tyce: The Scottish crime writer, and Traitors star discusses her new legal thriller Witch Trial, set in Edinburgh’s High Court, with echoes of Scotland’s historical persecution of women accused of witchcraft.
- Vince Cable: The former Lib Dem leader’s new work Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world explores the rise of two vast new powers and what it means for a vulnerable Britain.
- Taylor Dyson: Scrieving in Scots – a lyrical masterclass from performance poet and National Library of Scotland’s Scots Scriever Taylor Dyson.
- William Hussey: The Boy I Love – shortlisted for The Carnegie Medal for writing The Boy I Love is an LGBT+ love story born amidst the horror of World War I.
- Joseph Coelho: Rapunzel is a Lettuce – the former Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate (and writer of the popular Poems Aloud) shares his soon-to-be-published new collection of poems designed for explorers of all ages.
About EventScotland
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About Creative Scotland
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For media information: Matthew Shelley at Matthew@ScottishfestivalsPR.org or 07786 704299.
Wigtown Festival Company Ltd, 26 South Main Street, Wigtown, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK, DG8 9HN. Wigtown Festival Company Ltd is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Scottish Charity No. SCO3798
