From bringing the biggest names in music to Scotland – Peter Irvine has turned his talents to fiction and is among the fresh crop of debut authors at Wigtown Book Festival.
This year’s event, in Scotland’s National Book Town from 25 September to 4 October, will champion new Scottish writers of all kinds.
Among them are RMG Parker, well known for his Scotland Unplugged YouTube channel, Rachel Wood (pictured) whose online book club grew into an international visitor destination bookshop, and Frances Crawford who, after a long struggle with ill-health was taken aback to win a two book publishing deal in her 60s.
Peter, whose remarkable career saw him bring everyone from Sinatra, REM, Prince and Leonard Cohen to play in Scotland, as well as creating the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festival, is known worldwide for his Scotland the Best travel guides.
However, fiction is something entirely new and in Crossing The Sound, he takes us back to the thrilling, chaotic and often destructive music and media world of the 80s.
His story the focusses on three non-stereotypical characters as their lives propel them between the Scottish islands, London, Ibiza, Europe, LA and New York.
Peter said: “I am genuinely looking forward to Wigtown again. I’ve been to the festival before with Scotland the Best and Galloway remains a special and favourite place.
“My debut novel is a new and exciting departure for me even though it took five obsessive years to complete. I’m told it’s a page turner. I hope it is for you, but we can talk about that when I’m there.”
Canadian Rachel Wood, whose Rare Birds bookshop in Edinburgh celebrates literature by women, has become a destination for visitors from around the world.
Her first novel, Annie Knows Everything is a workplace romance which spoofs the world of tech – and grew out of scribbled vignettes she used to write to make her friends laugh about a woman’s life in a dysfunctional office.
Rachel said: “Before Rare Birds, I worked as a copywriter at a large agency and we had a lot of tech clients, so I was familiar with that world, and knew it was ripe for spoofing.
“Tech companies often have a lot of money and take themselves incredibly seriously, while also being totally ridiculous, and not treating their employees particularly well – while of course referring to them as family.”
RMG (Robert) Parker, whose travel and culture business has hundreds of thousands of followers, also puts his personal and professional background to use in his crime caper A Snowstorm in June.
The son of a Wigtownshire farmer (later trying his luck as a standup comedian in Amsterdam), he spent many years in counter fraud – tracking down internet crooks.
Robert says: “With the novel, half the story takes place in Wigtownshire, and it’s from the perspective of some young farmers who get themselves into deep trouble.
“A lot of that comes from my own life experience, though I’ve obviously never tried to kind of snoop on a bunch of drug-smuggling gangsters or anything like that.
“But Wigtownshire has always had this smuggler coast because it has all these remote little inlets for boats, but it’s actually not far to big cities.
“It’s a junction between England, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man. In the old days it was contraband like wines, spirits and tobacco. So, if you’re going to smuggle things into Scotland, that’s where you’d do it. It could be the same today.
A muscular disease left Frances Crawford struggling for decades and meant she was often unable to work.
But A Bad, Bad Place, set in the 1970s in her home area of Possilpark in the aftermath of a murder, brought her a two book deal with Penguin and transformed her life.
What makes her story (which won the 2026 McDermid Debut Award plus the Frances Crawford, Bloody Scotland Debut Prize and the McIlvanney Prize) stand out is its positive perspective of the people and the place.
Frances said: “Glasgow schemes get a terrible press. But so many of the people are wonderful, the sort of people who really rally round when something happens.
“When I wrote the manuscript I wasn’t expecting much interest, I thought about 12 people would read it, which was partly why I wrote it in Glasgow dialect.
“Getting the book deal has completely changed my life. I was expecting my 60s to be very quiet but all my stars aligned. And now I’m being invited to book festivals so I get to go to all these wonderful events and places.”
Other debut novelists at Wigtown include Lorna Elcock whose first book The Windhover delves into family secrets, fine art and birds of prey.
And Witches, Time Switches and Ancient Curses will see Aimee MacDonald (The Last Witch on the Knock) and Rebecca Ferrier (The Salt Bind) in conversation about magic, inspiration, terror, and Gothic fiction.
Rebecca Edser, Head of Events at VisitScotland, said: “We are thrilled to be supporting Wigtown Book Festival, which is flying the flag for new Scottish writers.
“Stories are intertwined through the fabric of Scotland – its landscape, heritage, culture, and people – and play an important role in inspiring visitors to make the journey here. They are at the heart of the visitor experience and have influenced many writers at home and abroad.
“As part of Scotland’s diverse portfolio of cultural and sporting events, the festival plays an important role in growing the local visitor economy and providing a cultural hub for the region.”
- Peter Irvine’s photo book Scotland the Best 100 Places will also be on sale at the Festival.
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Notes
- This year’s Wigtown Book Festival runs from 25 September to 4 October. See www.wigtownbookfestival.com.
About Peter Irvine
Born in the Borders and educated at Edinburgh University, Peter Irvine has spent his working life immersed in culture, the arts and media, in the music and festival world of Scotland and elsewhere. He pioneered the opening of clubs and venues from Glasgow Barrowlands to Edinburgh Castle. He has managed bands and collaborated with record companies and produced national landmark events including those with the government and the Palace.
With his company Regular Music Peter has brought to Scotland, artists as diverse as Sinatra and Oasis, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and U2, Talking Heads and REM, Prince and Nick Cave, and promoted many Scottish bands from their early days to the big time. His debut novel Crossing the Sound is set in a world and landscapes he knows.
The festival company Peter formed after co-producing the main events of Glasgow’s European City of Culture in 1990 delivered what its name said on the tin: Unique Events. He designed and created Edinburgh’s Hogmanay in 1993 and remained the Festival Director until 2018.
Peter is the author of Scotland the Best, the critically acclaimed best-selling visitor and lifestyle guide. He is a regular columnist with The Times and The Sunday Times and is a contributor to Guardian Travel. He lives in Edinburgh.
About VisitScotland
VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism and events organisation. Its core purpose is to drive the visitor economy, growing its value in Scotland. As an economic growth agency, VisitScotland’s activity focuses on three key priorities – market development, place development and business and experience development. VisitScotland’s work helps deliver the ambitions of the national tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, for Scotland to be a world leader in 21st century tourism, and Scotland’s National Events Strategy 2024 – 2035.
It leverages tourism and events as a force for good for all of Scotland’s people and places and builds Scotland’s international profile as a leading place to visit, live, work, study and do business. For VisitScotland’s press releases, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to visitscotland.org or follow us on @VisitScotland on LinkedIn.
About Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow Creative Scotland on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
For media information: Matthew Shelley at Matthew@ScottishfestivalsPR.org or 07786 704299.
Wigtown Festival Company, 26 South Main Street, Wigtown, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK, DG8 9EH. Wigtown Festival Company is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Scottish Charity No. SC037984
