Wigtown Book Festival begins this week – welcoming national and international guests while showcasing Galloway, its people and culture.
The 10-day event (25 September to 4 October) in Scotland’s National Book Town is a much-loved feature in Scotland’s cultural calendar.
There are more than 250 events, many featuring authors, journalists, scientists, celebrities and other guests from across Scotland, the rest of the UK and overseas.
These range from comedian Lucy Porter and actors Bill Paterson, Larry Lamb and Manjeet Mann to cookbook author Coinneach MacLeod, crime writers Louise Welsh and Chris Brookmyre, screenwriter and Bob Servant creator Neil Forsyth, Travis bassist Dougie Payne, former Lib Dem leader Vince Cable and actor, singer and writerGerda Stevenson.
But the programme is also strongly rooted in Galloway with its rich literature, culture and history, which has produced and inspired well-known names in many areas of the arts.
Among those taking part are actor Sam Heughan, who spent his childhood in Balmaclellan and New Galloway and now owns the Galloway Distillery.
Then there’s bestselling Wigtown writer Shaun Bythell, who is launching his latest work Return of the Bookseller Diarist at the festival while also marking his 25th anniversary running The Bookshop, Scotland’s largest second-hand book store.
Events will be taking place to mark the centenary of Wigtownshire’s Alastair Reid, whose poetry and other writing marked him out as one of Scotland’s greatest literary figures of the 20th century.
Filmmaker and author Jessica Fox, who has recently published a new edition of her memoir renamed as Wigtown: A True Bookshop Love Story, will be on stage with ex-NASA top executive Ed Hoffman for live editions of their MoonSnacks podcast.
The festival will welcome RMG Parker, whose travel and culture business Scotland Unplugged has hundreds of thousands of followers, and who has put his background as the son of a Wigtownshire farmer to use in crime caper A Snowstorm in June.
Shaun said: “I’ve been a bookseller in the town for a quarter of a century and have been involved with the festival throughout that time.
“I’ve seen the crucial role it plays – attracting visitors, showcasing Wigtown as Scotland’s National Book Town and in highlighting the literature, culture and history of the region.
“It’s so much more than just a book festival – and it’s about so much more than books. The whole community works together to welcome visitors and to show them all that Wigtown and Galloway have to offer.”
Many others from Wigtown itself, or living in Dumfries and Galloway, will be making their own contributions to the event.
The town’s storyteller Renita Boyle will be leading a whole variety of events including Book at Bedtime (themed readings and hot chocolate), the Wordplay, Whimsy and Wit workshop introducing Alastair Reid’s writing for children to new audiences, and a storytelling workshop called Happily Ever Laughter: How to Tell a Good Story.
Poet Marjorie Lotfi is at the heart of events including What We Leave We Carry which looks at what it means to be a migrant in 21st-century Britain, Iranian Women’s Voices, an evening of poetry, film and music and Silence as a Place of Safety, an exploration of poetry that empowers, takes ownership and challenges injustice.
Author and creative director of regional visual art and craft organisation Upland CIC (which organises Spring Fling) Kat Hill will discuss her book Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter, about our relationship with wild, remote landscapes, and the consolations of retreat and simple living.
Lee Randall, Wigtown Book Festival programmer, said: “Galloway is an extraordinary place – it’s home to many superb contemporary writers and has a rich literary history.
“The festival programme shines a light on all this as well as the region’s wider creativity, culture and environment.
“We are very much looking forward to welcoming visitors for 10 days of literature, film, music, theatre, guided walks and discovery.”
Other contributors to the event include Matt Kitson of Driftwood Cinema, who has curated a series of films for this year’s festival.
And each year more than 100 volunteers (from a town of less than 1,000 residents) give their time to make the festival happen – doing everything from running venues to driving guest speakers backwards and forwards to stations and airports.
Other festival events rooted in the region
Landscape, culture and history
- Richard D Oram. The Lordship of Galloway: Galloway once sat at the heart of British history thanks to Fergus, Lord of Galloway, who forged connections to the kings of Scotland and England and an alliance with the Lords of the Isles. This provocative talk asks us to rethink the region’s place in the world, and in Scotland’s transformation.
- Graeme Cavers. The Whithorn Trust Lecture. Archaeology in the Machars. An overview of a new phase of research at an Iron Age wetland settlement at the site of an early-industrial copper mine, which may have been used since prehistory.
- Alice Strang. The Scottish Colourists: Why was Galloway such a crucial factor in moulding the work of Scottish Colourists like Samuel John Peploe? Learn how the beauty of the region inspired four artists to transform the story of Scottish art.
- Refugia: A Celtic Rainforest. An art documentary exploring the temperate rainforests of Galloway. It is an ecological portrait of persistence, connection and the fragile worlds around us.
- The Bookshop Band. An intimate hour of music with Wigtown residents Ben and Beth and a host of musical instruments, featuring songs inspired by books.
- Adrian Currie with The Bookshop Band. The Science of Lost Words: A musical and philosophical exploration of how palaeontologists uncover the past and why it matters. New songs and stories about how the deep past can inspire wonder.
- The Killing Time. A discussion with poetic and musical responses to Scotland’s Covenanter past with Iain Stewart, Karine Polwart and James Robertson. Inspired by The Killing Time, Iain Stewart’s collection of dark, lyrical photographic images and writings on the Galloway landscape.
- A Galloway Year. Ian Carter and Karen Menarry – an artist and an author join forces for a broad introduction to Galloway’s landscapes, from the vast, muddy Solway to the woods and farms, rushing burns, and heather-clad hills.
Outdoor activities
- Bookshops and Back Stories. Ben Please (The Bookshop Band) and author Shaun Bythell will take you round Wigtown’s bookshops to hear about local history.
- The Wanderer and the Poet. Paul Tarling and John Atkinson take you on a walk to the Martyrs’ Stake and along the railway line, accompanied by poems and stories.
- Wigtown Women’s Walk. Kriss Nichol reveals the stories of Wigtown’s remarkable women from history.
- Reading Wigtown. Elizabeth Tindal leads a mindful walk, concentrating on seeing, hearing, smelling and touching the details of what surrounds us, to “read” the environmental story that is the essence of the place around us.
- As the Tide Comes In. Join a marine biologist from Galloway Fisheries Trust to learn more about marine habitats while getting up close with a range of fish.
- Wild Maritime Food. Mark Williams foraging expert introduces you to sea buckthorn, wild thyme, wrack, cockles – and other glorious wild foods that grow all around us.
-Ends-
Notes
- For more about Wigtown Book Festival see www.wigtownbookfestival.com
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
