Stena Line Wigtown Book Festival 25th Sep – 4th Oct

Plugged as ‘Hay-on-Wye with a kilt’, the festival has a particularly Scottish theme this year with the ‘Whisky and literature’ festival-within-a-festival which, along with whisky tastings and music, offers attendees a ‘whisky-themed creative writing course’. Officially classed as ‘Scotland’s National Book Town’, and with more than 20 book related businesses, I thought I would speak to Catherine Campbell to find out what exactly it means to be a book town, and to hear more about what will be happening at this year’s festival – besides a lot of whisky drinking!

 

In 1997 there was a national competition to create ‘Scotland’s Book Town’ based broadly on Hay-on-Wye. It was designed as a way to economically regenerate a town through book tourism. The two main employers in Wigtown, the creamery and distillery, had recently closed and the town was obviously becoming run down.

Although there was much competition Wigtown won and its status was officially recognised by the new Scottish parliament. Today, more than ten years on, the change in the town is obvious. In the summer months the town is bustling, many of the buildings have been refurbished and the distillery has reopened. (Before and after pictures of the town are amazing!)

It seems actually like Wigtown is thriving in the recession. Perhaps whereas people do not have money to spend on new books they’re happy to pick up second-hand ones. Or perhaps the people who come to Wigtown have such a passion for books that nothing would stop them! I think that this year we’ve also benefitted from the “staycationers” – people who can’t afford a foreign holiday and are happy to have a weekend in Wigtown instead.

The town certainly is busy from Easter right through the summer months. The festival is after the busy period on purpose – to entice people into the town and give the booksellers a boost before the winter.

The Festival Company also runs a Spring Weekend in April. There is a lot going on in Wigtown throughout the year including a few other book events organized by local groups. The festival company does have future plans for a writing weekend and residential courses – something to think about after the festival!

I think it was – but the ‘Book Town’ status brought a lot of publicity in the first year. Obviously our location does make it a little harder to get authors here from London etc. – but that’s part of the charm. Once they’re here a lot of them fall in love with the place and want to come back year after year. The festival has been steadily growing but last year, our tenth anniversary, was particularly successful with a 50% growth in our audience.

This year’s festival promises to be the most exciting yet with authors appearing including Irma Kurtz, John Boyne, Nick Nairn, Giles Foden, Iain Banks, Kenny Logan, Liz Lochhead, Louis de Bernieres, David Owen, Alan Grant, Allan Little, Brian Keenan, Charlie Allan, Christopher Brookmyre, Roddy Doyle and Allan Massie as well as music, film, theatre, street entertainment, exhibitions and a continental market.
 
There is also a full children’s programme including events from Babette Cole, Marcus Sedgwick, Alan Durant, John Fardell, Philip Ardagh and a special celebration of the Gruffalo’s tenth birthday with Julia Donaldson.

As part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations, we’ll also be hosting a unique mini festival celebrating the connections between whisky and writing. With music, tastings and some of the world’s top whisky experts – including Charlie MacLean, Gavin Smith, Ian Buxton and Robin Laing and Dave Broom – it will appeal to anyone who has ever curled up with a book and a dram.

 Claire Robertson