Wigtown Book Festival has launched its online festival programme with a promise to bring the sights, sounds and tastes of Scotland’s National Book Town to the world, while showcasing a host of well-known writers.
The festival, which in 2019 brought in some 20,000 people to the small town in south-west Scotland, generating £4.2m for the local economy, has migrated online because of Covid-19.
- The Festival aims to bring Scotland’s National Book Town to life through the senses
- More than 80 guests across 10 days – including Anne Applebaum, Alastair Campbell, Andrew Marr, Maggie O’Farrell
- The world premiere of Alexander McCall Smith’s Ninian’s Gift song cycle
A key aim of this year’s event is to promote the local businesses which have been hit by the pandemic and will not benefit from an influx of festival goers this year. And organisers are determined that distance will not stop audiences from savouring the quirkiness, charm and atmosphere of Wigtown, which is home to more than a dozen second-hand and new bookshops.
This year’s festival (which runs from 24 September to 4 October) will include:
Sound artist Stuart McLean, recording the sounds of Wigtown for a “slow audio” experience.
A limited edition of 100 bottles of the aromatic air from Wigtown’s bookshops – on sale to raise funds to support the festival.Online whisky tasting from the local Bladnoch Distillery.
Video feeds from some of the town’s bookshops including live, online personal shopping at The Open Book, the world’s first Airbnb bookshop.
Daily videos bringing Wigtown’s bookshops to life, and films exploring the unique saltmarsh habitat of Wigtown Bay.
Adrian Turpin, the festival’s artistic director, said: “Digital technology has been a lifeline during lockdown. But, as anyone who has sat through a morning of Zoom meetings knows, the online world can feel very disembodied.
“Wigtown is a distinctive place and we want to share its character with new and existing audiences in every way we can, putting the town in the public eye, nose and ear.
“The last six months have been a very difficult time and part of our aim is to offer the chance to have some fun.
“But there’s a serious point. The UK’s book festivals – large and small – are remarkable because they each reflect the places in which they take place. We want to cherish that diversity in every way, even at a time when we can’t gather ‘in real life’.
“We also hope that next year we will be able to welcome in person many of those who experience Wigtown for the first time through this digital event.”
Among the speakers taking part in the are:
- Novelists AL Kennedy, Andrew O’Hagan, Juno Dawson, Stuart Turton and Philip Hensher
- Broadcasters Andrew Marr, Carrie Gracie, George Alagiah and Gordon Corera
- Historians Neil McGregor and Charles Spencer
- Nature writers Helen Macdonald, Dara McAnulty and Patrick Laurie
- Non-fiction writers Mark O’Connell, Richard Holloway and Helena Kennedy
- Poets Michael Longley, Dean Atta and Inua Ellams
- World Book Day children’s authors Pamela Butchart and Sibeal Pounder.
Andrew Marr, who will be discussing his forthcoming book Elizabethans: How Modern Britain Was Forged, said: “I’ve always wanted to go to the Wigtown Book Festival and I am delighted to be taking part, albeit virtually, and look forward to going there in person one day.”
Completed during lockdown, Ninian’s Gift is a new song cycle with words by the novelist Alexander McCall Smith and music from composer Tom Cunningham. The piece reflects on the lives of early Scottish saints, including St Ninian who came by sea to Whithorn near Wigtown in the 4th century. The piece will receive its world premiere on the opening evening of the festival followed by a conversation with its creators.
The annual Magnusson Lecture (in honour of Magnus Magnusson and introduced by his daughter, the broadcaster Sally Magnusson) will be delivered by Rosemary Goring.
Rosemary said: “It is an honour to be asked to give the Magnusson Lecture. I never imagined all those years ago when I worked with Magnus that I’d be able to pay tribute to him in this way. And since autumn without Wigtown Book Festival would be unthinkable, it’s terrific that it is going ahead.”
The winners of the Wigtown Poetry Prize 2020 will be announced at the final event of the festival on the evening of Sunday 4 October.
Wigtown-based musicians The Bookshop Band will run a daily chat show, while visual arts exhibitions included a retrospective for artist and illustrator Astrid Jaekel, who previously wallpapered a dozen buildings in the town to celebrate festival’s 20th birthday celebrations.
As well as running its own children’s and young adult programmes, Wigtown is one of the participants in Reading Is Magic, an umbrella festival that brings together many of the world’s best children’s book festivals, from Bath to Toronto.
The event will also support local firms by running a digital showcase for local businesses who have been hit by the Covid crisis, including bookshops.
Councillor Adam Wilson, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Events Champion, said: “Great care has gone into the planning of the online Wigtown Book Festival this year. In normal years the mouth-watering line up of writers would have attracted many thousands of visitors to the National Book Town.
“I hope that the festival programme is a source of inspiration to online visitors, and that people can come in person to support and enjoy the bookshops of Wigtown soon.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, added: “Already during this pandemic, Wigtown Book Festival has shown the important role digital and online events can play in connecting authors with audiences through the #WigtownWednesdays and it is wonderful to see this engagement being taking to new heights in this year’s festival programme.”
“As one of the country’s unique literary festivals, the team has organised a fantastic 10-day programme that brings Scotland’s national book town to life digitally and EventScotland is proud to be continuing its support of the Wigtown Book Festival to takes this year’s event online.”
For event details see www.wigtownbookfestival.com
