Experience Scotland’s national book festival

There’s now just over a week to go until Wigtown Book Festival. Running from 28 September to 7 October 2007, the festival is set to attract thousands of bibliophiles to pastoral southwest Scotland for a 10-day celebration of the written word - and an exciting programme of theatre, music, film and family entertainment.

In view of the changing political situations in Scotland and Ireland – and the fact that Wigtown’s (Scotland’s National Book Town) closest city is Belfast - a three-year programme of Irish and Northern Irish events is being implemented at this year’s Book Festival, aimed at encouraging cultural links across the Irish Sea.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Rev Ian Paisley, will give the opening address at the Festival, followed by a strong line-up of Irish and Northern Irish speakers, including Malachi O’Doherty, Brian Keenan, Colin Bateman and Eoin McNamee. The National Theatre of Scotland will also be launching its touring production of Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney at the Festival and there will also be an eagerly-anticipated performance by poet Ian McHarg and singer Willie Drennan taking place on the Stena HSS fast ferry between Belfast and Stranraer.

The second new theme being introduced to the Festival this autumn is “On The Edge”, which it is hoped will encourage links with places which are culturally or geographically on the edge. This year’s On The Edge events include Lesley Riddoch on the Outer Hebrides, Robert Twigger recounting his quest to discover one of Egypt’s lost oases, a celebration of Samye Ling Tibetan Centre’s 40th Anniversary, the launch of Teresa Pascual’s Catalan poetry anthology, Tobias Jones’ description of his search for Utopia among alternative communities and a talk on the wild boys of 20th century Scottish art, Robert McBride and Robert Colquhoun.

Other Festival events include a romantic retelling of the story of Walter Scott’s Bride of Lammermuir in its real setting of Baldoon Castle (with arias from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor performed by singers from Scottish Opera), a performance by the award-winning Anna Massie Band, the Book Doctor’s Surgery Bus (which offers free, 10-minute consultations on everything from how to improve your writing to what to read next), a series of 15-minute street plays and an expert-led tour of the Wigtown Sky at Night.

Other speakers include Alasdair Gray, Louis de Bernières, Liz Lochhead, A C Grayling, James May, Rosie Boycott, Janet Paisley, Mary Contini, Jeremy Bowen, Robert Crawford, Sir Mark Allen and Christopher Brookmyre.

For more information, visit Wigtownbookfestival.com.