Grab Early Bird Tickets – Sneak Peek of Wigtown’s Stellar 2026 Line-Up

Scotland’s Astronomer Royal joined with Wigtown Book Festival to unveil a sneak peek of this year’s 10-day event – with discounted early bird tickets for a selection of its more than 200 events going on sale from 18 to 31 May.

Special offer of 10% off

The special offer includes 10% off the ticket price and is a great foretaste of the full programme. It has been organised to mark Wigtown’s birthday as Scotland’s National Book Town, which happened on 16 May, 1998.

The events and guests selected for the offer cover everything from poetry to politics, fact to fiction, books to movies, song to science and are for adults, children and young adults.

Scotland’s Astronomer Royal, and astrophysicist, Professor Catherine Heymans, helped announce the stellar line-up.

One of her two festival events is part of the early bird offer – Ask the Astronomer Royal Anything – when children can ask her any questions they like about space and science.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to the festival and to being in Scotland’s National Book Town. The events being unveiled today show it’s going to be brilliant.

“And I love doing events like ‘Ask the Astronomer Royal Anything’ because children are so full of curiosity and come up with such great questions like ‘Are we alone in the universe?’, ‘What happens at the end of time?’ or ‘Will humans ever live on the Moon?’.”

Priority booking for Book Town Friends

Friends of Wigtown Book Festival can benefit from priority booking allowing them to buy tickets from 16 May, 48 hours ahead of the public release.

Isla Rosser-Owen, Wigtown Festival Company CEO, said: “This weekend is Wigtown’s birthday as Scotland’s National Book Town. A sneak peek and early ticket release for the festival seemed a great way to celebrate.

“It’s a really exciting selection of guests and events from the worlds of literature, stage, screen, poetry, politics and science – a fabulous celebration of remarkable people, writing, storytelling, music and more.

“And we are very much looking forward to revealing the full programme – of over 200 events – at the end of July and welcoming visitors for a superb 10-day festival in the autumn.”

The early bird offer includes:

• Sally Magnusson: The novelist and broadcaster talks about The Shapeshifter’s Daughter her electrifying Orkney-based reimagining of the Norse tale of Hel — queen of the underworld.
• Neil Forsyth: From Bob Servant to BAFTA. The creator of dramas Legends, Guilt and The Gold, and the man behind Brian Cox’s greatest comedy role (and Dundee’s most famous comic creation since Dennis the Menace), Bob Servant, discusses his life, career, writing for the screen and the comedy of being human.
• Gerda Stevenson: Cat Wumman: Tales O Nine Lives. The celebrated actor (Braveheart and Shetland), singer and writer discusses her new book of Scots language short stories. A chance to see one of the country’s great storytellers.
• Dougie Payne: After more than 30 years with one of Scotland’s best bands the Travis bass player is now also a children’s author. In an event for youngsters aged 3-6 he will be reading from Poochie Pete and his Very Big Feet. Watch out for the full programme launch for details of his other event, Dougie Payne: My Life in Culture.
• Larry Lamb: An Audience with Larry Lamb. A personal poetic journey through Lamb’s colourful life and career. Best known as the ever-patient Mick Shipman from Gavin & Stacey, Lamb is an acclaimed actor, presenter and storyteller, who’s recently embarked on a new project as a poet! He hopes to publish his first collection, entitled From Womb to Tomb, in 2027.
• Harriet Tyce: The Scottish crime writer, and Traitors star discusses her new legal thriller Witch Trial, set in Edinburgh’s High Court, with echoes of Scotland’s historical persecution of women accused of witchcraft.
• Vince Cable: The former Lib Dem leader’s new work Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world explores the rise of two vast new powers and what it means for a vulnerable Britain.

Wigtown Book Festival runs for 10 days from 25 September to 4 October. Other events in the early bird offer are:

• Cal Flyn: The Savage Landscape. What does “wilderness” mean in the 21st century? The Sunday Times bestselling author takes us to the world’s darkest forests, the tops of mountains, and the heart of the desert.
• Taylor Dyson: Scrieving in Scots - a lyrical masterclass from performance poet and National Library of Scotland’s Scots Scriever Taylor Dyson.
• William Hussey: The Boy I Love - shortlisted for The Carnegie Medal for writing The Boy I Love is an LGBT+ love story born amidst the horror of World War I.
• Ceitidh Campbell: Gaelic for Munro Baggers. Ever wondered about the meaning of the name of the mountain you are climbing? Join Gaelic and English poet Ceitidh to unlock the secrets of our tallest mountains.
• John Kampfner: Braver New World: The Countries Daring to Do Things Others Won’t. When it comes to the biggest social challenges, we seem to be failing. But one of Britain’s most respected journalists has travelled the globe to find inspiring ideas.
• Joseph Coelho: Rapunzel is a Lettuce - the former Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate (and writer of the popular Poems Aloud) shares his soon-to-be-published new collection of poems designed for explorers of all ages.
• Logan Parker: Salma: Songs of Strength and Survival. An intimate solo performance from the British-Portuguese singer-songwriter whose music blends soulful songwriting with reflection and storytelling.

Championing Wigtown and wider Galloway

As ever the festival is championing both Wigtown and wider Galloway. There’s the chance to book places for:

• Bre Martin: Kirkyard Chronicles. The Wigtown bookseller’s forthcoming book digs into the stories of the people resting in the peace of Galloway's kirkyards. Pirate hunters, tragic deaths and murder - the inscriptions and epitaphs reveal a cast of characters as colourful as any work of fiction.
• Women’s Walks with Kriss Nichol: Heritage walks celebrating the lives of the women of Wigtown.

Full programme released on 24 July

The full programme will be unveiled on 24 July when all the tickets will go on sale. This will include Catherine Heymans’ second appearance, to discuss her new book How to Design a Universe: The Science of Real and Virtual Worlds, which looks at whether we are living in the Matrix by asking whether humanity could ever create an artificial universe as rich and diverse as our own.