Celebration of all That’s Special About Galloway

Among the books being discussed are:

• Agnes: A Life - Jean Hammond talks about her story of a Galloway farming family. It tells the story of Agnes Nicholson, from the hill farm at Castle Creavy. The book also looks at her time as a Red Cross ambulance driver in northern France and her marriage to Wigtown minister the Reverend Donald Henry.

• Wild Galloway – Naturalist and author Ian Carter talks about his love of the wonderful area between the heather-clad hills of Bengairn and the shining, silver Solway with its saltmarsh, mudflats and spectacular cliffs.
• Barholm Castle: The History of a Home – Janet Brennan-Inglis on the highs and lows of restoring a 16^th-century Galloway castle and garden.

There will also be five free Local Writers Spotlight sessions which provide a platform for up-and-coming writers from across Dumfries and Galloway.

Festival sponsors Bladnoch Distillery (Scotland’s oldest privately-owned distillery) will be hosting three events as part of the festival.

One will be Bold Spirit: Tales of Galloway, an evening of storytelling which revels in the bold spirit of the region, and its sense of mischief (and there will even be a free dram or two).

Bladnoch will be the perfect venue for people to hear from Natalie Jayne Clark, author of The Malt Whisky Murders – where bodies in a barrel threaten a couple’s dream to run Scotland’s first women-owned distillery. The distillery will also be the venue for the ceremony to reveal the winner of the 2025 Anne Brown Essay Prize.

Adrian Turpin, Wigtown Book Festival Creative Director, said: “One of the most important achievements of the festival is that it provides a national showcase for Galloway.

“We have a huge amount of contemporary creative talent and a highly distinctive history and culture, but being a very rural area that’s remote from the Central Belt we have to work that much harder to get them the recognition they deserve.

“The festival does this in a way that’s imaginative, fun and positive with lots of activities for visitors and residents to enjoy.”

Dr Nick Savage, Master Distiller at Bladnoch Distillery, said: “At Bladnoch we’re proud to call Galloway home. Just like our 208-year-old distillery, this is a region with a truly bold spirit – seen in its landscapes, its stories and, above all, its people.

“The Wigtown Book Festival celebrates everything that makes Galloway distinctive, and it is a privilege to partner in helping to share that creativity and passion with the wider world.”

This year’s James Mirrlees Lecture, in honour of the Nobel Prize winning Galloway economist, will see Sir John Kay explain Why (Almost) Everything We Are Told About Business Is Wrong.

Gerard McKeever will reveal the untold story of how writers of the 18^th and 19^th centuries reimagined Dumfries and Galloway while The Whithorn Trust Event will see Adrian Maldonado take a further look at how the latest research into excavations at Whithorn Abbey have challenged our understanding of the medieval past.

The Bookshop Band will add music to the mix with an event dedicated to banned books, and Beth Porter (one half of the band) will also be endeavouring to create a choir in a day. Volunteers will gather in the morning and be performing by the evening.

Outdoor Activities

Lots of the activities will be taking place outdoors, including:

• Wigtown Wild Swim – join The Art of Wild Swimming author Vicky Allan for bracing plunge at Rigg Bay in Garlieston.
• Immersed: Stories from the Saltmarsh – Award-winning nature writer Stephen Rutt’s in-situ readings and stories of the saltmarsh.
• Wigtown Women’s Walk – Kriss Nichol leads a guided walk with stories about remarkable women of the past.
• Wild Words: Wee Wings – Renita Boyle shares poems and tales of nature in the Wigtown Bird Hide.
• Overnight Live – Author Dan Richards and freelance ranger Elizabeth Tindal bring to life his book about what happens in the Wigtown countryside after dark – a night walk with music and readings.

Then it’s the turn of visitors, with the chance to climb up on stage and impress the audience in Wigtown’s Got Talent – the winner will be awarded the coveted Golden Pencil.

Bringing this year’s event to a close will be the town’s celebrity author Shaun Bythell with Diary of a Bookseller at the Festival where there will be lively chat about all that’s happened over the preceding 10 days, and memories of festivals gone by.

Local authors spotlight

Monday, 29 September

• Tim Cowen
• Elaine Barton
• Mark Williams
• Jane Fuller

Tuesday, 30 September

• DG Life-Long Learning
• William Perks
• Anthony Perks

Wednesday, 1 October

• John Atkinson
• Gillian Brown
• John Priestley
• Sonja Brodie
• Sue Swift

Thursday, 2 October

A special edition for National Poetry Day

• Mark Thomas
• Robin Leiper
• Patricia Kirkby
• Alexandra Monlaur
• Maggie Kellie

Friday, 3 October

• Carolyn McCole
• Gillian Mellor
• Carolyn Hashimoto
• Maggie Kellie
• Charlotte Bennie
• Marion McGowan.