Listen | Podcast Episode 3 with Alan Johnson

12 May 2020


Podcast ~ Episode 3: We love letters


From the team behind Wigtown Book Festival, our books podcast looks at the world of books from the distinctive perspective of Scotland’s National Book Town and the people who love it. 

This week's edition, presented by Peggy Hughes, looks at the love of letters and putting pen to paper:

  • We talk to former Home Secretary Alan Johnson about his memoir Please Mister Postman, where he shares his experience of being a postie and contermplates how the postal service has changed over the years. He also discusses his recent music memoir, In My Life, and gives us a sneak preview of his forthcoming debut novel, Mascara.
  • Owner of the Wigtown Post Office, Mary Wallace, tells us the story of her journey back to Wigtown after a nursing career in Australia.
  • Award-winning novelist Jan Carson is a dedicated user of the post to send new stories to readers near and far. She talks to us about how she got into writing stories on postcards and how lockdown is having a chilling effect on her writing. She also reads a couple of her micro-fictions - each of which fit nearly onto a postcard.

Find out more about Wigtown Book Festival and our own programme of online events at www.wigtownbookfestival.com.

Produced by Colin Fraser. Incidental music by Ragland. 

Filed in: Podcast