Wigtown Spring Book Weekend 2026
Covenanters and women crime writers are two themes woven into Spring Book Weekend 2-4 May
Covenanters and women crime writers will be two of the themes woven into this year’s Wigtown Spring Book Weekend.
The programme has just been unveiled for the event, which takes place each year in Scotland’s National Book Town, from 2-4 May.
Organised by the Association of Wigtown Booksellers it features dozens of events from author talks to guided walks, writing, photography and music workshops – and even cocktails and a Middle Eastern mezze.
The Spring Weekend is a great opportunity to enjoy a small-scale festival while exploring Wigtown’s abundance of book shops and other attractions.
Among the authors taking part will be:
- Alex Gray, author of the gripping DSI Lorimer series, who will offer insights on creating compelling characters and stories.
- Marsali Taylor, whose books are set in Shetland, will explore the craft of crime writing.
- And Lynne McEwan, newspaper photographer turned crime writer whose DI Shona Oliver stories are based in Dumfries and Galloway, will be in in conversation with book shop owner Joyce Cochrane.
This year the programme reflects the area’s strong associations with the Covenanters – the 17th-century Presbyterians who resisted, and often gave their lives, to defend their religious beliefs when they were threatened by the Stuart kings.
Philip Paris will introduce his new novel A Fire in Their Hearts, inspired by true events during the persecution of the Covenanters.Donna Brewster will lead a Martyrs’ Walk around the sites linked to the execution by drowning of two Covenanter women who refused to betray their beliefs.
In The Killing Time Iain Stewart and James Robertson use writing and photography to look at the history of the Covenanters in Galloway, including the fate of John Milroy (one of Stewarts ancestors) who was executed in 1685.
