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Wigtown Book Festival 2025:

26 September - 5 October

Blue bookshelves full of books.

Press Releases

Welcome to Our Press Release Page

To request to be added to the press release list, or for any other press enquiries, please contact Matthew Shelley at [email protected]

Peter MacQueen and Coinneach MacLeod holding their books "The Art of Hutting" and "The Hebridean Baker at Home", both smiling at the camera.

2024 Wigtown Book Festival Programme Launch

06/08/24

A row of vintage books on a bookshelf in one of Wigtown's second hand bookshops. Most are green and white, a range of penguin and pelican paperbacks.

Baillie Gifford Statement

05/06/24

Portrait of Brian Taylor

Anne Brown Essay Prize Judge Announced

09/05/24

Author John Wheway head and shoulder portrait standing in sunshine wearing blue hat

Winning Poet Reveals That His Wife Secretly Submitted Entry

18/04/24

Poetry Prizes Judge Announcement

05/03/24

Stephanie Green 2

Winner Urges Poets to Enter Prize

02/01/23

Big DoG Children's Book Festival 2024

Philip Reeve and Sarah MacIntyre at the Big DoG Schools Gala Day. They are both standing in front of the audience of children with their arms raised up. Sarah is wearing a bright orange flower hat and flowery dress.

Big DoG in Photos

22-24 March 2024

Two Moat Brae storyweavers are dressed as pirates, either side of Big DoG mascot; a large, orange dog.

Meet Big DoG and the Moat Brae Pirates

15/03/23

The Refs, two children's street entertainers, are stood in a city square in front of a bus. They are wearing black-and-white-striped referee t-shirts and black curly wigs with striped headbands. One is holding an orange cone towards the camera, the other is holding an orange and yellow flag and blowing a red whistle.

What's On at Big DoG

27/02/23

Two children stand talking outside Big DoG HQ in front of a large window decoupage featuring the character Big DoG, an orange dog, with the caption 'Where everybody has a tale' above.

Big DoG Book Festival Programme Launch

06/02/23

Wigtown Book Festival 2023

Winners and runners up of Wigtown Poetry Prize 2023 stand on stage. Left to right: Keek Mc, Stephanie Green, Rachel Rankin and Craig Aitchison.

Wigtown Poetry Prize Winners Revealed

30/09/23

Two children in red and black striped Dennis the Menace tops hold Beano books. Big Wig, the big blue mascot, stands behind them with arms outstretched. They are in a garden surrounded by shrubbery.

Wigtown Becomes Beano Town

27/09/23

Two Iron and Pine executives, stood with Festival Director Adrian Turpin and Festival Chair Cathy Agnew, outside the Iron and Pine exhibition space, made from a shipping container.

25th Photo Exhibition Space, created by Iron and Pine Studio

26/09/23

Hamza Yassin seated on a wall with Wigtown Bay in the background.

The First Weekend

25/09/23

The Anne Brown Prize Winner Rodge Glass stands holding his prize between Adrian Turpin and Gavin Esler, on stage at the Wigtown Book Festival.

Anne Brown Essay Prize 2023 Winner

25/09/23

Henry McLeish and Nicola Sturgeon seated on stage at Wigtown Book Festival. McLeish scratches his head, Sturgeon gestures with her hands while speaking.

Clash of the First Ministers

24/09/23

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta stands at a lecturn. He raises his hand while he is speaking.

Economist Condemns Sunak at Festival

23/09/23

A crowd of staff and volunteers stand in front of a view over the Wigtown marshes. Each of them is holding a 2023 programme brochure.

Volunteer Army gets ready for Festival

19/09/23

An outdoor Wigtown Book Festival event. Many people sit around in a garden listening to an author talking about his book.

Silver Anniversary Photo Exhibition Call Out

11/09/23

Rural location, looking through a gate into a field. Blue skies with a setting sun.

Galloway at the Heart of the Festival

12/09/23

Wigtown Book Festival author Michael Morpurgo sitting at his desk.

Big Wig Children's Festival

25/08/23

Ocean Tax to Save the Rainforests

30/08/23

Lee Randall, Guest Programmer for Wigtown Festival Company sits on a bench in a park holding books to promote the twenty fifth anniversary of the Wigtown Book Festival. On each side of her sits a person also holding an open book.

Programme Launch: Twenty Five for 25

01/08/23

Author jo Caulfield stands smiling wearing a black jacket and blue and white striped t-shirt.

2023 Festival Name Reveals

17/07/23

2023 News

Poet Donald S Murray stands reading a book, in front of a lighthouse.

Wigtown Poetry Prize Shortlist Revealed

07/09/23

Ben Please and Beth Porter of the Bookshop Band stand outside a bookshop.

Kate Mosse Book Released with New Bookshop Band Song

03/07/23

During the Wigtown Book Festival various staff members, bookshop owners and stall holders from The Kist sit and stand together in Wigtown gardens. They are holding books, pictures and bottles of alcohol.

Wigtown Book Festival Has Generated £50M for Region

20/06/23

A gathering of Wigtown Festival Company staff, trustees, volunteers and Wigtown booksellers standing in front of the Mercat Cross in Wigtown, holding books and silver balloons to celebrate twenty five years as Scotland's National Book Town.

Wigtown Book Town is 25

16/05/23

Lee Randall standing in a bookshop with her arms folded in front of her. The bookshelves behind her are full of books.

Wigtown Book Festival Welcomes Lee Randall as Guest Festival Programmer

31/01/23

Wigtown Poetry Prize 2023

09/05/23

Big DoG Children's Book Festival and Hooked Festival for Young People

Feb - March 2023

Young person wearing a Big Dog t-shirt at a Children's Book Festival event.

Two Festivals in One Weekend as Big DoG Teams Up With Hooked

01/02/23

View Press Release

Big DoG Programme Launch

22/02/23

View Press Release

Andy Stewart, Children and young people's producer, stands in front of a pink hydrangea bush in Wigtown gardens with his arms folded in front of him.

Big DoG and Hooked Countdown

27/03/23

View Press Release

Big DoG and Hooked Press Image Gallery