Wigtown Festival Company are delighted to invite local artists to respond creatively to our brand new Ounce Dice Trice trail taking place during the Wigtown Book Festival 2026 (25 September – 4 October).
The trail aims to truly celebrate playing with the humble written and spoken word by siting fun words such as Ounce, Dice and Trice in public and business spaces and we would love our talented artist community to help us create the words!
The trail has of course been inspired by the book of the same name by Wigtownshire poet Alastair Reid whose birth centenary will be commemorated at this year’s festival.
Different sounds, meanings and quirks
Ounce Dice Trice contains a collection of words with different sounds, meanings and quirks that Alastair interpreted in his own way and now we invite you to do the same.
We would like you to choose a word, words or a group of words from our selection to produce in your own creative style and then we aim to decorate the Festival with them. Imagine words like Petticoat, Blunderbuss and Mugwump popping up to be found!
Best ideas and first come first served
Words will be allocated via a combination of best ideas and first come first served so contact us today at [email protected] for our word inspiration sheet and application form.
Your interpretation can be anything that it is possible to display at the festival. It might be a word made out of balloons, bricks, flowers or Lego. It could be giant or tiny. Your word might float, swing or jump, it might be animated, handwritten, knitted, projected, a painting or a cake. It might not even be a word - it might be an object or a performance that makes you think of that word. We are super open to ideas! All we ask is that you can ensure responsibility for ‘the word’ and that the word can be ‘found’ throughout the festival dates. NB – Support can be offered with regards to placement and installation. More information on this is provided within the application form.
You might have already thought of where the word should be located – tucked indoors or hardy enough to be outside, showcased within a local business or partnering with a landmark or attraction. We encourage you to make your word special in your way!
Financial assistance
To help you make your word(s) we have financial assistance available of up to £200. (In exceptional cases more may be allocated). We ask that the application form is returned to [email protected] by Wednesday 1 July. We aim to reply to everyone early July to let you know if you have been successful.
This trail has been made possible by the Best of British Fund.
Thank you for considering being part of Wigtown Book Festival: Friday 25 September – Sunday 4 October 2026.