Posts Tagged ‘Wigtown’
Thin Slices: An extract from the winner of this year’s Anne Brown Essay Prize
This is an extract from a longer essay by the winner of this year’s Anne Brown Essay Prize, Sarah Whiteside. Sarah is an Edinburgh-based writer of fiction and personal essays. Her winning essay came after the reading and research she did after learning her son is autistic, which led to the realisation she is autistic…
Read MoreHollywood star James Cosmo makes sell-out appearance at Wigtown Book Festival
Hollywood star James Cosmo made a sell-out appearance during the first weekend of the Wigtown Book Festival. The Braveheart actor told audiences about his long career, starring in everything from Highlander to Game of Thrones, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Trainspotting. The fact that he was a big man and an accomplished rider proved to…
Read MoreWigtown Book Festival gets underway with The Hebridean Baker, Sue Lawrence and Irvine Welsh
Scotland’s National Book Town will burst into life with the start of the annual Wigtown Book Festival this week. Well-known names at this year’s event include poet Pam Ayres, The Hebridean Baker Coinneach MacLeod, food legend Sue Lawrence, Scotland’s National Chef Gary MacLean, Former BBC Moscow correspondent Martin Sixsmith, author Irvine Welsh. There will also…
Read MoreThe couple who gambled everything to become Wigtown bookshop owners
Joyce Cochrane had just discovered she was pregnant when she and her partner Ian gave up their jobs and moved from Edinburgh to revive a former bookshop in Wigtown. With no stock, no shelves in the shop, no accommodation and having no retail experience they were gambling everything on a dream. Now they are celebrating…
Read MoreTwo year waiting list to run Wigtown’s Open Book Airbnb as visitors from around the world flock to Scotland’s National Book Town
Since welcoming its first holidaymakers in August 2014, Wigtown’s charity-run Open Book Airbnb bookshop has become an international sensation. Over the years, nearly 450 guests have enjoyed the unusual experience of running their own bookshop in Scotland’s National Book Town, in the far west of rural Galloway. A map on the wall shows where Open…
Read MoreThe Who guitarist Pete Townshend records album with Wigtown band
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has recorded an album with a pair of musicians based in Wigtown – after being blown away by their music. The rock legend said the work of musicians Ben Please and Beth Porter – The Bookshop Band – was extraordinary and he decided to get in touch with them to…
Read MoreWider audience for Wigtown young adult books
WIGTOWN YA, the UK’s largest young adult literature festival, continues this week as part of the wider online Wigtown Book Festival. This week’s virtual speakers include Dean Atta talking about The Black Flamingo, Catherine Bruton presenting No Ballet Shoes in Syria and Michelle Thomas explaining My Sh*t Therapist. Previous online events can also be watched…
Read MoreWigtown Book Festival reveals line-up
WIGTOWN Book Festival has unveiled its online programme, which includes the world premier of author Alexander McCall Smith’s Ninian’s Gift song cycle Other highlights across the ten-day virtual festival include Alastair Campbell, Maggie O’Farrell, and Andrew Marr. More than 80 guests will take part in the festival, which aims to promote local businesses affected by…
Read MoreCaptain Corelli writer brings his own mandolin
The writer of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was in Scotland over the weekend as a guest of the Wigtown Book Festival. Louis de Bernieres, famed for writing the novel which was later adapted for the big screen and starring Nicolas Gage, not only spoke but played and sang at this year’s festival in Dumfries and Galloway.…
Read More£26.5million plan to put Stranraer back on the map
A plan to regenerate a Scottish town and make it a tourist destination has passed it first hurdle. Members of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Stranraer Waterfront Development team met with the Wigtown Area Committee to discuss the development, work carried out and options for the future. The master plan for the area clearly set out…
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