Festival will be one for the books

MORE than 250 events are set to take place at this year’s Wigtown Book Festival.
And festival-goers can expect appearances by famous names – with a series of special themes ranging from Scottish debut novels to witchcraft.
National treasure Bill Paterson will be talking about his book, Tales from the Back Green, and his upbringing in 1950s Glasgow.
A patron of the festival since his first visit in 2008 –when the book was originally published – he has a strong affection for Wigtown and said: “I’m really looking forward to returning to Wigtown after nearly 20 years. The festival has grown so much in that time and this year’s programme looks dazzlingly varied.”
Paterson has slightly updated his book which is a series of autobiographical tales from his childhood and early teens. One, Twilight of the Trams, has a special resonance for him, and to this day one of his fondest possessions is an original ‘destination sign’ from one of the trams which ran past his home.
Taking place from 25 September to 4 October, the 2026 festival will also welcome comedian Lucy Porter to discuss her new book ‘Middle-Aged Women Get Sh*t Done’, and broadcaster Sophie Raworth will be talking about her book, Running on Air, and how she found her feet through running.
This year’s festival finale is provided by Outlander star Sam Heughan, who will chat about his love of Scotland and long association with Dumfries and Galloway. There will also be tours and festival events at the Galloway Distillery which was co-founded by Heughan.
Lee Randall, who curated this year’s main programme, commented: “My goal was to create a richly varied menu with much to tempt a variety of interests — and to do justice to much-missed Wigtownshire writer Alastair Reid, whose centenary year we mark this year in a variety of ways and whose phrase, ‘Patina, gloss and whorl’, we’ve taken as this year’s theme.”
Young adult attractions range from the Make a Scene filmmaking workshop to the Sunday Sessions, poetry events featuring the likes of Michael Mullen, Morag Anderson, Shasta Ali, Taylor Dyson and Susi Briggs.
There will also be live music, film, theatre, podcasts, guided walks, awards, panel discussions and workshops throughout the ten-day event
Isla Rosser-Owen, Wigtown Festival Company CEO, added: “There’s so much in this year’s programme - life stories, family tales, Scottish fiction, witchcraft, crime, poetry, film, theatre, young adult and children’s literature.”