Kirkcudbright celebrates another successful book fest

OVER 500 people attended events at Kirkcudbright Book Festival at the weekend, building on the success of previous years. The four day festival began last Thursday through to Sunday and included a diverse range of writers, highlights included Rosemary Goring on Mary Queen of Scots; Robert Crawford on Robert Burns; Beaty Rubens on how radio changed Britain; Carrie Marshall on LGBT communities and the power of music. A special event saw Richard McLauchlan talk about the cultural history of the bagpipes, played in by former Kirkcudbright Pipe Major Ian Wemyss Overall the Book Festival was attended by 580 people across 21 events: this is an increase on the number of people who attended each event from last year’s Book Week of 23 per cent.

Naomi Johnson, festival chair and author, said: "This new look Festival had a buzz, excitement and energy celebrating local authors and stories bringing together Scottish and UK voices. It builds on the previous great work in the town of past Book Weeks, developing the Festival in a new direction with new ideas and writers."