The Wigtown Book Festival is a ten-day literary festival held each autumn in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The festival was first held in 1999 [1] [2] and has grown to be the second biggest book festival in Scotland. [3]
In 2007 the Wigtown Festival Company became a registered charity. [4]
In 2013, there were 7500 visitors to the festival, more than half of which were from outside Dumfries and Galloway. [5] A report commissioned by the Wigtown Festival Company in 2013 estimated that the festival contributed £2 million to the regional economy each year. This was three times higher than that estimated by a similar study in 2008. [1]
In 2023, the festival is scheduled 22 September through 1 October 2023. [6]
The festival runs an annual poetry competition and awards three separate prizes for compositions in English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. [7]
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, 25 miles (40 km) from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire.
Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. It is known as "Scotland's National Book Town" with a high concentration of second-hand book shops and an annual book festival.
Stranraer, also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of Loch Ryan, on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries and Galloway's second-largest town, with a population including the immediate surrounding area of nearly 13,000 inhabitants.
Kirkcudbrightshire, or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975, the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Kirkcudbrightshire continues to be used as a registration county for land registration. A lower-tier district called Stewartry covered the majority of the historic county from 1975 to 1996. The area of Stewartry district is still used as a lieutenancy area. Dumfries and Galloway Council also has a Stewartry area committee.
Newton Stewart is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to the Galloway Hills".
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Wigtownshire continues to be used as a territory for land registration, being a registration county. The historic county is all within the slightly larger Wigtown Area, which is one of the lieutenancy areas of Scotland and was used in local government as the Wigtown District from 1975 to 1996.
Dalbeattie is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water 4 miles (6 km) east of Castle Douglas and 12 miles (19 km) south west of Dumfries. The town is famed for its granite industry and for being the home town of William McMaster Murdoch, the First Officer of the RMS Titanic.
The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Wigtown, part of the Dumfries and Galloway council area of south-west Scotland. Prior to 1975 the lieutenancy area corresponded to the historic county of Wigtownshire. Since 1975 the lieutenancy area has been the slightly larger Wigtown Area, covering the historic county plus the two parishes of Kirkmabreck and Minnigaff from Kirkcudbrightshire.
Terregles is a village and civil parish near Dumfries, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire.
Hugh McMillan is a Scottish poet and short story writer.
The Galloway Association of Glasgow is a charitable trust that was formed on 22 August 1791, and was originally known as the Glasgow Galloway Brotherly Society. Its aims have always remained the same: to aid charitable, benevolent or educational purposes associated with Galloway and to encourage a love for and interest in Galloway. Membership is drawn from ex-Gallovidians, people who have relatives from Galloway or who have developed an interest and love of the ancient province.
Galloway and West Dumfries is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Spring Fling Open Studios is an open studio event based in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
The Star of Caledonia, also called the Gretna Landmark, is a planned sculpture designed by Cecil Balmond, Charles Jencks and Andy Goldsworthy. It is to be located near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, close to the England-Scotland border. The sculpture was approved on 27 February 2013. The project is being promoted by the Gretna Landmark Trust.
Kirkgunȝeon is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. The village is 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south west of Dumfries and 4.1 miles (6.6 km) north east of Dalbeattie. The civil parish is in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire, and is bounded by the parishes Lochrutton to the north, Urr to the west, Colvend and Southwick to the south and New Abbey to the east.
The Wigtown Martyrs or Solway Martyrs, Margaret Maclauchlan and Margaret Wilson, were Scottish Covenanters who were executed by Scottish Episcopalians in 1685 in Wigtown, Scotland, by tying them to stakes on the town's mudflats and allowing them to drown with the rising tide.
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West is one of the twelve wards used to elect members of the Dumfries and Galloway Council in Scotland. It elects four Councillors under the Single transferable vote system.
Wigtown County Buildings, also known as Wigtown County Buildings and Town Hall, is a municipal building in The Square, Wigtown, Scotland. The structure primarily served as the meeting place and town hall for Wigtown Burgh Council, but was also used for some meetings of Wigtownshire County Council. It is a Category B listed building.