Wigtown Book Festival

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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]

Contents

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]

Future Festival

In 2023, the festival is scheduled 22 September through 1 October 2023. [6]

Poetry competition

The festival runs an annual poetry competition and awards three separate prizes for compositions in English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 Ferguson, Brain (27 August 2014). "Wigtown Book Festival to set sail on Solway Firth". The Scotsman: Scotland on Sunday. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014.
  2. Finklestein, David; McCleery, Alistair, eds. (2008). The Edinburgh history of the book in Scotland. Vol. 4: Professionalism and diversity 1880-2000. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 453. ISBN   978-0-7486-1829-3.
  3. Lu, Yu Tonia (2015). Lost in location: arts development and policy in rural Scotland (PDF). University of Glasgow (PhD thesis). p. 152.
  4. "OSCR | Charity Details". OSCR. Archived from the original on 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  5. "Wigtown Book Festival secures financial boost". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  6. "Wigtown Book Festival". www.wigtownbookfestival.com.
  7. "Wigtown Book Festival - Poetry Competition". www.wigtownbookfestival.com. Retrieved 9 August 2015.