Age cited as reason for end of book festival
At a glance
The 19th Ullapool Book Festival is to be the last, its organisers have said
It was first held in 2005 when some of the volunteer organisers were in their late 50s
The final festival is to be held next May
Guests will include novelist Kirstin Innes and former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman
- Published
A popular Scottish book festival is to be wound up next year because its organisers feel they are getting too old to run it.
The 19th, and last, Ullapool Book Festival is due to take place next May.
In a message to the event's fans, organisers said: "The reason we are finishing is simple, none of the committee will see 60 again.
"When the festival started in 2005 some of use were already in our late 50s - do the sums."
The festival is run by volunteers and the committee said organising it took a lot of time and huge effort to ensure a high-quality event.
Organisers thanked their audience and guests who have included authors, poets and musicians.
They added that while the festival would be wound up, they were planning to hold special one-off events.
Frightened Rabbit
Past guests have included crime writers Val McDermid and Denise Mina and Miles Hunt, lead singer of the band The Wonder Stuff.
The line-up for the final festival includes novelist Kirstin Innes, poet Christine De Luca and former Scottish government health secretary Jeane Freeman.
Other guests will include Michael Pedersen whose book, Boy Friends, is a tribute to Frightened Rabbit singer-songwriter Scott Hutchison, who died in 2018.
The book festival used to be held at the same time as Ullapool's Loopallu music festival, which was held for the last time in 2019 after 15 years.
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- Published27 September 2019
