Wigtown book festival gets under way

Martin Bell, Mairi Hedderwick and Roy Hattersley are appearing at the festival this year

Big names from literature, politics and journalism are heading to Wigtown for a 10-day celebration of books.

Scotland's national book town is hosting its annual festival which runs until Sunday 1 October.

Chris Brookmyre, Judy Murray, Roy Hattersley, Martin Bell, Gavin Esler, Jeremy Bowen and Mairi Hedderwick are all taking part.

Organisers said they hoped to explore the "local and the global" throughout the proceedings.

In total, the 19th edition of the festival promises more than 250 events including a large number of authors and famous names.

Among those taking part is award-winning crime writer Denise Mina talking about her book based on a story about the serial killer Peter Manuel.

'Across the globe'

Artistic director Adrian Turpin said: "Wigtown welcomes the world.

"It may be a small town in a remote part of south-west Scotland, but it's also Scotland's national book town, visited by an increasing number of book lovers from across the globe, many of whom have chosen to make their homes here.

"You don't have to live in a city to engage with the wider world, especially now that digital technology allows us all to maintain contacts over large geographical distances.

"It is possible to be truly global and local."

Jenny Niven, head of literature, languages and publishing at Creative Scotland, described it as another "inventive programme".

"The festival is a key event in Scotland's cultural calendar, and an important fixture for Dumfries and Galloway," she said.

'Iconic festival'

Stuart Turner, head of EventScotland, said it was delighted to be supporting the festival.

"Scotland is the perfect stage for cultural events and the festival is one of the most iconic literary festivals in the UK," he said.

"It's great to see that this year's programme is as strong as ever, with household names alongside a strong regional offering."

The festival promises a busy schedule for younger readers too.

Children's programmer Anne Barclay said: "Our aim is to encourage our youngest festival-goers to read more books, write more stories, draw more pictures and, most importantly, have fun across the festival.

"We're incredibly excited about the 2017 children's festival which offers 10 days of engaging and interactive events for the whole family."