Wigtown Book Festival 'generated £4.3m'

Adrian Turpin, left, and Adam Wilson said the festival made a "tremendous contribution"

The annual festival in Scotland's national book town generated £4.3m for the economy, a study has found.

The figure for the celebration of literature in Wigtown in September and October has nearly doubled since 2013.

A study by Bellerby Economics also estimates that the festival creates the equivalent of more than 57 full-time jobs - up from 32 seven years ago.

Artistic director Adrian Turpin said the organisers tried to keep the event "fresh" every year it was held.

There were more than 300 events at the festival last year

"The festival welcomes around 10,000 visitors a year - which is impressive for a small Scottish town with a population of less than 1,000," he said.

"They seem to love the event, the atmosphere, the friendly welcome from local people and the beauty of Dumfries and Galloway, with many returning time and again.

"And while the 10-day festival each September remains the flagship, we are also focused on spreading the benefits throughout the year by staging a whole series of other events."

• Is the festival just about selling books?

• Scots poem takes prize for first time

Last year was the 21st edition of the event with nearly 300 events on the programme.

Kirsty Wark, Melanie Reid, Doddie Weir and Matthew Parris were among those involved.

Adam Wilson, Dumfries and Galloway Council's major events champion, said the local authority was happy to back efforts to make Wigtown the "stand-out book festival in rural Scotland".

"Wigtown has grown into one of the country's best-loved book festivals and makes a tremendous contribution to our culture, economy and tourism industry," he said.