POET Pam Ayres, actor Alan Cumming and naturalist Kate Humble are among the stars appearing at this year’s Wigtown Book Festival.
There will be over 250 events featuring a host of well-known faces, including comedian Janey Godley, singer songwriter Cerys Matthews, novelist Irvine Welsh and Channel 4 international editor Lindsey Hilsum.
Children’s authors will include Frank Cottrell Boyce, Strictly Come Dancing champion Hamza Yassin, and the winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Award 2024, Pari Thomson.
Tickets are now on sale for the ten-day festival which runs from September 27 to October 6.
New this year will be the introduction of a “festival-within-a-festival” dedicated to food, featuring three days of talks, interviews and demonstrations
It will be hosted by The Hebridean Baker Coinneach MacLeod, who will be joined by Masterchef finalist Sarah Rankin and Great British Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins.
Coinneach said: “This is a unique opportunity to bring together foodie lovers and book enthusiasts and I can’t wait to celebrate the people and stories behind our rich culinary traditions.”
Other highlights from the non-fiction programme include William Dalrymple on how ancient India transformed the world; David Baddiel with his family memoir; Charles Dickens expert Helena Kelly; historian Kathryn Hughes on how Britain fell in love with cats; former Home Secretary Alan Johnson on Harold Wilson’s legacy; and Jessica Hepburn on becoming the first woman to swim the Channel, run the London Marathon and climb Everest.
This year’s Magnusson Lecture will be given by Tessa Boase on Etta Lemon, who co-founded the RSPB, while author Sophie Yeo will deliver The James Mirrlees Lecture.
There will be opening night fireworks and a final weekend ceilidh, as well as music, theatre, topical debates, workshops, walks and bookshop tours.
