Nestled in a secluded area of southwest Scotland lies Wigtown, a very small town that was once the area with the highest unemployment rates and is now a safe haven for book lovers. Here is an inside feature on the book town ahead of its annual book festival.
Where it all began
Wigtown was once a town that didn’t garner much attention — but it is now thriving. With seventeen bookshops in the small area, the town was named Scotland’s official book town in 1998.
Just a few years before Wigtown gained its new reputation, it was suggested that Scotland should recreate the model book town of Hay-on-Wye. Six small towns were submitted into a vote, with half of them from Dumfries and Galloway — including Gatehouse of Fleet, Wigtown, and Moffat. The others were Dalmellington, Dunblane, and Strathaven. After careful consideration and a democratic vote, an international panel chose Wigtown.
Previously, Wigtown was considered to be “at its lowest ebb,” according to the Wigtown Book Festival website. In fact, the website states: “There were many empty and run-down properties, and the almost derelict County Buildings on the town square were threatened with demolition.”
When the Book Town first began, there were 83 properties for sale, and today, there are just four. Wigtown has become a cherished getaway for book lovers, with seventeen bookshops and related businesses and year-round literary events.
Not long after the Scottish Parliament recognized Wigtown as Scotland’s book town, the community launched its first book festival. This 10-day celebration has since evolved into one of the UK’s most beloved literary events.
“It may only have a population of 1000, but Wigtown doesn’t just punch above its weight when it comes to attracting big-name authors to its annual book festival, it punches above pretty much everybody else’s weight, too.”
Roger Cox, The Scotsman
Wigtown in 2024
The Wigtown Book Festival attracts eager crowds. Last year, attendees snapped up over 18,500 tickets, and Matthew Shelley from the event’s PR team predicts a similar turnout this year.
‘Wigtown Book Festival generates £4.3 million for the local economy each year; that’s £23 generated for every £1 of public funding received. Since the festival began, over 3000 authors and performers have taken part, bringing over 300,000 people to Wigtown. Last year, we delivered author sessions and workshops to over 5500 children and young people across 73 schools and nurseries in our region.’
Wigtown Book Festival website
This year, the program is running from September 27th to October 6th, and it has over 200 events and activities for all ages, including music, theatre, food, and visual arts. The seventeen bookshops cater to all genres too — ranging from shops specializing in second-hand books, children’s books, vintage series, books from around the world, and countless more. In fact, ‘The Book Shop’ is actually Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop, containing up to a mile of bookshelves. It is also owned by the author Shaun Bythell, who has written a series based upon his life as a bookseller in this very town.
Alongside the anticipated book buying, there are several other events to look forward to at the festival. Matthew Shelley said, “I think two of the most anticipated events will be Pam Ayres, and then Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson (Scottish actors.)” Pam is a legendary poet, and attendees can expect a performance at her event. There will also be lots of interest in the “festival-in-a-festival,” which is dedicated to food and hosted by the Hebridean Baker — also known as Coinneach MacLeod — who rose to fame on TikTok in 2020.
However, without volunteers, this event would not be possible. Each year, the Wigtown Festival Company is run by over 100 volunteers, and Joyce Cochrane was one of them.
Joyce’s Wigtown story
Joyce Cochrane had lived near Wigtown before her time studying in Edinburgh for her degree in Modern Language. She said, “The town had nothing before it became the book town, I remember being told about it…[I] knew that if I wanted a book I had to travel 120 miles to get one!”
She had just discovered she was pregnant when her partner, Ian, told her he wanted to give up his job and open a bookshop in Wigtown. “We had been visiting family nearby and were driving home to Edinburgh,” she shared.
They searched for the “perfect place” before learning that the Old Bank Bookshop was up for sale. The same day they found out, they made the deal.
As the shop reopened, Ian and Joyce welcomed their daughter Helena, whom Joyce affectionately refers to as “the bookshop baby” — a nickname the community embraced.
This year marks their 20th anniversary running The Old Bank Bookshop.
In the early years of the book festival, Joyce recalled how she started as a volunteer for 12 years on the WFC (Wigtown Festival Company) Board. She later served on the Book Town Development Board.
Her latest project involves running the Open Book BnB, advertised as a “bookshop holiday” where guests can experience life as a bookseller during their stay. It has been a massive hit.
Joyce said that helping with this project was a “no-brainer” due to her background as a former librarian. “We hosted people in our home, students from all over the world, so when the chance to help run the Open Book BnB came about, it just made sense,” she explained.
She added how the anticipation for the festival builds every year: “The energy makes it feel like Christmas. Here I am, fifty-two years old and still getting excited watching them put up the marquees!”
Visitors of the festival tend to return due to their vast enjoyment of the celebration. Joyce said, ” It’s great to see lots of new faces each year, but it’s lovely when attendees return. You begin to recognize people over the years and it’s like a big family coming back for celebrations.”
First-timers at the Book Festival
Among the first-time visitors of this year’s book festival is local author Ian Simpson.
Simpson, or ‘Simmo’ as motorcycle fans may know him, said, “I’m really looking forward to it. I’m from the Dumfries and Galloway area so I know Wigtown and the surrounding area pretty well.”
Ian’s recently released novel, Forever Playboy, is an autobiography.
“The book’s about my life really, and my career of being a professional motorcycle racer for fifteen years. As well as what I’ve done since. There’s a lot about injuries, the stress and the sort of agonies you go through to do it. A lot about bike racers, it’s interesting to see the downsides of doing it,” Ian said. He also mentioned that readers can expect references to his races against legends like Carl Fogarty.
Since the release of his book, he has received lots of positive feedback — especially, from other racers who were able to relate. In response, he said, “I like reading…other motorbike racers’ autobiographies. It’s for the same sort of reason really — we all go through a lot of the same things.”
As a local, Ian feels honored to see independent bookshops promoting his book. “I’m amazed at the amount of people who have bought the book. I didn’t think there’d be that many, it’s really doing quite well. We sold a lot of copies online and sold a few at some sort of motorbike-racing-oriented chatshows that we’ve done.”
Credit: Stuart Barker
In terms of the writing process and what inspired him to put pen to paper after a successful motorcycle career, Ian said, “Stuart Barker helped me write it. He has written a lot of books on motorbike racing and it was his idea, originally, to write this autobiography. I think it’s a great idea to write a book because it’s gonna last and it’s quite a satisfying thing to do to think about your life and all that you’ve done.”
Ian will be discussing his book at the book festival on Thursday, October 3rd at 6pm.
More
To find out more about the Wigtown Book Festival, visit their website and see what other events are happening.
If this article has inspired you to get some reading done, check out what books you should read this autumn.
