Twenty Five for 25
Programmer Top Picks
Twenty Five for 25
Guest Festival Programmer Lee Randall, along with Andy Stewart, who produces the events for children and young people, selected 25 of the events taking place to give a taste of all that’s on offer.
“Ever since I began chairing events in Wigtown, I’ve told people that a piece of my heart remains here year-round. “To programme the 25th event has been a privilege and a challenge. How do you celebrate Wigtown’s journey while looking to the future?
“I hope that what we’ve come up with adds up to a full 10 days of delights - a really exciting mix of brilliant contemporary fiction and the very best in non-fiction alongside superb debut novels and Galloway yarns.
“This all rubs shoulders with wild walks, music, film, poetry, lectures and discussions.
“The programme also attempts to reflect the unique character of Scotland’s National Book Town. I hope you enjoy it – and that, like me, you won’t want to leave.”
Hamza Yassin
Be a Birder
The man with the most infectious smile in TV talks about winning Strictly, a Sudanese childhood, dyslexia, Highland life and his passion for birds.
Maggie O’Farrell
The Marriage Portrait
The 2020 Women’s Prize Winner transports us to Renaissance Ferrara where a young noblewoman is forced into a dangerous marriage.
Judy Murray
The Wild Card
Who better to serve up a novel centred on the world of tennis than player, coach and tennis mum Judy Murray?
Henry Dimbleby
Ravenous
The UK food tsar who resigned in March at the government’s refusal to tackle junk food. This searing book explains why he was so worried.
Joanne Harris
Broken Light
A welcome return to Wigtown with her new novel inspired by Stephen King’s Carrie. Menopausal Bernie Moon takes control of her life after uncovering a hidden power.
Gavin Esler
Britain Is Better Than This
The former BBC Newsnight presenter and festival stalwart returns to offer a funny, forensic and lacerating take on why the country is falling apart.
Josie Long
Because I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t
The comic brings new stories to our stage exploring life’s funny, painful and poignant aspects.
Michael Morpurgo
Tales from Shakespeare
We welcome back one of Britain’s greatest storytellers. He’ll be discussing a life in books and why he is taking on Shakespeare.
Sally Magnusson
Music in the Dark
The broadcaster and author returns with a new novel about the legacy of the Highland Clearances, inspired by her grandmother’s family’s experiences.
Pat Nevin
Football and How to Survive It
The “accidental footballer” discusses his fabulously entertaining account of his turbulent time as player and CEO at Motherwell.
Leah Hazard
Womb
Midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard returns to Wigtown to talk about her ground-breaking book, Womb, the first book of its kind about one of the body's most remarkable organs.
The Beano at 85
Dennis & Gnasher
It’s been 85 anarchic years since the launch of the Beano. Our celebration takes a behind-the-scenes look at Britain’s most famous comic paper.
Jenny Graham
Coffee First, Then the World
Sixteen countries, 124 days, 18,000 miles: Scotland’s endurance cycling legend on her attempt to pedal the world unsupported.
Robin Ince
Books as Weapons of Empathy
The comedian and co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage toured Britain’s bookshops for his book Bibliomaniac. No wonder he’s at home in Wigtown.
Louise Minchin
Fearless
The former BBC Breakfast star has pushed herself to the limit as she goes in search of adventurous women.
Leif Bersweden
Where the Wild Flowers Grow
The BBC Springwatch botanist invites you to join him on a tour of the wild plants of Britain and Ireland, from the everyday to the extraordinary.
Helen Rebanks
The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days
The joys and frustrations of the farmer’s wife, reflecting on the Lake District farm she shares with husband James, four kids and 500 sheep.
AF Steadman
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
The bestselling author on the book that singlehandedly made unicorns cool again.
Ruth Scurr
Napoleon: A Life in Gardens and Shadows
One of our most original biographers offers a green-fingered new take on the emperor as botanist.
Stef Penney
The Beasts of Paris
The Costa Prize winner turns to 19th-century Paris, where three wandering souls find one another amid the chaos of war.
Peter Stothard
Palatine: An Alternative History of the Caesars
The former Times editor on his brilliantly original account of the early Roman empire as seen by the social climbers, gluttons, courtesans and libertines who besieged the halls of power.
Partha Dasgupta
The renowned economist delivers the annual James Mirrlees Lecture and argues that economics has failed our world in the way it accounts for the natural world and its resources.
Andri Snær Magnason
The annual Magnusson Lecture sees the activist, one-time Icelandic presidential candidate and author of On Time and Water talk about why we need myth and memoir to face the climate emergency.
A Deadly Dinner with Dr Kathryn Harkup
A country house, a three-course dinner, and a chemistry expert and author – everything you need for an Agatha Christie-influenced dinner at the magnificent Penninghame Estate. But do you trust the chef?
Natasha Walter
Before the Light Fades
Acclaimed writer and thinker Natasha Walter joins us for a deeply personal conversation about losing her mother to suicide, and how she’s honouring the legacy of a family whose members struggled bravely against some of the worst crises of the twentieth century.