Wigtown, in the west of Dumfries and Galloway is Scotland’s national Book Town. They have one big and several smaller festivals each year, and have responsibility to nourish and support literary activity in the region. Which is where I come in. I am one of three Literature Ambassadors commissioned by Wigtown Book Festival Company to provide support for writers, readers, and anyone who wishes to organise a literary event outwith Wigtown itself. All three of us are writers and utterly committed to nurturing the literature scene in the area. Mostly my job consists of publicising and attending book based events, but I also run and/or facilitate events and workshops, and put writers in touch with each other, and organisations who need them. If you are an organisation who feels you could benefit from a writer, whether this is to add an extra dimension to an event, to run workshops for staff and/or clients, or to bring your story to life, feel free to contact me. Likewise, if you are holding a literary event in the region let me know and I’ll help publicise it. And if you are a writer with a book or reading to push, get in touch and I’ll do my best to help.

Poetry Club is in its 3rd year runs from September to April in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway. We discuss, share, and workshop all aspects of poetry, and even write our own.

The Wigtown Poetry Competition is Scotland’s international poetry prize and open to all. Closing date for 2017 is 26 May.

Big Bang was a weekend that focussed on women in science and science writing in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town.

As part of Brave New Words at The Stove we run workshops for schools. This is me (Eryl Shields) leading a discussion on ‘Otherness.’

Southlight is an international literature and art magazine published in south west Scotland. Supported by Wigtown Festival Company, you will find within its covers poetry, fiction, essays, memoir, novel extracts, interviews, and visual art.

Our first Brave New Words spoken word event at The Stove, which we held exactly one year after the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, was on the theme of democracy. After a day of workshops we had a poetry slam. It was so good we made it a regular monthly event.

A new book festival specially for children, 7-9 April 2017 in Dumfries

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