Randall to guest programme 25th annual Wigtown Book Festival

Lee Randall has been appointed as guest programmer for the 25th Wigtown Book Festival, taking place between 22nd September and 1st October.

Adrian Turpin remains artistic director of the festival and is taking on more strategic responsibility as Randall concentrates on her new role.

Over the past decade Randall, who lives in Edinburgh, has become closely associated with Wigtown, chairing around a dozen events a year and contributing to all aspects of the festival.

She previously programmed the Borderlines Carlisle Book Festival and the Granite Noir crime fiction festival in Aberdeen and worked on the 2022 St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend. She has also worked in publishing, is the author of several biographies and spent 13 years writing and commissioning arts content for the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday.

Her new role will involve curating the 2023 Wigtown Book Festival programme, ranging from talks by a wide variety of authors to annual lectures, performing and visual arts and more. She said: “I have been in love with Wigtown Book Festival for more than a decade. At first I would just go for a few events and then I began staying the whole 10 days.

“The festival, and Wigtown as Scotland’s National Book Town, are remarkable. I am thrilled to have been given this opportunity and especially for the 25th year. Despite the direness of the world right now, my mission will be to make this quarter century of Wigtown Book Festival something celebratory.”

She described book festivals as her natural habitat as a place where ideas, writing, reading and commerce “all meet up for a great big party”. Randall continued: “I also believe that stories matter—they are how people understand themselves, each other and the universe around them. Humans have always told stories, from their earliest origins gathered round a campfire. Whether it’s through books, poetry, song, we need to tell stories. They are important and literacy is important. Book festivals like ours bring all these things together.”

Cathy Agnew, incoming chair of Wigtown Book Festival, said: “There was strong competition for this role, which underlines the affection people have for Wigtown Book Festival, its reputation as a superb event and recognition that this year is an important milestone in its history and growth.

“Lee is an old friend of the festival and of Scotland’s National Book Town, with enormous experience, energy and a deep love of literature and storytelling. I have no doubt that our 25th festival will be absolutely outstanding.” 

Anne Barclay, operations director of Wigtown Festival Company, which organises the event, added: “Lee has become an absolute mainstay of the festival over the years and this role will allow her to use her talents and boundless energy to the full, contributing even more to the festival team.”