A Wild Writers Festival launches in Peebles in southern Scotland later this month. The event, from January 27 to 29, will be held at Eastgate Theatre, Peebles.
The aim is to explores people’s relationships with the living world, from nature writing and adventure to outdoor memoir. The festival features established, as well as up-and-coming authors, photographers and illustrators from Scotland and beyond who will share ideas, stories, influences and inspirations.
Audiences will enjoy readings, meet-the-author sessions and signings, Q&As, panel discussions and solo presentations covering a wide range of topics and interests, including gravel riding, trail running, cold water swimming and the study of Scotland’s isolated snow patches.
Guests include:
- Author and broadcaster Cameron McNeish
- Endurance athlete and adventurer Jenny Tough
- A joint appearance by Leonie Charlton and Malachy Tallack.
Blending nature and travel writing, Leonie Charlton’s book Marram is a meditative memoir about an extraordinary journey on Highland ponies that took the author and a friend from Barra to the ancient stone circle of Callanish on Lewis.
Malachy Tallack’s latest book, Illuminated by Water, is about a different kind of love altogether, as he traces a lifelong passion for fishing, born from growing up among Shetland’s myriad lochs. With an appeal that resonates with non-fishers and fellow devotees alike, the book reflects on the lure of the river and the contemplation of nature and landscape that comes with spending time at the water’s edge.
Other guests at Wild Writers Festival
Anna Fleming, whose book Time on Rock was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature, talks about her progress from terrified beginner rock climber to confident lead climber and describes how physical contact with rock became a profound new way into the landscape.
There is also a chance to meet Siobhan Daniels and Jo Moseley, two authors and good friends who will share stories about ageing positively. In Retirement Rebel, Siobhan tells the story of how, aged 60, she made a choice to sell her home and belongings and live a nomadic but more fulfilling life on the road in a motorhome.
Jo Moseley, meanwhile, discovered the sport of stand-up paddleboarding in her 50s and has never looked back. As she reflects in her companion guide Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain, it is a sport that has provided everything she needed, including health, confidence, freedom, friendship and a chance to experience some of the UK’s wildest places from a unique perspective.
Iain Cameron will also give a presentation on his book, The Vanishing Ice.
Rich Rowe, festival programme director, said: “This is an event that we’ve been looking to put together for some time and we are so pleased to feature such an exceptional line-up of presenters. Each explores nature, landscape, people and place in their own unique way.”
Full programme details of the Wild Writers Festival are available here or visit eastgatearts.com and search under “festivals”. The event is supported by Go Tweed Valley and Scottish Borders Council.