Details of the Kirkcudbright Book Week 2023 programme will be announced on November 1.

The annual  event, which celebrates the developing literary scene in the town and surrounding area, will take place on Monday February 27 to Saturday March 4, and include World Book Day for young readers.

Book Week will feature appearances by professional authors as well as affording community writing groups the chance to perform in front of audiences.

Events will include talks, recitals, film, music and meet-the-author events as well as providing the opportunity to purchase books from the writers taking part.

The week will include appearances from  authors working in genres ranging from poetry, short stories, novels and non-fiction to children’s writing, crime fiction, travel writing and history.

Kirkcudbright Book Week is organised by Kirkcudbright Book Week Society, which is chaired by Chris Walker of The Selkirk Arms and is supported by a number of local organisations and venues and is a non-profit organisation.

As part of Kirkcudbright Book Week Society’s efforts to raise funds to underwrite some of the costs of the event in 2023, we have set up a Crowdfunding page for anyone who wishes to support us.

Treasurer John Dean said: “We raise all our own funds and we know that many people are keen to support us in our work. Crowdfunder is an excellent way to do it and will not only help us defray some of the costs of staging the event but allow us to develop the idea for future years.”

Kirkcudbright Book Week, which is making a welcome return after twice being cancelled due to the covid outbreak, will take place between Monday February 27 and Saturday March 4, 2023, and is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area.

It will feature performances by both professional authors and local writing groups at  venues in Kirkcudbright and will include poetry and prose as well as film, song and music. The programme will be unveiled later in 2022.

Aims include:

For the authors – A chance to develop new audiences and showcase new books and projects, particularly as live performance continues to recover after pandemic.

For community writing groups – the chance to experience live performance, in some cases for the first time

For audiences – The chance to enjoy live performance, be exposed to new voices and to meet the writers.

For the society – The opportunity to build on the work done in the first book week by developing an annual event which earns its place on the Scottish festivals calendar.

For the town – The creation of a ‘buzz’  during the week and an optimistic sign that the town’s cultural scene is emerging from dark pandemic times when performances were strictly limited. Also, the attraction of visitors from outside the area to attend events, alongside local people. Book Week is seen as part of efforts to raise the profile of the area. The first book week in 2020 featured a dozen events which attracted 250-plus audience members and saw £2,374 spent on everything from meals and hotel bookings to tickets to book sales. 

The money raised via Crowdfunding will enable the Society to underwrite some of its costs and the Crowdfunding page can be found at

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/Kirkcudbright-book-week

More information on Book Week is available www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org and on Facebook.

Kirkcudbright Book Week 2023 is making a welcome return after twice being cancelled due to the covid outbreak, and we’re on the lookout for volunteers to help run it.

The week, which will take place between Monday February 27 and Saturday March 4, 2023, is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area and will feature both professional and aspiring authors. Events will include poetry and prose performances as well as film and music and the programme will be announced towards the end of 2022.

Kirkcudbright Book Week has been organised by  Kirkcudbright Book Week Society, which is now seeking to recruit volunteers to add to our team of helpers.

Tasks will range from helping to promote the event to working on the door and helping with the intervals at events.

If you wish to be involved, you can contact Co-ordinator John Dean on deangriss@btinternet.com or ring him on 07889 554931.

More information on the week can be found here at www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org and on Facebook.

You can follow Kirkcudbright Book Week on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/Kirkcudbright-Book-Week-100188034783296

The dates have been announced for Kirkcudbright Book Week 2023, which is making a welcome return after twice being cancelled due to the covid outbreak – and now the organisers are seeking sponsors.

The week, which will take place between Monday February 27 and Saturday March 4, 2023, is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright

and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area and will feature both professional and aspiring authors.

Events will include poetry and prose performances as well as film and music and the programme will be unveiled later in the year.

Kirkcudbright Book Week has been organised by  Kirkcudbright Book Week Society, which is supported by a number of local organisations and venues, and which is now seeking sponsors for the event.

Book Week Co-ordinator, the crime novelist John Dean, said: “Having been forced by coronavirus to cancel the event for two years in a row, we are looking forward to its return in 2023.

“As with all events like Book Week, funding is a constant challenge and we have to raise every penny ourselves.

“We already have several sponsors who are either supporting individual events or the week generally but more would be greatly appreciated and it’s an excellent opportunity to be associated with something really exciting.”

If you or your business or organisation wish to be involved, you can drop John a line on deangriss@btinternet.com You can find out more about Kirkcudbright Book Week by visiting http://www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org or following the event on Facebook – search for Kirkcudbright Book Week.

The dates have been announced for Kirkcudbright Book Week 2023, which is making a welcome return after twice being cancelled due to the covid outbreak.

The week, which will take place between Monday February 27 and Saturday March 4, 2023, is designed to celebrate the developing literary scene in Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway area and will feature both professional and aspiring authors. Events will include poetry and prose performances as well as film and music.

Kirkcudbright Book Week has been organised by  Kirkcudbright Book Week Society, which is supported by a number of local organisations and venues, many of which will be featured in the programme.

If your organisation wishes to be involved, or you wish to volunteer to support the week, you can contact Co-Ordinator John Dean on deangriss@btinternet.com or 07889 554931

The website is www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org You can also follow the event on Facebook.

Kirkcudbright author Anne Micklethwaite, a member of the town’s Gallery Writers group,  has published a collection of poetry.

A Cup of  Tea and a Poem reflects the way that Anne’s work often echoes the legendary Japanese female poets who identified with the cycles of nature in order to deal with loss. This is clearly shown in “Wave Lullaby”, where she consoles all of us who have loved and lost:

“as though rocked

in water’s comfort

where all tears join

in one blue ocean

that knows no parting.”

 She also tells us stories, as in “Jam Making”, with its deeper meaning of preserving memories.  There is a lot of sharp observation i.e – “New moon, nail paring” and  “jigsaw marked cattle”.

There is much joy and radiance in Anne’s poems. Nature dances and the sun shines as often as the moon.

The book can be purchased at:

The Gallery – Kirkcudbright

Thompson’s News – Kirkcudbright

Gallovidia Books – Kirkcudbright

The Galloway Lodge – Gatehouse of Fleet

Barry Smart, newsagent, – Castle Douglas