Stars of stage, screen and literature will be in the Scottish Borders this weekend for the Baillie Gifford Borders Book Festival (15th-18th June) in the stunning setting of Harmony Gardens in Melrose.
Thursday sees actress Anne Reid, star of Dinner Ladies and Last Tango in Halifax, opening the four-day festival with her one-woman show of songs and anecdotes spanning her 50-year career. Some of the other big names taking to the stage over the weekend include Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star John Cleese; TV legend Michael Parkinson; bestselling novelist Joanna Trollope; top international tennis coach Judy Murray; and TV’s wildlife adventurer Steve Backshall.
Politics and our rapidly changing world are central themes for this year’s festival, with expert talks and debates by those in the know: broadcaster James Naughtie, who reported throughout the US election, now imparts his view on the surprise result and what lies ahead; former BBC correspondent Allan Little delivers the inaugural Brewin Dolphin Lecture on the ever-changing political climate and implications for the future; distinguished journalist Misha Glenny, as part of the new Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Non-Fiction series of events, talks on Russia’s use of cyber warfare on western democracies and Rory Bremner gives his unique post-Election view.
This year’s 100 event-strong programme includes gardening expert Carol Klein; No. 1 crime writers Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Mark Billingham and Ann Cleeves, best known for the TV hit series Vera and Shetland; and Top Gear and The Grand Tour TV script editor Richard Porter, who’ll talk about what it’s really like to work with Jeremy Clarkson. One time Labour MP and Chair of CND, Joan Ruddock also talks about her life as a political campaigner, a woman ahead of her time.
Louise Gray, author of The Ethical Carnivore, will question modern attitudes to meat, while MasterChef judge and restaurant critic Jay Rayner returns to Melrose with an audio-visual romp through his Ten (Food) Commandments; and Sumayya Usmani continues her journey of discovery through the exotic cuisine of her native Pakistan.
Bringing a sense of adventure to this year’s book festival, singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack tells the enthralling story of ‘The Un-Discovered Islands’, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent describes a journey across Arunachal Pradesh, India’s forgotten frontier, and Jamie Jauncey tells the story of Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, a dashing aristocrat, socialist and founding president of the Scottish National Party.
The SBHA (Scottish Borders Housing Association) Family Book Festival runs throughout the Saturday and Sunday with fun and entertainment from an array of much-loved children’s authors including Philip Ardagh, Guy Bass, Vivian French, Petr Horacek and Derek Landy, bestselling author of the Skulduggery Pleasant series. This year, adults get to go free to any SBHA Family Book Festival event so long as they are accompanied by at least one child!
Almost 2000 children and teachers from primary schools across the Scottish Borders will also attend the Schools Gala Day on Thursday 15th.
Entry to Harmony Gardens is free, and there’s plenty to do and enjoy between events with live music; a street market offering food, drink and gifts; a family-friendly tented food village with some of the finest produce from across the Borders and Scotland; champagne and whisky tastings, as well as a bookshop to browse in, and free events including kids’ storytelling, circus skills and stilt walkers.
The winner of this year’s prestigious £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction will be announced on Saturday 17th June, from a shortlist including Sebastian Barry, Rose Tremain and Graham Swift.
Alistair Moffat, Festival Director, said:
“In a climate of political turmoil and unease, we could all do with a dose of fun and entertainment, and the Baillie Gifford Borders Book Festival has it in spades. There are serious moments of reflection and contemplation too, as we examine our rapidly changing world.
This year the book festival has something for everyone and we look forward to welcoming our audience to Harmony Gardens to enjoy a truly memorable weekend.”
The festival welcomes the support of new headline sponsor Baillie Gifford and the ongoing sponsorship and backing of Scottish Borders Council, EventScotland, Brewin Dolphin, The National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Borders Housing Association, Arts & Business Scotland and the National Lottery through Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund, as well as the book festival’s many other loyal supporters. Local accountancy firm Douglas Homes & Co have contributed sponsorship funding towards meeting the running costs of the festival with match funding provided from Arts & Business Scotland’s New Arts Sponsorship Grants Programme. Douglas Homes & Co’s sponsorship of the festival is one of the last projects to receive match funding from the Programme as it transitions to the new Culture & Business Fund Scotland from April this year.
People can interact with the Borders Book Festival online using #bordersbookfest17. There’ll be daily video updates on YouTube and Facebook, as well as on Twitter and Instagram @bordersbookfest. Tickets can be booked online at www.bordersbookfestival.org, by calling 0844 357 1060 or at the Box Office at the festival.
David Watt, Chief Executive Arts & Business Scotland, said:
“Following the successful launch of the new Culture & Business Fund Scotland in April, it’s great to see one of the last sponsorships from its predecessor, the New Arts Sponsorship Grants Programme, helping to meet the costs of running this year’s Borders Book Festival with the generous support of Douglas Homes & Co. This is a really great example of mutually beneficial collaboration between business and the cultural sector.
