07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Boswell Book Festival returns this weekend
A range of events are being hosted at Dumfries House from Friday to Saturday.
The Boswell Book Festival opens the doors to Dumfries House this Friday, May 9, with a stellar line-up of celebrities and some of the best biographers around.
From bagpipes (Richard McLauchlan) to Buddism (Gelong Thubten) and Beethoven (John Suchet) as well as ballet (Wayne Sleep) there will also be laughs a-plenty with Pam Ayres, Helen Lederer and Dom Jolly.
As ever the festival brings writers who give insight to matters that matter - Nick Wallis on the Post Office scandal, John Sweeney on the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and tech expert Dr Tom Chatfield on how technology and AI will affect our future.
In a world where so much unrest unfolds on an almost daily basis, previous wars are on the agenda – World War 1 with local stories from the Sanquhar Boys and Boswell's Galloping Farmers; two sides of World War 2 - A War of Empire: Japan and Hitler's People and the Korean War discussed with Robert Lyman's Korea:War Without End.
Families are welcome with a full programme of events for children of all ages, including the Outdoor Classroom set in the glorious gardens of Dumfries House.
Festival Director, Caroline Knox, said: 'The months of planning, phoning and scheduling all our events are all worthwhile when we see the queues building for the various events.
'Our audiences are always keen to participate and we are looking forward to lively interaction and interesting questions.
'Fingers crossed that the sun shines on our beautiful venue where we welcome so many great writers each year.'
Inspired by Ayrshire writer James Boswell, the Boswell Book Festival is the world's only festival dedicated to memoir and biography.
For further details and to book tickets, visit:
