Wigtown Book Festival

4 minute read • Last published: 5 March 2025

Wigtown Book Festival was created in 1999 to celebrate Wigtown in Dumfries & Galloway becoming Scotland’s National Book Town. It’s now one of the UK’s best-loved literary events.

Anne Barclay was born and raised in Wigtown and has been the festival's Operational Director for the last 18 years.

Her role is diverse - she’s responsible for the programming for children and young people, event logistics and production, founding and developing the Big DoG Children’s Festival, championing The Open Book bookshop holiday experience, fundraising, and working closely with their army of volunteers.

About Wigtown Book festival

Wigtown Book Festival plays a vital role in the local community, transforming the town into a vibrant cultural hub each year.

The main Wigtown Book Festival requires a team of volunteers, it takes place over 10 days hosting over 200 events including music, theatre, food and visual arts.

It engages locals through volunteering, workshops, and community-led events, creating a sense of ownership and pride. It also supports local businesses from cafés to bookshops, boosting the area’s economy.

Their ongoing work with local schools “aspires to make literature accessible to all ages and to inspire the next generation of readers and writers”. The festival also celebrates local talent, showcasing writers and artists, while inspiring creativity and strengthening community bonds, making it a cornerstone of Wigtown’s identity.

The importance of volunteers

Volunteers all celebrate at the Wigtown Book Festival
© Wigtown Book Festival

Volunteers are the heart of Wigtown Book Festival and it couldn’t take place without them.

With so many events taking place across the 10 days, Anne emphasised the importance of volunteers.

“Today there are more than 120 adult and youth volunteers supporting the annual festival and year-round activities - collectively they dedicate more than 2,000 hours a year.

“Volunteers are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure speakers and festival visitors have the best possible experience.”

Volunteers at the festival will do a wide variety of tasks. Anne said this includes distributing programmes, selling tickets in the box office, hosting and stewarding events, driving guests to and from public transport hubs, helping with admin in the office, setting up venues, running the festival bookshop, selling books at the end of every event, installing signage and so much more.

“Guests regularly tell us they feel like a member of Wigtown’s community while they are here and more often than not, that is attributed to the warm welcome and helpfulness of our volunteer team.”

Youth volunteers

The festival’s youth volunteers particularly support the delivery of their children’s and young people’s programmes. At the moment, they’re in the process of reestablishing a youth advisory team who will have a deeper engagement in planning and delivery of the event from 2025.

About their volunteers

“We have been developing our volunteer offer over a long period of time.” Anne and her team offer a structured approach to becoming a volunteer with a formal sign up process and reference requests. Volunteers are asked at the outset which volunteering activities they are keen to be involved in so that discussion can focus around those.

The festival offers training where appropriate to build skills and confidence and invite volunteers to gatherings throughout the year and briefings about the annual Festival from just before the programme launch until just before the event. Volunteers also receive a voucher to spend on tickets by way of a very small token of thanks.

Benefits of volunteering

Anne said “We’ve found that volunteers enjoy the opportunity to give something back to their community. They get the chance to meet like-minded people and share their own skills and experience for the benefit of the festival and town.

“Volunteering allows them to hear events they may not have chosen to attend if they weren’t volunteering at them, which often sparks new interests, discussion and debate.”

“We are incredible lucky to have a volunteer, volunteer coordinator who nurtures all our volunteers, particularly new ones to ensure they feel confident and comfortable in their roles and are communicated with regularly and clearly.”

What motivates volunteers?

“We’ve found that volunteers enjoy the opportunity to give something back to their community. They get the chance to meet like-minded people and share their own skills and experience for the benefit of the festival and town.

“Volunteering allows them to hear events they may not have chosen to attend if they weren’t volunteering at them, which often sparks new interests, discussion and debate.”

Support and advice

Reaching out for support

Anne has reached out for support in recruiting and offering a great volunteer experience. “We’ve had consistent support from Dumfries & Galloway Council who understand the immense value of volunteers to the charity and the importance of investing in them.”

They’ve also been supported by Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway for volunteer recruitment.

Wigtown Festival Company stays current with volunteer trends by collaborating with other cultural organisations in and beyond Dumfries & Galloway, attending industry events, and engaging in research on volunteer management.

Making the most of their advocates

“Our best advocates for volunteering with Wigtown Festival Company are our volunteers, who often encourage their friends to get involved and who provide open and honest feedback about their experience to help us to improve things every year. Their suggestions have ranged from providing a volunteer ‘uniform’ to be recognisable and part of a team, to the provision of a space for them to while away time between events.”

Advice

For anyone looking to develop their own volunteer policies, Anne advised speaking with other local event organisers.

“Talk to the people who already or might consider volunteering. Listen to what they want, need and expect from a role as a volunteer and what time and skills they are happy to bring to a voluntary role. Build relationships with them to ensure the experience is of mutual benefit and not one-sided for the organisation.

“We actively seek feedback from volunteers and adapt to evolving needs to ensure our programmes (whether for adult or youth volunteers) remain inclusive, rewarding, and aligned with best practices in volunteer engagement while also being at an appropriate level for what we are delivering.”

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