5 Questions with The Stove
Katie Anderson represents The Stove
Tell us about your connection to Wigtown and the Book Festival
The Stove is an artist-led collective based in Dumfries, and last year our first permanent artwork, The Ferrybell Tower was commissioned in nearby Creetown. We became interested in the connections between the two towns, with Creetown as a crossing point over the Cree and Wigtown as the focal market town. I think we have all been coming to the Book Festival for years, but I also brought my project Voices From the Phone Box to festival last year as part of the first Environmental Arts Festival Scotland (co-produced by The Stove).
Sum up your festival experience in 5 words
Inspiring, intimate [with a] friendly community atmosphere.
What's your favourite festival memory?
Possibly when I met and chatted to Deirdre Nelson about her work as part of my dissertation research in a cosy corner of Shaun’s bookshop a few years ago.
It was also really exciting watching Wigtown coming alive in the run up to the festival last year, and the atmosphere in all the local bookshops and cafés really adds to the close community feel of the Book Festival. We are really hoping to add to that buzz this year with our project, Trading Journeys.
Who would be your dream author to appear at the Festival?
We opened this up to suggestions from the wider Stove team and the suggestions that came back were:
Katie Anderson: Michael Symmons Roberts
Will Marshall: Margaret Atwood
Belle Doyle: Vaclav Havel
Matt Baker: William Blake
Give our visitors one recommendation or top tip for Wigtown, the Festival or D&G
Wigtown’s bookshops are a treasure trove, make sure and leave yourself enough time to find some new gems to take home with you.
Go and see an author you know nothing about, you may leave with a new love: last year my favourite new find was Tim Dee’s Four Fields.
And of course, we naturally recommend you come and see and participate in our event Trading Journeys, taking place on Saturday 27th September as part of the 2014 festival.