Big DoG is the annual family festival for Dumfries.

Named in honour of Nana, the big dog who looks after the Darling children in Peter Pan, the festival is based in Moat Brae, home of J.M. Barrie and Scotland's Centre for Children's Literature. 

This year, Hooked, our festival for young people, will be teaming up with the Big DoG weekend to create an inclusive family festival. Through workshops and events with leading writers and practitioners, Hooked is the gateway for the next generation of authors and artists.

Constant and dedicated champion of the Book Festival since its inception, the Essay Prize was established in honour of Anne Brown’s contribution within Wigtown as well as her astonishing career and her cultivation of new talent in journalism. The £1,500 prize will be awarded for the best literary essay, published or unpublished, by a writer in or from Scotland.

Looking for your next read? Our online bookshop stocks all the titles from our 2022 festival, including bestsellers and local authors, memoirs, poetry collections and history books, among many more.

We can also order any new title we don't stock to have delivered to your door. Each sale helps support the work of Wigtown Book Festival.