I, DANIEL Blake screenwriter Paul Laverty will return home when he appears at this year’s Wigtown Book Festival.
Laverty, who grew up in the Wigtownshire town, will attend the annual literary event for the first time.
The award-winning Ken Loach collaborator is among a series of famous names headed for Scotland’s National Book Town for the event, which runs from between September 22 until October 1.
Author Andrew O’Hagan is also set to appear, fresh from his keynote speech at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Denise Mina, Judy Murray and jockey Declan Murphy will also attend, as will broadcaster Gavin Esler and politicians-turned-writers Roy Hattersley and Alan Johnson.
A new international strand will discuss the upcoming Germany elections and Catalan referendum, the rise of France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the European view of Brexit.
Artistic director Adrian Turpin said: “Wigtown welcomes the world. It may be a small town in a remote part of south-west Scotland, but it’s also Scotland’s National Book Town, visited by an increasing number of book lovers from across the globe, many of whom have chosen to make their homes here.
“We feel it’s especially important to look outwards at this moment in history.”
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