Published: Wednesday, 27th June, 2007 14:23
Page-turning success of festival
By Border Telegraph Newsroom
Print Article
MELROSE became the literary capital of the Borders last week.
Thousands of keen readers flocked to the town for the fourth staging of the Borders Book Festival.
Four days of activities for all ages took place in and around the town, with the festival nerve centre being a huge marquee on the lawn at Harmony House, the National Trust for Scotland property.
Since its launch in 2004, the event has attracted the cream of writing talent from around the world.
This year’s staging was no exception, with a host of high-profile authors reading excerpts from their work and explaining how they approach the craft of writing.
Iain Banks, Bernard Cornwell, Bettany Hughes, Ian Rankin, Lord Robertson, Jeanette Winterson and James Naughtie were just some of the authors who took part in the packed programme.
Festival director Alistair Moffat was delighted with the response of the public and the writers.
He said: “I’m really sorry it’s all over because we had a superb time.
“The quality of the writers’ sessions was better than any other year.”
Unfortunately, the miserable weather did its best to spoil proceedings.
Sustained heavy showers on Thursday evening battered the marquee and led to PA problems.
Mr Moffat said: “I’ve never seen it rain so hard for such a sustained period.
“When Sarah Raven came on, she could barely be heard.
“It was a bit like talking on the phone with the dogs barking.
“The weather was truly horrible, but, once people got into the marquee, they didn’t care about that.
“They just concentrated on the space and the experience.
“In the end, we beat the conditions and enjoyed a marvellous time.”
But it wasn’t all backslapping and cheering.
Literary egos took a pounding during Panned, Rubbished and Slated!, when writers shared their bad reviews.
Was it a therapeutic experience?
Mr Moffat said: “It was, in a way.
“The guy who gave me my worst review came along, which I thought was pretty brave of him, and he was very sporting.
“We had a real old set-to at that session, but it was great fun.”
Highlights for the director included an audience of 450 children hushed by storytellers during the Children’s Book Festival and Ian Rankin providing the BBC with his best interview.
Mr Moffat said: “It’s become a bit of a tradition for Ian to give the festival a sneak preview of his next book.
“This time it was Inspector Rebus’s reaction to the death of actor Jack Palance.
“Well, you could have heard a pin drop.”
It’s unlikely there will be many bad reviews for a festival that is growing in stature.
Ticket sales of more than 5,000 comfortably topped last year’s figure.
With writers and audiences helping to spread the message, the fifth Borders Book Festival is anticipated eagerly.
One audience member described this year’s event as “the festival from heaven, the weather from hell.”
Mr Moffat’s three mud-spattered suits and a pair of ruined brogues are testament to that.
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