THE opening chapter of James Hogg's 250th anniversary celebrations will take place in Melrose.

Fondly known as the Ettrick Shepherd, the largely self-taught Hogg was to become one of the country's greatest poets, essayists and novelists.

Although highly regarded during his life, the interest in Hogg's work intensified in the decades and centuries after his death in 1835.

His most famous novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, remains one of the most influential and studied novels of the Scots Romantic period.

A public symposium will take place later this year at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, followed by an international conference during the summer in Stirling.

But the celebrations will begin on Tuesday, February 4 at the Ormiston Institute in Melrose.

Melrose Literary Society will welcome Dr Adrian Hunter, senior lecturer in English Studies at the University of Stirling, to discuss Hogg.

Dr Hunter's main research interest is the short story in 19th and 20th century British, Irish and North American literatures.

Much of his recent work has explored the short story in a transatlantic setting.

And his edition of Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner has been continuously in print since 2001 and is widely used on university courses around the world.

An edited volume of Hogg’s contributions to newspapers and magazines beyond Scotland will be published Edinburgh University Press in 2020.

A book examining the influence of Scottish writing, including Hogg’s, on the work of the Canadian Nobel laureate Alice Munro is also in preparation.

Dr Hunter's talk will be, Brethren beyond the Atlantic: James Hogg and America.

He said: "It has been claimed that James Hogg was at least as well known to American readers in the 19th-century as Burns or Scott. Is this true?

"What does the evidence show?

"More broadly, what do we know about Hogg’s dealings with American publishers, and his influence on American writers?

"This talk will consider Hogg as a Scottish writer of international reach and significance, whose presence is still strongly felt across the Atlantic, not least in the work of Nobel prizewinner - and collateral descendant of Hogg’s - Alice Munro."

The lecture will take place from 7.30pm on February 4.

Peter Hoad, secretary of Melrose Literary Society, told us “We are very pleased to have such an internationally recognised authority come to talk to us about a local writer.

"Even people familiar with Hogg as a novelist will find new light on his very prolific writing.”

Admission for non-members on Melrose Literary Society is £4.