I usually tend to shy clear of US and Uk book festivals, which get plenty enough coverage elsewhere, but make an exception for those that drive home a key theme of TNPS – that we are witnessing a digitally driven Global New Renaissance quite unparalleled in human history, and that, far from books being the victims of the distractions of social media, video streaming, etc, the publishing industry is itself enjoying a renaissance.
TNPS reported earlier this month on the record-breaking attendance set in Washington and Bradford, at a time when, supposedly, fewer people are reading.
UK’s Bradford Lit Fest and USA’s Washington National Book Fest see record attendance
Now comes news that Scotland’s very own national book town, Wigtown, has set new records for advance ticket sales as the festival opens today. The festival will run until September 30.
For those unfamiliar, Scotland is part of the UK (but categorically not England!) and Scotland’s book sales will be counted in the UK statistics.
The Wigtown Book Festival can be followed on twitter: @WigtownBookFest
Follow TNPS for daily tweets about the global publishing scene: @thenewpubstd
