2022: Panels of new writers. Poetry, politics and medicine.
New committee member and author Caron McKinlay used her contacts to bring panels of crime writers and debut writers to our programme, while Lesley Riddoch and Gavin Francis appeared in Currie Rugby Club – a new venue for us. Their brands of politics and medicine really boosted our non-fiction offerings. Mary Paulson-Ellis was very well-received, as were our local poets Helen Boden and Dorothy Baird.
Local historian John Tweedie was remembered during a Bookfest walk along the Water of Leith. We were accompanied by his son and daughter and by Carol Tweedie, former committee member and local author.
Caron established the Festival’s presence on Twitter and set us up with a crowd-funding site before stepping down from the committee as she was relocating from the area.
Pentlands Book Festival: 6 Nov - 3 Dec 2025 