Aye Write, the Glasgow literary festival that was cancelled last month after its funding application was turned down by Creative Scotland has announced that it will present a slimmed programme after an “unexpected, but very welcome” £65,000 donation.
The donation, from a foundation set up by the late lottery winner Colin Weir, will help fund a series of pop-up events throughout 2024, featuring authors including David Nicholls, Val McDermid and Lionel Shriver.
The full multiday festival – which last year saw 175 authors appearing in more than 120 events across 10 days – will still not go ahead. However, Wee Write, a festival for children and young people, will now go ahead in autumn on a smaller scale.
When the festival’s cancellation was announced, Aye Write said that it would be planning pop-up events. The donation “means there will be an increased number of these”.
Val McDermid, Douglas Stuart and Andrew O’Hagan were among the authors who criticised the cancellation of the festival after its application for £77,500 of funding was rejected.
McDermid said it was “profoundly depressing” that Glasgow “cannot sustain a book festival”, while Stuart called it “unacceptable”. O’Hagan said that the cancellation is “savage and it shouldn’t be happening”.
“Aye Write is a much-loved festival, which is apparent from the outpouring of support over the past few weeks,” said Annette Christie, chair of Glasgow Life, the council-funded charity that runs Aye Write. “The generous donation from the Colin Weir Charitable Foundation means it can continue to have a positive impact on Glaswegians and people throughout Scotland.”
Glasgow Life said it will continue to develop a multi-year funding application to Creative Scotland for future festivals. If the application is successful, Aye Write will return in full in 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Along with Nicholls, McDermid and Shriver, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and the actors Alan Cumming, Kieran Hodgson, Forbes Masson and Doon Mackichan will feature at the pop-up events. Writers Damian Barr, James Ley, GT Karber, James O’Brien and Chris Brookmyre are also slated to appear, as well as the Herald editor Catherine Salmond and National Theatre of Scotland chief executive Jackie Wylie.
“We are pleased to be able to support Aye Write to put on a programme of great events in 2024,” said a spokesperson for Weir’s foundation. “It was unthinkable that Aye Write should be silenced until next year. Happily, the donation means that won’t be the case.”
Tickets for pop-up events are on sale at ayewrite.com.
