Wigtown Book Festival appoints its own hermit

A lot of literary festivals have writers-in-residence, but Wigtown Book Festival has gone one better and appointed its own hermit

Writer Rober Twigger will be living in a hermit's grotto, specially constructed from timber found on the nearby beach, for the ten-day duration of the festival, which starts next Friday (23 September). Robert is also the festival's offical writer-in-residence, and will be talking about his most recent title, The Nile: A History. The festival tweeted the hermitship today, directing followers to a piece in The Independent.

Robert's grotto will be in the garden of The Bookshop in Wigtown. He will have a hosepipe so that he can wash.

Located in the south-west of Scotland, Wigtown Book Festival is Scotland's second-largest literary event. Wigtown, which boasts 16 bookshops and book dealers, is known as Scotland's National Book Town.

The Wigtown Book Festival programme includes appearances by a wide range of authors, a series of workshops, and outdoor events.

Website: www.wigtownbookfestival.com