Festival at a Glance
All events take place in the festival marquees opposite Auchinleck House. If you would like to see each marquee's individual run of events, please click here for The Boswell Marquee and here for the Life Writing Marquee.
Timed tours of Auchinleck House are available for ticket holders at £2 per person. Please book your tour when you purchase tickets. Click here for tour times.
Click on each event's title for more information.
Friday 11 May
| 9.45am | School's Day 'Ready Steady Write!' with Vivian French and Cate James sponsored by Baillie Gifford |
| 6.00pm | Picnic & Drinks with the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra |
| 7.30pm | Dr Johnson's Dictionary of Crime Comic thriller by David Ashton starring Timothy West as Dr Johnson set in the London Underworld of 1781 Boswell Marquee |
Saturday 12 May
| 10.30am &12.00pm | Vivian French at 'Boswell in the Square' Cumnock May Fair - stalls, children's activities, free talks by popular children's writer |
| 11.30am | Sally Cline Secrets and Discoveries in Biography Co-author of seminal handbook on life writing on the challenges of writing biography Life-Writing Marquee |
| 12.00pm | Sarah Bradford In Diamond Jubilee Year, doyenne of royal biographers talks about The Queen and her times Boswell Marquee |
| 2.00pm | Tam Dalyell Renowned for his awkwardness and independence talks about family influences and his 43 years in parliament Boswell Marquee |
| 3.00pm | Eleanor Thom - Memoir or Fiction Prize winning Ayr novelist talks about writing her family story as fiction Life-Writing Marquee |
| 3.30pm | Richard Holloway Writer, thinker and outspoken former Bishop of Edinburgh gives a compelling account of his life Boswell Marquee |
| 4.30pm | David Ashton - Archive Brought to Life Creator of Inspector McLevy radio and book series talks about historical fact and fiction Life-Writing Marquee |
| 5.00pm | Tony Banks Former para and 'Secret Millionaire' gives a first-hand account of the Falklands War Boswell Marquee |
| 6.00pm | Billy Kay - I Wish I'd Asked TV and radio oral historian reveals the technique of recording life stories for posterity Life-Writing Marquee |
| 6.30pm | Christopher Ward The Titanic sank as the band played on and took with it the violinist; his grandson tells the dramatic story Boswell Marquee |
| 8.00pm | Zdenka Fantlova After three concentration camps, Zdenka thought she would die in Belsen but survived thanks to an unknown British soldier Boswell Marquee |
Sunday 13 May
| 11.00am | Sally Cline – Life Writing Master Class Two hours tuition from the author of the key text on the subject; Limited spaces Life-Writing Marquee |
| 12.00pm | Janice Galloway 1970s Saltcoats is the setting for the latest memoir of this brilliant Ayrshire writer Boswell Marquee |
| 1.30pm | Ruth Boreham - Who Do You Think You Are? Scottish researcher for the BBC TV series takes us behind the scenes Life-Writing Marquee |
| 2.00pm | Gordon Turnbull Head of Yale's Boswell archive, brings to life Boswell's passionate defence of a sheep stealer facing execution Boswell Marquee |
| 3.00pm | James McGonigal - Capturing the Life of a Friend Edwin Morgan's biographer explains the challenges of depicting someone close to you Life-Writing Marquee |
| 3.30pm | Timothy West One of our greatest actors talks about his life including famous roles such as Churchill and Edward V11 Boswell Marquee |
| 4.30pm | John Byrne & James Holloway - Brush v Pen What do you learn about people's lives from portraiture and photographs Life-Writing Marquee |
| 5.30pm | Festival Finale Timothy West, John Byrne, Gordon Turnbull and others will read, riff and declaim on Boswell and biography Boswell Marquee |
Satellite Events
- Cumnock's May Fair - Boswell in the Square
- Dumfries House
- Yale University @ University of the West of Scotland
- Tutored Tastings by Grant's Whisky
- Open Morning at Boswell Aisle
Enjoy A Great Day Out at Boswell Book Festival 2012
Stay and linger in this magical setting. If you've booked a tour of Boswell's study and library, enjoy hearing from the experts about his life in the House. Take time to browse in the Milngavie Bookshop and graze in the Festival Café Bar run by the brilliant Louis, from the nearby Dumfries Arms Hotel. Bask in the sun – yes, we are determined it will be sunny – and enjoy an ice cream made down the road by Ayrshire Farmhouse Ice Cream. If the forecast says otherwise, come prepared with umbrella and stout shoes.
The Milngavie Bookshop
Is one of the treasures of the book trade, an independent bookshop run by the fabulous Susan Frize. Susan will be there offering a wide selection of titles by our authors.
Book Signings
Authors will be delighted to sign copies of their books immediately after their events.
Festival Café Bar
Run for the Festival by the Dumfries Arms Hotel, give into temptation and enjoy a mouth watering selection of teas, coffees, soft drinks, savouries and cakes. Take a chilled white wine or a full red into a session or enjoy them in the company of friends in the relaxing atmosphere of the Café bar itself.
Ice Creams
Whatever the weather treat yourself to one of the wonderful flavoured ice creams made from the cream of our famous Ayrshire cows and on sale from the Ayrshire Farmhouse Ice Cream's stand.
