The World's only Festival of Biography and Memoir

A festival with a truly unique focus – celebrating life stories - the Boswell Book Festival is an established favourite on the Scottish cultural arts scene. Held at the magnificent Dumfries House in Ayrshire, it annually attracts a host of leading biographers, memoirists and famous personalities: such as Judi Dench, Ben Macintyre, Maggie O’Farrell, Matthew Parris, Sally Magnusson, James Naughtie, Neil Oliver, Susan Calman, Alfie Boe, Frank Skinner, Amanda Owen, Lady Anne Glenconner, Andrew O'Hagan and many more.

Explore the authors featuring on this year’s festival programme

Run over three days, at the heart of the festival is a programme of stories taken from the inspirational lives of people both past and present, all told through a combination of talks, film, theatre and music. In between events, you can soak up the atmosphere in our Festival Café Bar, browse the onsite bookshop and enjoy the wonderful grounds and amenities of Dumfries House Estate.

Along with the main festival we also run a hugely popular Children’s Festival, with storytelling talks and immersive activities, offering a brilliant, family friendly day out.

Most of the events from our main festival venues are live streamed, and recorded, so you can also watch them online from the comfort of your own home.

Boswell: The Father of Modern Biography

Inspired by the great Ayrshire writer James Boswell of Auchinleck, the unique theme is taken from the genre at which he excelled, namely the telling of people’s life stories. Establishing himself as the father of modern biography with the publication of The Life of Samuel Johnson, 1791, his Account of Corsica, 1768, was a groundbreaking travel book and his journals, first published in the 1950s, became best sellers worldwide. The 2020 Sky Arts series followed his travels in Scotland with Dr Johnson, as recorded in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1773.

The Boswell Book Festival is staged by The Boswell Trust, a Scottish registered charity whose Trustees include the most senior direct descendant of James Boswell, Margaret Boswell Eliott.