THE Islay Book Festival has landed a cash windfall from the National Lottery Awards for All Scotland.
Since it first started in 2006, the Islay festival has firmly established itself as a part of the island’s thriving cultural scene. Now, for the first time, organisers will be able to take the festival to different locations reaching a wider and more diverse audience thanks to an award of £4,640 to Port Ellen Book Festival.
Isla Rosser Owen, chairwoman, said: ‘It’s a huge relief to receive this award as it means we can cover elements of the festival we were unsure we would be able to. We will be able to organise a much livelier festival with an increased variety of authors and events which we believe will help us to attract a younger audience.