THE FIFE ARMS LAUNCHES BRAEMAR LITERARY FESTIVAL
Books, Scotland, great authors and the hotel that is no 1 on our bucket list? What’s not to love?
Bestselling Scottish writers including the crime novelist Ian Rankin and celebrated poet Jackie Kay are among the headliners at the inaugural Braemar Literary Festival this October. The Festival, based at The Fife Arms, in the village of Braemar in the Cairngorms, will be held from 7th - 9th October, and comprise a three-day line-up of talks and lectures by writers, poets, public figures and artists. Plus, free workshops and a pop-up ‘Poem & A Pint’ programme.
Other guests will include the Literary Editor of The Spectator, Sam Leith; the novelist and biographer Justine Picardie; the former CEO of Faber & Faber Stephen Page; the food writer Tom Parker Bowles and the actress Genevieve Gaunt.
The Festival, in collaboration with The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room, comes three years after the elegant Highland Hotel hosted its Fashion Weekend in 2019 – and is the first time it has delved into the literary sphere. The Fife has previously gained a reputation as a creative hub – and its Literary Festival aims to further that with its line-up of spoken word performers, singer songwriters, scriptwriters, critics and publishers.
The events include Word Walks, a map-making exercise, in the spirit of Treasure Island, and walking tours to Robert Louis Stevenson’s house. Also, a reading of Braemar Commemorative Jubilee Poem by poet Gillian Shearer. Meanwhile, the pop-up ‘Poem & A Pint’ programme features “roving” Aberdeen poets Shane Strachan and Mae Diansangu, from Aberdeen, who promise to entertain customers in local cafés and bars with their spoken word performances.
Fife Arms guests who sign up for the Braemar Literary Festival room package will spend two nights there (inclusive of daily breakfast and dinner), and be treated to a specially curated three-course festival launch dinner cooked by Chef Angela Hartnett OBE. They will also have special access to private drinks receptions with festival speakers and supporters, dinner and post-dinner readings from invited authors, plus an in-room gift, and complimentary tickets to all festival lectures and events.
Non-guests of the hotel will also be able to book subsidised festival tickets (price capped at £10pp) which will grant access to all the Festival lectures held at St Margaret’s and Braemar Village Hall, plus free creative workshops, book signings at various village venues, and walks.