- Sep 23
- 4 min read
As this year’s A Write Highland Hoolie approaches, author and co-founder Polly Pullar reveals the West Highlands inspiration behind Mallaig’s book festival . . .
I had been on the island of Rum with BBC Scotland’s Mark Stephen and we’d gone to see the Manx shearwaters at night. I stayed an extra night in the West Highland Hotel afterwards because Freddy, my son, was scallop-diving at the time and the small boat he was working on was in at the harbour, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to see him.
The next morning at breakfast, Sine Davis, the hotel owner, came over and we got chatting. She knew I was a writer and she told me she was trying to think of ways to extend the season in the hotel. “Have you got any ideas?” she asked.
I wasn’t long back from Wigtown Book Festival and was filled with enthusiasm, so I just casually said, “Why not organise a little book festival?”
Sine just about bit my hand off! She said, “What a wonderful idea. I’d love to do a book festival.” We chatted for a bit and swapped email addresses, and then I went home and never really thought I’d hear any more about it. But it wasn’t long before Sine was back in touch. We met and discussed what we could do, and she said, “Would you organise it?” And although I didn’t know anything about organising book festivals, reluctantly, I said I would give it a go.
For that very first book festival, I had the idea that I wanted to recreate something very similar to the wonderful, almost impromptu events that used to take place in the Kilchoan Hotel on dark winter nights when the wind was howling and people would blow in on the gale. My parents owned the hotel for a few years, and I spent part of my childhood there.
There were wonderful characters in Kilchoan at that time, many of them musical. Not far away there was also the great Fergie MacDonald, and sometimes he would come down the peninsula and when he did, a real skite would develop, either in the hotel or the village hall. What I loved about these events was that people of all ages were involved. There were the farm men in their tackety boots who would sit with their arms folded on the edge and not get up and dance until they had been loosened up by a few drams, and the grannies who used to dance with the children, and the people who’d get up on the stage and perform and sing.
It was just wonderful, and it was very much about the oral tradition, with people chatting to each other and the stories flowing like burns in full spate. I loved it all, particularly the Gaelic singing. So that was the atmosphere I wanted to try to recreate, and Sine agreed totally, as she’d had very similar experiences growing up in Mallaig. And we wanted to somehow incorporate all of that with books and storytelling and people making friends.
That first year, I played it safe, inviting authors that I knew – people such as the wonderful Jess Smith, who I knew would get up and sing, and John Love, who had worked on the Isle of Rum and who was a great fiddle player and a real character as well. It was going to be a one-off, but that didn’t last, obviously!
There were the four of us to begin with – Sine, the wonderful Ann Martin, and the late Deirdre Roberts. We made lots of mistakes that first year, not least trying to do the book sales ourselves. I think we all ended up paying a fortune to osteopaths after humping big boxes of books around! We soon got on board with the wonderful independent Highland Bookshop of Fort William instead, which helped enormously.
One of the things that has made the Hoolie so good right from the start has been the support of Tearlach – Charlie – MacFarlane and his lovely wife Isobel, who knew my parents in Kilchoan. Charlie is probably one of the best storytellers I know, and he is also an exceptional musician. Every year at the Hoolie, he has given us a rendition of the SS Politician. And I think it’s people like Charlie and Isobel, and their son Iain MacFarlane and daughter-in-law Ingrid Henderson, who regularly play for us, who have made the Hoolie what it is. We owe them so much.
We thought about expanding, but if the Hoolie was bigger then I don’t think it would have that same atmosphere. It’s almost like a house party, and it’s amazing how many guests get up after a few drams and have a go at a song or a poem. Often, great talent emerges. It’s the people who make each Hoolie special, and our authors join in, too. It really is a uniquely West Highland take on a book festival.
A Write Highland Hoolie 2025 takes place from November 7-9 at the West Highland Hotel, Mallaig. Full details are available at www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com, where you can also buy event tickets.
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
In this month’s blog, we’re shining the spotlight on our two evening events at A Write Highland Hoolie 2025.
Tickets for these events cost £14, which is slightly higher than for our other events over the course of the weekend. But that’s because you get so much more for your money!
Each evening event is longer than our daytime sessions, offering even more opportunities to fully explore the books and authors featured – and for the audience to ask all their burning questions! Evening event tickets also include entrance to our popular after-dinner music in the bar sessions, which often stretch into the wee small hours and are lively, convivial affairs. Relax and enjoy the fabulous traditional ceilidh atmosphere with a refreshment or two from the West Highland Hotel’s well-stocked bar!
Our first evening event of the festival begins at 5.30 pm on Friday November 7th, when award-winning author and singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack joins us to talk about his wonderful new novel, That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz. Uniquely, the book is accompanied by an album of songs, and we’re looking forward to hearing Malachy perform some of them at his event.
As a special bonus treat from the Hoolie, all ticket-holders will receive a complimentary welcome dram when they arrive for Malachy’s event.
Afterwards, don’t miss the evening’s entertainment from Donald Livingstone and Iain Cameron of the Cast Ewe Ceilidh Band, who play their own style of Scottish and West Coast tunes and songs throughout the Highlands and Islands.
Donald, who is from Skye, plays guitar and fiddle and provides vocals. He has a particular love of the blues and rock, but turned his hand to Scottish traditional music after moving to Skye over 20 years ago. Iain, the band’s accomplished accordion player, is from Glenelg.
The Cast Ewe Ceilidh Band specialise in parties, ceilidhs, dances and just about anything else you can think of, so their Friday night session in the West Highland Hotel bar is sure to get A Write Highland Hoolie 2025 off to a fabulous start! Expect toe-tapping tunes and a lively atmosphere as the ceilidh comes to Mallaig.
Saturday’s evening event promises to be one of the highlights of A Write Highland Hoolie 2025. At 5.45 pm on November 8th, we’ll be in conversation with Alexander McCall Smith, one of the world’s most prolific and best-loved authors. Join us for an event filled with stories, warmth and humour, featuring a cast of characters that includes Botswana’s lady detectives, the residents of Edinburgh’s Scotland Street and many more.
The entertainment continues afterwards with talented local duo Ingrid Henderson and Iain MacFarlane. Together, they create a sound that’s reflective of the culture and beauty of their native West Highlands.
Ingrid has been in demand worldwide for many years and has toured with Gaelic supergroup Cliar. She was the youngest ever recipient of the Radio 2 Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award, winning it at the age of just 13.
Born and bred in Glenfinnan, Iain has been immersed in Highland music and song all his life and has become one of the most sought-after fiddlers in Scotland, best known for his role in the dynamic ‘Blazin’ Fiddles’.
Both now perform regularly with the Glenfinnan Ceilidh Band based in their home village, where they run Old Laundry Productions, a fantastic recording studio and rehearsal space – the ideal venue in which to produce their wonderful music.
Tickets for both evening events are now on sale at www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com/book-now, priced just £14 – a bargain!
- Jul 20
- 2 min read
A Write Highland Hoolie 2025 will take place from November 7-9 at the West Highland Hotel, Mallaig.
It’s always a fabulous occasion, and this year will be no different!
With just a few months to go until we all meet up once more for a weekend of books, music, friendship and conversation, what are the hard-working volunteers of Team Hoolie, who put together the festival each year, looking forward to most?
Treasurer Ann Martin is hoping to take time to enjoy all the events after months of planning.
“After the hard work put in by the team, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend with old and new friends, enjoying the wonderful programme Polly has yet again put together,” she says.
Angela Gilchrist, who helps out with the website and social media, is the newest member of the team.
“This will be my third Hoolie, and it’s become a highlight of my year. I love the creative energy of the weekend, the thrill of discovering new authors and discussing fresh ideas.”
Hoolie Director Polly Pullar is involved at every step of the process.
“So much planning goes into the Hoolie each year,” she explains. “As only a wee team, we each work away mostly by ourselves, compiling the various pieces that make up the culmination of the creative jigsaw we bring to you in November.
“The actual weekend goes so fast because it is full on. I love seeing everyone arriving in the hotel on the Friday night, having a quick catch-up with friends both old and new before it all starts, and we are off.
“I love the atmosphere and the fact that people from all walks of life gather. I love the fact that the authors don’t have a specific hideaway as at other book festivals and instead mingle with everyone (and if they do feel they want to get some peace, they can always go back to their rooms for a while!)
“I love seeing the friendly hotel team each year - many who are working hard behind the scenes to keep everyone happy. I love the fact that we can never guarantee the weather, but that does not matter for there is no need to move far, and we can guarantee a great time.
“It’s all here under one roof - fabulous book chat, fabulous music, lovely food and atmosphere and above all, a chance to forget all the gloom of the outside world and briefly relish another world altogether.
“On a very personal level, the Hoolie has given me the chance to meet some truly amazing creative souls, too many to mention, and to learn more about their lives and their talents. What started as a proposed one-off has now become an annual fixture, a cheery creative date in the diary that I am proud to be a part of.”
Tickets for this year’s events are now on sale at www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com/book-now. Accommodation in the West Highland Hotel can be booked by calling 01687 462210.
We’ll see you in Mallaig!
