Piecing Together The Hoolie Jigsaw!

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!

Books, Books, Books!

Here at Team Hoolie, we read a LOT of books!

That’s partly because we’re all great book-lovers. But it’s also because of our dedication to creating the very best experience for our audiences each November.

When putting together the programme for the festival every year, we consider dozens and dozens of books and authors. Only the very best make it on to our shortlist.

We’re looking for variety, of course, as well as books that will excite, interest and pique the curiosity of the hundreds of people who make the journey to Mallaig each year.

Even then, we need to be sure each book selected truly lives up to its blurb. And that’s when the reading starts! We work our way through piles of books so we can honestly say that every title chosen to feature on the Hoolie programme comes with our seal of approval.

This year, we were spoiled for choice. There are so many brilliant books being published at the moment, and whittling our list down wasn’t easy. We did it, though, and you can see full details of this year’s programme at www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com/programme-2025. Tickets are also now on sale at www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com/book-now.

Of course, we don’t limit ourselves to reading only potential candidates for inclusion in the Hoolie programme. Here are just a few of the books from our general reading list that we’ve enjoyed recently, for anyone who’s looking for recommendations or inspiration.

The Secrets of Blythswood Square by Sara Sheridan: a perfect summer read set in Glasgow and Edinburgh during the early days of photography.

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: a sweeping, epic, unforgettable novel which follows the lives of generations of an Indian family.

North Woods by Daniel Mason: an original, beautiful and magical story with a really powerful and resonant message for our times.

Gabriel’s Moon by William Boyd: a twisty-turny 1960s spy thriller that will keep you guessing till the end.

What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Ayama: a gentle, kindly reminder of the power of books and libraries from a hugely successful Japanese author.

Happy reading!

Our Programme For 2025

What an exciting week it’s been, with the announcement of the programme for A Write Highland Hoolie 2025! We’re thrilled to have a truly stellar line-up in store for you this November 7-9, and the good news is that tickets are now on sale from our website, with prices held at the same levels as last year.

The festival opens at 5.30 pm on Friday November 7 with the multi-talented author and singer-songwriter Malachy Tallack, who will be reading from his latest novel, That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz, and playing music from the soundtrack album that accompanies the book. After-dinner musical entertainment for ticket holders and hotel residents will be provided by talented duo Donald Livingstone and Iain Cameron.

Saturday’s packed programme begins with Dundee writer Michelle Sloan, whose gripping novel Mrs Burke and Mrs Hare tells the dark tale of the wives of Edinburgh’s notorious serial killers Burke and Hare. Then award-winning poet Jim Carruth will read from his critically acclaimed collection, The Auchensale Trilogy, and share new work inspired by Scotland’s rural heritage.

Galloway-based novelist Karen Campbell kicks off a great Saturday afternoon with This Bright Life, which tells the heartbreaking, yet humorous and hopeful, story of twelve-year-old Gerard, a bright kid who doesn’t always make good decisions.

Karen will be followed by writer Andrew Fleming, whose book The Gravity of Feathers draws on previously untapped sources and fresh insights to tell the story of St Kilda from earliest times up to the evacuation and its aftermath, overturning the traditional view of the circumstances that led to the last islanders being evacuated in 1930.

Staying with the island theme, Coinneach MacLeod, the Hebridean Baker, takes us on a journey through Scotland’s rich culinary heritage, sharing recipes and stories to tempt our tastebuds and stir our memories. Then we settle down for an unmissable event in the company of master storyteller and international best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, one of Scotland’s most prolific and best-loved writers.

Saturday’s after-dinner entertainment for ticket holders and residents will be provided by musicians Iain MacFarlane and Ingrid Henderson, who will create a lively ceilidh atmosphere to keep the party going into the wee small hours.

Film-maker and illustrator Jane Smith starts Sunday in style with her book Community: People and Wildlife on the West Coast of Scotland, a gloriously illustrated account of her exploration of ten locations in the west of Scotland and the interaction between people and wildlife in a variety of diverse settings.

Our traditional Remembrance Day reading is followed by D.V. Bishop, author of the highly acclaimed Cesare Aldo historical thrillers set in Renaissance Florence, whose latest novel, Carnival of Lies, has been described as ‘the best Aldo book yet’.

Sunday’s afternoon event is a delight for all dog-lovers! BBC Alba presenter Peter MacQueen shares shaggy dog stories from his new book, Tails of Scotland: The Story of Scottish Dogs. 

Our final event of the weekend sees children’s author Alan Windram leading an all-singing and dancing event based on his book, One Button Benny, with tea and cake provided by Mallaig Primary School parents and Gaelic songs from the children. All are welcome at this fun event which brings A Write Highland Hoolie to a close for another year.

Tickets are priced at just £8 for daytime events and £14 for evening sessions and are on sale now from www.a-write-highland-hoolie.com/book-now. To enquire about hotel reservations, call 01687 462210. We’re looking forward to sharing A Write Highland Hoolie with you!