The Mallaig Book Festival
A Write Highland Hoolie!
7 - 9 November 2025
A Write Highland Hoolie Hoolets
The Hoolie Hoolets programme of author events and workshops in local schools, including those in the Small Isles and Knoydart, is an integral part of A Write Highland Hoolie. It caters for both primary and High School pupils and includes annual creative writing and artwork competitions.
Every year, the festival culminates in a children’s prize-giving tea party which is free to attend and is open to all. This includes an interactive session of song and dance with multi-award-winning Oban author and publisher Alan Windram, and Gaelic singing from pupils of Mallaig Primary School.
As Mallaig High School has a reputation for producing fine traditional musicians, we also run the Hoolie School of Music Sessions whereby the revered musicians who participate in the Hoolie hold a workshop for senior music pupils.
A Write Highland Hoolie is a magical and unique weekend of book adventure. The magic also extends to surrounding schools and as an illustrator, I've been lucky enough to do several workshops at both the local primary and high school. It's a joy to witness what these talented young folk can conjure up from their imaginations and within the context of budget cuts, I hope that these visits affirm the absolute necessity of the arts in our lives. A Write Highland Hoolie is truly a gem of a book festival! Kate Leiper, artist and illustrator.
Authors 2025
Barbara Henderson
Barbara Henderson is the award-winning author of twelve books, including her latest children's adventures, To War with Wallace and I Don't Do Mountains. Her historical fiction is widely studied in Scottish schools and has won several prizes, including two Young Quills Awards from the Historical Association. She has also written two non-fiction books for adults, called Scottish by Inclination and Made from Girders. Barbara is based in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, with some of Scotland's most dramatic landscape on her doorstep. She splits her time between writing and teaching Drama - but spreading the story-love in schools is what she enjoys most! She loves to deliver lively and interactive visits to schools all over Scotland, running author events and drama workshops based on her books, and is also happy to focus on creative writing, puppetry and using historical research in stories.
Alan Windram
Much-loved Hoolie regular Alan is the award-winning author of the hugely popular One Button Benny series of picture books. One Button Benny was the winner of the Bookbug Picture Book Prize in 2019. Alan is on the road for much of the year, taking part in book festivals and school and library events. He loves meeting children, telling stories, singing songs and doing some robot dancing. His events are highly interactive, full of songs, images, stories and lots of fun, with audience participation obligatory! Alan is a publisher and co-founder of children’s indie publisher Little Door Books. In 2019, he won the Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year award. He’s also an accomplished singer-songwriter with four independent albums of original songs under his belt. He has toured extensively with some of Scotland's top musical artists. Alan lives near Oban with his wife and two cats Sparkie and George.