Aye Write! book festival cancelled after failing to secure Creative Scotland funding

One of Scotland’s leading book festivals has been cancelled following the withdrawal of funding from Creative Scotland.

The Aye Write event, which originally launched in 2005, is currently operated by Glasgow Life, the leisure service of Glasgow City Council.

A spokesperson for the organisation confirmed that the festival will not go ahead this year: “Our 2024 funding application to Creative Scotland was not successful so Aye Write and Wee Write will not be able to take place as festivals this year. We appreciate this will cause considerable disappointment.

“The festivals’ delivery is dependent on securing external funding and while bids for funding support continue to exceed monies available, especially during the current difficult economic climate, some events will inevitably miss out.”

The announcement has been met with disappointment and support for the festival from authors, artists and politicians. Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon called the decision “really bad news”.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, she said: “Really bad news. I know money is tight but very much hope that a way is found to get @AyeWrite back on track.

“Books, culture generally, are so vital to our wellbeing – and never more so than in the troubled times we live in today. Book festivals are opportunities to celebrate the wonder of literature and those who create it. We mustn’t lose that.”

Sturgeon participated in last year’s event, sharing a stage with comedian Janey Godley.

Glasgow Life said it hoped the event would return in 2025: “Glasgow Life will organise some pop up Aye Write events during 2024 and will develop an application for multi-year funding starting in 2025, which if successful, means a return for the festivals next year.”

Creative Scotland has been contacted for comment.