Faclan: The Hebridean Book Festival 2025 Programme
Faclan this year dwells on the long archipelago of the Outer Hebrides. Its weather and environment, language and divergent voices, traditions and future. There is memoir, marriage, meteorology. Even murder.
Halloween will take us to Uist in the 1930s, and Benbecula in 1857. We’ll revisit the traditions of suirghe, betrothal and marriage in Lewis and Harris. Travel the country with a Gaelic atlas of history and geography. Hear about how the past can be a manual for future development.
And finish with a musical ‘blast from the past’ from the origins of punk in 1976, and travel to the present day on a drag-race strip under the islands’ night sky. Oh, and you will never look at clouds the same way again.
All of the above, anchored by three classic films: The Edge of the World (1937), Whisky Galore (1949), The Maggie (1954) Look for events in Stornoway Library and Taigh Ceilidh too.
Roddy Murray
Head of Visual Arts & Literature
An Lanntair
MEETING POINT: WITHIN THE LEWISIAN
Jake Harvey & Helen Douglas
4PM FAMILY DRAW-ALONG
Ross Collins
2PM
THE MAGGIE (1954) Dir: Alexander MacKendrick
5PM
PAINTING THE SKY: THE ARTS & SCIENCE OF CLOUDS
Eddie Graham
10AM SUIRGHE, RÈITEACH, BEINIS: Courting, Bethrothal, Marriage
Margaret Stewart, Angus
Maclennan & Dr John Smith
7PM SWEENEY: AN INTERTONGUING
Rody Gorman
An Taigh Ceilidh
6PM SPOOKY STORYTIME
Stornoway Library
7PM
THE CADENCE OF A SONG: THE LIFE OF MARGARET FAY SHAW
Fiona J. MacKenzie
12PM
TRAVELS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY: A GUIDE TO GAELIC SCOTLAND
Coinneach Maclean
8.15PM
THE EDGE OF THEWORLD (1937) FOLLOWED BY RETURN TO THE EDGE OF THEWORLD (1978)
8PM BENBECULA
Graeme Macrae Burnet
2PM DRIFTING NORTH
Dominic Hinde
2PM ANESU AGUS NA CREUTAIREAN UISGE
Tawana Maramba Stornoway Library
5PM WHISKY GALORE (1949)
Dir: Alexander Mackendrink
7PM SONGWRITERS’ EVENT
Mike Winder
7.30PM BUZZCOCKS, BEETLES & CAMERAS
John Maher
E A L A N
E A L A N
SWEENEY: AN INTERTONGUING
Rody Gorman
TaighCeilidh
In this hugely ambitious multilingual work, acclaimed poet Rody Gorman recasts the mediaeval Irish text Buile Shuibhne – The Frenzy of Sweeney – into English, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. It’s a cacophony of voices, both broadening and focusing the story.
‘In Gorman’s brilliant reinvention, we are brought into a human, linguistic and poetic world that contains multitudes’
The Irish Times
‘An utterly extraordinary work … The variety, energy and invention is dazzling’
Robert Macfarlane
‘A milestone and a work of exceptional originality based on the Gaelic tradition’
Meg Bateman
‘ … a masterly sequence of poems’
Peter MacKay (Scotland’s Makar)
THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937)
8pm
AnLanntair
Loosely based on the depopulation and evacuation of the St Kilda archipelago in 1930, and filmed on Foula, the title is a reference to the Latin expression Ultima Thule (a distant unknown region; the extreme limit of travel and discovery.) One by one, the younger generation are leaving the old way of life for opportunities on the mainland…
Dir: Michael Powell
2pm
AnLanntair
FREE BUT BOOKING, VIA EVENTBRITE, IS ESSENTIAL
FREE BUT BOOKING, VIA EVENTBRITE, IS ESSENTIAL 6pm
The people have left, the lights have been dimmed, and the Library has gone to bed. Or so the grown-ups think…
Sneak in with your teddy bear, torch and blanket, wear your favourite PJs or dress up in your best Halloween costume and snuggle up for an enchanting storytime after dark in the Stornoway Library. Listen to twilight tales and songs as the sun sets. Hot chocolate and cookies will be provided. BYO teddy, torch and blanket. Bookings are essential. Come in costume or PJs.
Note: This is a children’s event, most suitable for ages 3-10 years. All grown-ups must be accompanied by a child. Maximum two grown-ups per child.
PAINTING
THE
SKY: THE ARTS & SCIENCE OF CLOUDS
Eddie Graham
5pm
AnLanntair
AUTHOR EVENT: £6 / £5
Eddie is an atmospheric scientist and lecturer in Geography, the Sciences and Sustainable Development at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
A former operational meteorologist, his first book "Clouds” was published by Princeton University Press in 2025.
Fiona J. Mackenzie
7pm AnLanntair
From the salons of Paris to the peat fires of South Uist, American folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw’s life was extraordinary. Devoted to preserving Gaelic song, story, and image, leaving a legacy that resonates internationally to this day.
AUTHOR EVENT: £6 / £5
Expect some extraordinary images from Halloween in the Uists in the 1930s, and Gaelic song.
Graeme Macrae Burnet is the author of five novels: the Booker-shortlisted His Bloody Project, which has been published in over twenty languages; the Booker-longlisted Case Study (named as one of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2022); the Georges Gorski trilogy - The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau, The Accident on the A35 and a Case of Matricide. Born in Kilmarnock, he now lives in Glasgow.
£10 COFFEE AND BREAKFAST ROLL INCLUDED
Love and marriage are universal. Endlessly played out on stage and screen, written about in novels, poetry, self-help books and agony columns, in songs, music, across continents, race and time. This event looks at formal traditions from courtship through to marriage in the Western Isles. With Mod Gold medallist and international Gaelic singing star Margaret Stewart on Suirghe and on song, Angus ’Gobhaig’ Maclennan on Rèiteach, and Dr John Smith on Banais to walk you down the aisle.
TRAVELS IN ANOTHER COUNTRY: A GUIDE TO GAELIC SCOTLAND
Coinneach Maclean
12noon
AnLanntair
Until relatively modern times Scotland was largely a Gaelicspeaking nation. Regions once described by Dr Samuel Johnson as remote as Borneo later became early centers of mass tourism and the focus of extensive travel writing.
This book explores Gaelicspeaking areas through their perspective, offering a deeper, more authentic understanding of their history and culture.
AUTHOR EVENT: £6 / £5
Coinneach Maclean is from South Uist. Trained as an archaeologist at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities he has had a diverse career, including deer farming, rural development and the heritage industry. He now lives in Skye.
Combined Event Offer: Attend this event and ‘Suirghe, Rèiteach, Bainis: Courting, Betrothal, Marriage‘ for only £15/£13
As part of Faclan: The Hebridean Book Festival, the following authors are speaking in Primary Schools and Sgoil Araich:Anne Ramsey, Ross Collins, Cathy Mary Nic A’Mhaoilein, Juliette Forrest & Shelagh Chaimbeul.
Some Faclan Òga events are supported by the Scottish Book Trust Literature scheme.
FAMILY DRAW-ALONG with Ross Collins
Tues28Oct,4pm
AnLanntair
ADULT £6 / CHILD £4
Halloween Book Launch of How to Scare a Mouse and a Bear with author and illustrator Ross Collins!
Join bestselling author and illustrator Ross Collins - creator of over 150 children’s books - for the spooky launch of his brand new Halloween story, How to Scare a Mouse and Bear! Discover how Ross makes his books, and get your pencils ready for a funfilled, spooky draw-along session.
Ross is the award-winning author of There’s a Bear on My Chair and The Elephantom, both adapted for the stage, and his books are loved in over 25 countries. When he’s not making books, he works with top animation studios like Laika and Disney.
Suitable for children aged 5–8 and their families.
