Glasgow literary festivals cancelled

Two literary festivals in Glasgow have been cancelled after a funding application to Creative Scotland was unsuccessful.

Glasgow Life, the charity that runs the Aye Write and Wee Write festivals, said the events will not take place this year after it failed to secure financial support from the public body.

"While bids from events for funding support continue to exceed monies available—especially during the current difficult economic climate—some events will inevitably miss out, and we recognise that decision-making around funding award recipients is extremely challenging," the charity's website said.

"Unfortunately, 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."

The charity added that it will organise some pop-up events during 2024 and develop its funding application for next year.

Scottish authors have been among those raising concerns about the situation.

Val McDermid said it was “profoundly depressing” that Glasgow “cannot sustain a book festival”, while Stuart called it “unacceptable”. O’Hagan said the cancellation is “savage, and it shouldn’t be happening”.

Douglas Stuart also said there was “righteous outrage” over the cancellation.

“I have watched in horror, as Scotland has haggled over funding for the arts, has closed her libraries, and now has allowed the cancellation of a major literary festival in her largest city,” he posted on X.