Kirkcudbright Book Festival Committee
We bring different perspectives, skills and experience to create an inspiring, uplifting and enjoyable Festival for you to enjoy.
As well as the Committee, the Festival runs on the time and energy given by our group of enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers taking up the many essential roles to make the Festival a reality for you.
Chair: Naomi Johnson
With a background in community development and social entrepreneurship, I now work as a freelance event host, trainer and facilitator with a strong interest in environmental projects. I also get invited to speak at events aligned to my book ‘The World at 15mph… ish’, and in 2025 performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time. I am currently working on a new children’s story and am keen to support reading and learning for people from all ages - using books to motivate, educate and entertain. I read across a number of genres from easy read thrillers and crime to literary works and poetry alongside reference and travel books. Having lived in Kirkcudbright since 2017 and alongside the Book Festival I am also an active performer with my local amateur dramatics group.
Vice Chair: Rosie Ilett
I worked in community bookselling, publishing, librarianship and information work in the 1980s and early 1990s and am the author and editor of academic articles, book chapters, non-fiction collections and poetry on subjects including Central American dictators, disability, family, health and health care, modern Scotland, North American presidents, and performance art. I have always been a keen reader, especially of crime novels and American writing; my all-time favourite writers are Patricia Highsmith and Carson McCullers. I am delighted to continue my 40 years’ experience of organising community book events through involvement in Kirkcudbright Book Festival.
Programme Director: Gerry Hassan
I am a writer, commentator, event organiser and academic. I have organised numerous gatherings and bespoke festivals such as the Changing Scotland weekends in Ullapool of live music, film and talks (2002-15), was co-organiser of Scotland’s Festival of Ideas (2014-16) and am co-founder of Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival from 2023. I have widely published including a best-selling guide to the Scottish Parliament; Caledonian Dreaming: The Quest for a Different Scotland; an analysis of Scottish Labour: The Strange Death of Labour Scotland; and a study of Labour and Britishness: The People’s Flag and the Union Jack. Books containing short stories include Scotland 2020: Hopeful Stories for a Northern Nation and The Dreaming City: Glasgow 2020 and the Power of Mass Imagination. I have contributed to numerous books, written widely in the UK and international media and have always loved books, writing and ideas. My favourite writers include P.G. Wodehouse, George Orwell and Zygmunt Bauman.
Treasurer: Lesley Garbutt
I have worked with Dumfries and Galloway Library service since 1988. In that time, the service has developed, embraced new technology and continues to be a highly valued part of the community. Latterly, due to restructuring within the local authority, most of my time is spent in the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths but I am keen to keep the library at the forefront of events such as the Kirkcudbright Book Festival. Our primary target is inviting children and young people into the facility and encouraging reading and storytelling.
Social Media and Marketing: Maxine Burns
I ‘retired’ to Kirkcudbright with my husband in 2024 after a long & varied career supporting vulnerable children & young people’s language and communication skills. Figuring out and then teaching others about the complex relationship between language, literacy, learning & mental health was mostly a joy and the subject remains a fascination! Working at a senior level for a small/medium sized UK wide charity helped me develop all sorts of skills & I’m pleased to offer what I can to this great festival. I love to read, particularly for the quiet focus it gives me. Julian Barnes, Iain Banks and Ian McEwan are long favourites.
Committee Member: Alan McClure
I'm a writer and musician based in Galloway, where I was also a Primary School teacher for fifteen years. I've had three Middle Grade novels published - Callum and the Mountain, Callum and the Other and Jack's Well, as well as a number of short stories and poems. I co-host and produce Oor wee Podcast, a Scots storytelling show for Primary age children, alongside fellow storyteller Susi Briggs. I've been writing songs for over thirty years and perform regularly around the country, both alone and with a shifting cast of musical pals. I was elected Scriever for the Federation of Writers (Scotland) in 2025, in which role I've instigated a series of interviews with other children's writers. I've been involved with Gatehouse of Fleet's Midsummer Music Festival since its inception, and I was on the board for the Big Lit Festival for several years. I'm delighted to be a part of Kirkcudbright Book Festival and am looking forward to being involved in 2026's events.
Volunteer Co-ordinator: Sandie Gay
Background in healthcare education, training and assessment with some experience of organising events. I am an enthusiastic if no longer a prolific reader and these days mostly enjoy gentle fiction with engaging storylines which make me smile, laugh or cry. While I could list many favourite titles and authors, my go to books are Terry Pratchett's (I know - marmite!), enjoying his wit and wisdom set in a fantasy world with obvious parallels to the goings on in the real world. So pleased to be involved with this Festival and help bring great authors to Kirkcudbright.