Borders Book Festival 2006

The third Borders Book Festival will be held in Melrose from 22 to 25 June, and following the success of last year's festival, this year's event has tripled in size.

 There are also some new event venues this year - as well as the main marquee and the library at Abbotsford - events will be held at the Corn Exchange, the Morrison Hall at St. Mary's School and rooms at the Melrose Rugby Club.

More than 30 authors - including several big names - will be appearing in four venues across Melrose. Ian Rankin promises a sneak preview of the latest Rebus novel, The Naming of the Dead, and Val McDermid will talk about her new work as well as her most famous creation, Dr Tony Hill. Novelists, historians, biographers, poets, gardeners and cooks will travel to Melrose to talk about their work at events over the four day festival - some of the names on the programme are Jackie Kay, A.L. Kennedy, Sue Lawrence, Liz Lochhead, James Naughtie.

There is a fantastic line-up for the children's programme, including bestselling children's author Catherine McPhail, Mairi Hedderwick, author of the Katie Morag stories, and for ages 1-7, Vivian French and Ross Collins.

 
On Friday the Knight Frank Schools Gala Day will take place, and there will be sessions for children and young people throughout the weekend.

There are several ways to book tickets to events:

To book by telephone, call VisitScotland Borders Information Line on 0870 608 0404 and press option 1. You can also book in person at VisitScotland Borders Tourist Information Centres, by post by writing to VisitScotland Borders, Shepherds Mill, Whinfield Road, Selkirk TD7 5DT, or by email at bordersinfo@visitscotland.com.