THE writer Ian Rankin is to be a guest at this year's Islay Book Festival.
Rankin has said the trip to the festival, which runs from August 29 to September 1, will be “a bit of a pilgrimage”.
Other literary figures attending the event is Scotland’s Makar, or poet laureate, Jackie Kay and novelist Karen Campbell.
Children’s author Philip Reeve, creator of the award-winning Mortal Engines series will be accompanied to Islay by illustrator-collaborator Sarah McIntyre.
Sir Tom Devine has agreed to discuss The Scottish Clearances.
For Rankin, the trip will mean walking in the footsteps of his late friend and fellow writer Iain Banks, who spent time on Islay while researching his acclaimed whisky travelogue Raw Spirit.
"I’ve been a long-term fan of (Islay malt) whiskies like Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Caol Ila,” Rankin said.
"With Rebus it depends on who’s buying. If someone else is buying he’ll go for an expensive malt but if he is buying himself he tends to go for the cheaper stuff. But he has always got a couple of good bottles at home and last thing at night he does that thing that I do as well after a hard day’s writing, which is have a whisky or two and relax.
"Bowmore was my Dad’s favourite whisky.
"He is no longer with us alas but I used to get him a bottle for his birthday. So there’s definitely going to be a bit of a whisky pilgrimage going on when I go over to Islay."
Islay Book Festival is a volunteer-run event that began in a local book club in Port Ellen.
First staged in 2006, it was relaunched by a new team in 2017.
Islay is home to eight working distilleries.
www.islaybookfestival.co.uk
FUNDING decisions for the National Lottery of up to £5m are to be decided in Scotland after a shake up in the way money is distributed.
The Heritage Lottery Fund is changing its name to the The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and has unveiled new strategies for dispersing lottery funds.
There will a new focus on "Scotland’s nature and landscapes, communities, and on ensuring everyone is able to enjoy heritage."
The lottery money will also be used for loans, as well as grants.
It has also promised greater support for "Scotland’s two most under-funded and disadvantaged regions; North Lanarkshire, and Inverclyde."
Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Over the past 25 years, money raised by people who buy National Lottery tickets has profoundly changed how we view and engage with the UK’s exceptionally varied heritage.
“Over the next five years, The National Lottery Heritage Fund will inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage, distributing more than £1bn. So we will be making more decisions on funding locally and focusing on the heritage that really matters to people, creating jobs, bringing economic prosperity and improving people’s lives right across the UK."
Funding offers now include the National Lottery Grants for Heritage, "an open programme for any type of heritage project from £3,000–£5 million".
There will also be "heritage funding campaigns designed to fulfil strategic needs or funding gaps. The first two campaigns will launch in 2019 focussing on: helping organisations build their capacity and organisational resilience; and helping to build digital capabilities."
There will be two rounds of major grants of over £5m in 2020–21 and 2022–23.
This year, 2019, is the 25th anniversary of the National Lottery.
www.heritagefund.org.uk
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