ABOUT NESSBOOKFEST

The inaugural NessBookFest took place in November 2016 and returned the following year with a taster day at Inverness Town House on 9th September, followed by the main festival in October 2017, with an extensive programme of performances by both local and visiting authors.

NessBookFest is organised and run by the community, for the community. As a matter of principle, our events are free to attend and held in accessible, central locations throughout the city, to encourage not only the regular book festival demographic to attend, but also to reach those who have never been to a book festival before. Our guest authors write in a wide range of genres for all age groups, collectively offering an appealing and diverse programme for audiences.

This festival, and our programme of year-round events, showcase the Inverness area as a creative centre, which produces a considerable amount of home-grown talent. We provide opportunities for local emerging authors to share a platform with well-established writers from further afield. Reflecting and celebrating the strong arts scene in Inverness and the Highlands, NessBookFest is of benefit to the whole community.

Our Aims are:

• To run a no-barriers book festival in Inverness, being inclusive on all grounds such as: cost, social background, ability, age and ethnicity.
• To develop and strengthen links with other organisations and community groups thus enabling an increase of event outputs and impact.
• To hold pop-up events throughout the year, providing more opportunities for the community to participate, as well as more widely publicising and creating interest for our main Festival in October

NessBookFest gratefully acknowledges support and funding in 2021 from the following organisations: