The wait is over for book lovers

Festival directors Paula Ogilvie and Alistair Moffat at Harmony House with the programme for this year's four-day spectacular. Photo: Johnston Montgomery.

Well-known names from the worlds of stage and screen, current affairs, politics, literature, and sport will take to the stage at the festival against the stunning backdrop of Melrose’s Harmony Garden.

The festival opens to a literary fanfare with the announcement of the winner of one of the UK’s leading literary prizes, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

All seven shortlisted authors – Lucy Caldwell, Adrian Duncan, Robert Harris, Elizabeth Lowry, Fiona McFarlane, Simon Mawer and Devika Ponnambalam – will converge from across the globe to hear the £25,000 winner announcement live on stage.

The packed programme continues, including: Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham; ex Labour Leader and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown; former Strictly judge and dance sensation Dame Arlene Phillips; actor and impressionist Jon Culshaw; comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti (and Monkey); prize-winning novelists Douglas Stuart, Robert Harris and Sebastian Barry; beloved sports commentators Archie Macpherson, Pat Nevin and Andrew Cotter; tennis champion and coach turned novelist Judy Murray; civil rights campaigner and distinguished lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy KC; Britain’s greatest archaeologist Sir Barry Cunliffe; leading political analyst Prof. John Curtice; and peeress and socialite Lady Anne Glenconner.

Joining the line-up, too, will be stars of the TV hit show The Great British Bake Off, Peter Sawkins,Giuseppe Dell’Anno and Rahul Mandal; long-time festival favourites Sally Magnusson and James Naughtie; award-winning Kenyan-Scottish storyteller Mara Menzies; multi-million-selling novelist Jenny Colgan; and crime-writing royalty Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Mark Billingham and Doug Johnstone, who are also all part of the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers who will close the festival on Sunday.

Veteran Borders Book Festival guest Rory Bremner will present a very special event with fellow comedian

Shaparak Khorsandi about their shared diagnosis of ADHD.

Principal Sponsor Baillie Gifford is sponsoring a number of events, including maritime archaeologist

Mensun Bound

talking about the discovery of Shackleton’s ship Endurance and sports adventurer

Mollie Hughes on exploring Scotland’s wild waters. As National Media Partner,

The Financial Times is hosting a series of events, including: former Celtic and Ireland manager

Martin O’Neill on his football career spanning five decades; The FT’s chief economics commentator

Martin Wolf explaining the crisis of democratic capitalism and how to fix it; as well as tips on navigating the cost of living crisis with practical money-saving advice and habit-changing tips from

The FT’s consumer editor Claer Barrett and The Batch Lady Suzanne Mulholland.

The McInroy & Wood Lecture is this year with

Kate Bingham, who has written a compelling account of her role

as Chair of the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine taskforce and the

race to get Britain vaccinated and out of lockdown. She will be in conversation with journalist

Tim Hames and Book Festival chairman Michael Moore.

This year the Book Festival will mark the Tercentenary of the birth of Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith, with events sponsored by the Scottish Mortgage Investment

Trust, including prominent French-British writer Philippe Sands KC, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction for

East West Street, and ex Bishop of Edinburgh and acclaimed broadcaster

Richard Holloway paying tribute to the pioneering political thinker.

Festival Director Alistair Moffat said:

“It’s wonderful to see the marquees up in Harmony Garden once more and the stage set for our 20th

edition of the Borders Book Festival. We look forward to welcoming back our audiences, authors and supporters to four glorious days of lively debate, fun and laughter.

“Ticket sales this year have proved the appetite is back for live events – nothing beats it! Some events may have sold out, including Gordon Brown, Andy Burnham and Anne

Glenconner, but there’s still plenty on

offer – it’s not too late, and tickets can even

be purchased on the day.”

The Children’s Programme,