THE Booked! Festival of Words has been a “phenomenal success” organisers announced.

The two-week event kicked off on May 7 and saw more than 700 people attend 18 events. This year’s line-up included a TV comic, a former prisoner, a veteran sports journalist and the popular Rally and Broad cabaret, and the festival was launched by Gregor ‘Rab C. Nesbitt’ Fisher and his biographer Melanie Reid.

With around a quarter of the total tickets snapped up within two days of going on sale – and nearly half sold within a week – Booked! 2016 saw the highest sales since 2013, when it ran for three weeks.

Councillor Michelle McGinty, West Dunbartonshire Council’s educational services convener, said: “It is clear there is an appetite for well-known authors to visit West Dunbartonshire to discuss their work, having hosted Gregor Fisher of Rab C. Nesbitt fame and comedian Rhona Cameron as part of Booked!, and Irvine Welsh earlier in the year.

“To offer our residents the chance to hear from top writers for free is fantastic, and I hope this year’s success will encourage many more popular events.”

Councillor John Mooney, depute convener, added: “Our libraries and cultural services team has done West Dunbartonshire proud in coordinating such a varied and exciting programme.

“The reaction from residents and from our visiting speakers has been excellent.

“It has really helped us showcase what our area has to offer.”

Booked! 2016 included events with comedian Rhona Cameron, crime writers Claire McGowan and Neil Mackay, non-fiction writers Brooke Magnanti and Amy Liptrot, journalists Erwin James and Hugh Keevins, up-and-coming novelist Iain Maloney, award-winning writer Des Dillon and Dalmuir’s own Reading Champion, poet Donny O’Rourke.

There was also music from Scottish folk legend Jimmie Macgregor and a fantastic evening of poetry, storytelling and music from Rally and Broad with guests including A New International, Chrissy Barnacle, Malachy Tallack, Kevin P Gilday.