Festival of Writing and Storytelling (fully booked)

The Festival of Writing and Storytelling is open to all who love to read and listen to stories. Whether you are an experienced writer or exploring writing for the first time, this week is for you.

You’ll get the opportunity to workshop with writers from different backgrounds and genres, to find out more about different creative processes, and to find your own literary voice along the way.

There will also be plenty of time to enjoy hearty meals form the Iona Abbey Kitchen, explore the rugged and wild island landscape, tell stories by the fireside, and share in the love of words as a community – written, read and spoken.

Festival Contributors

Selali Fiamanya

Selali Fiamanya is a writer who lives and works in Glasgow and the Scottish isles. His debut novel Before We Hit the Ground was longlisted for Fiction Book of the Year at the Saltires 2026, and for the Jhalak prize. 

Margaret Elphinstone

Margaret Elphinstone is the author of Lost People (Wild Goose 2023), a novella offering hope and redemption in a time of war and desolation. Lost People was shortlisted for the 2024 Saltire fiction award. Margaret is the author of nine earlier novels, including The Gathering Night, Voyageurs and the award-winning Sea Road. She has worked as an organic gardener and an academic and is Emerita Professor of writing at Strathclyde University.  Her poetry collection Time Seeds was published by Wild Goose in 2026. She lives in Galloway. 

Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin

Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is an Irish writer based in Edinburgh. Her debut novel, Ordinary Saints, was published in April 2025. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, was a Radio 2 Book Club Pick, and was shortlisted for two Books Are My Bag awards.

Costs

6 Nights: £870 or £435 concession