Words that Fly: Writing and Storytelling in an Uncertain World.
We’re excited to share news of the Iona Community Festival of Writing and Storytelling, taking place on the Isle of Iona in October.
The festival is open to all who love to read, write and listen to stories. You’ll have the opportunity to workshop with writers from different backgrounds and genres. This years theme is ‘Words that Fly: Writing and Storytelling in an Uncertain World’.
There will be events, in Iona Village Hall on the 14th and 15th October, are open to all – free admission and booking not required.
Wednesday 14th October
10.20am-12:20pm WORKSHOP For the Growing Good of the World: Does Fiction Have a Moral Purpose? (Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin)
2.30pm-3.30pm WORKSHOP Many of today’s vital questions have no definitive answers – so how can writers address them? (Margaret Elphinstone)
4pm-5pm AUTHOR TALK Selected texts from Wild Goose Publications (Neil Paynter)
Thursday 15th October
2.30pm-4:30pm WORKSHOP Where shall we begin, and when do we end? (Selali Fiamanya)
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.
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