Faclan: the Hebridean Book Festival returned to An Lanntair from Wednesday 27 to Saturday 30 October 2021, exploring Islands: Worlds in Isolation.
The choice of festival theme was inspired partly by the impact of the pandemic, and partly by Faclan’s spectacular setting in the Outer Hebrides.
As we continued to emerge from lockdown, Faclan 2021 once again consisted of four days of live events at An Lanntair, including film screenings, an exhibition and a Faclan Fringe programme supported by Outer Hebrides LEADER.
In response to the theme, the programme explored everything from the infamous disappearance of the Flannan Islands lighthouse keepers to living in a shed, the lost music of foghorns, and life in a post-human landscape. For the adventurous there was even a guided expedition out to a cluster of shielings: islands on the moor.
Festival director Roddy Murray said: “This year we hope to welcome back live audiences, chastened but fortified by the experience of the past 18 months. We will ‘dwell’ on islands – as destinations, anchor points, oases of nature, sanctuaries. We’ll consider islands inland, portable islands, the romance and mystery of islands, and the beacons that guide and warn us as we head towards landfall. The prospect of a return to a new and better normal, is exciting.”
Faclan tickets included a Festival Pass at the special reduced price of £45 (£43 concessions).
Photo: Boreray from Hirta: Alex Boyd ©
