Dolly's working Wigtown from five to nine-year-olds

HOWDY Wigtown – y'all ready to read?

America's undisputed queen of country music has revealed that the Galloway community will be the Scottish focus of her international crusade to improve literacy among youngsters.

Since it was launched six years ago, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library scheme has seen more than 500,000 children across North America supplied with free educational books.

The Tennessee star is determined to bring the project across the Atlantic and last year announced that Rotherham would be the hub of her first English venture.

Now Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the Machars area of Galloway – which takes in the communities of Wigtown, Newton Stewart and Whithorn – will be the first area north of the border to benefit from the scheme.

Many were surprised when the flamboyant singer arrived in the modest Yorkshire steel community to launch the scheme in December.

But Wigtown – which is Scotland's official book town – appears to be an ideal choice for the programme.

In the long term it will see books being sent through the post – free of charge – to around 300 Scottish pre-school youngsters.

Parton's spokesman hoped the scheme would go on to spread throughout Scotland and that the vocalist would be able to officially launch the venture when she visits the country this summer.

David Dotson, the executive director of the Dollywood Foundation, visited Galloway last week and confirmed the project would go ahead.

He said: "Dolly is very keen to expand the programme across the Atlantic and is greatly looking forward to setting up her first programme in Scotland.

"The Machars area came to our attention and we will be supplying books to children under the age of five in that area.

"We know that the system works and can't wait to see it up and running in Scotland.

"Everything is in place and I know Dolly is very excited. It will be a first for Scotland and we have high hopes for it."

Dotson confirmed that Parton would be in Scotland to play a gig in Glasgow in June and hoped she would be able to officially launch the scheme during that time.

"In the States the response to the project has been beyond our wildest dreams.

"We started out in Dolly's home town and then extended it into two or three neighbouring counties.

"Now it has snowballed to more than 800 different communities in the US and Canada. It has gone from about 2,300 children a month being involved to around half a million."

He said that Rotherham was selected as it was the first UK community to formally ask to be included.

"We worked for about a year to evaluate the feasibility. Would it work and would it be affordable? It was clear that the answer was yes. We know the system works and now we will bring it to Scotland."

The scheme will be part-funded and run by the organisers of the annual Wigtown Book Festival.

Event spokeswoman Catherine Campbell said: "We are all absolutely delighted that Dolly is keen to launch the Imagination Library here.

"It is a huge boost for the whole community. The hope is that if it works here, other areas will catch on and we will expand the programme.

"As yet, we don't know if Dolly will be coming over, but we would be more than happy to welcome her.

"We have picked out a geographical area – which is the Machars area – and every child under five will be sent a free book, which is age appropriate, every month. We are hoping to officially launch the scheme in late April or early May."

Parents will have to register their child to be included in the scheme.

Amanda Harberry of the Dicks Hill Crèche for under-threes in Wigtownshire was thrilled by the announcement.

"This is fantastic news," she said. "I'm sure that a lot of parents will be delighted to hear about this."

The American star was inspired to set up the scheme because of her underprivileged childhood.

She said: "Literacy was a real problem in Tennessee and I saw first-hand the lifelong struggle that resulted from many of my friends and neighbours and the effect it had on them. Ever since that time, my dream has been for every child to have a library of books that their parents can read to them from the moment they are born until they start school."

Parton's visit to Rotherham last year caused a stir among some civic leaders, who were accused of being petty and small-minded. There was outrage in some quarters at the decision to delay a council meeting by one hour so that councillors could rub shoulders with the star at a lunch.

Tony Mannion, an independent councillor, boycotted the event and said: "I think the literacy scheme is a good idea. My objection is over the timing. We have vital business to discuss and we have few enough council meetings as it is.

"I suppose my complaints will fall on deaf ears and that some might say it's a storm in a D-cup, or double D-cup. But it's the principle."

Scotland's Book Town Festival, sponsored by Scotland on Sunday, will run from September 26 to October 5.

Scotland on Sunday starts new chapter

Scotland on Sunday is to be the media sponsor of this year's Wigtown Book Festival. The festival, which is now in its 10th year, has developed from being focused on the 900 inhabitants of the Galloway town to becoming a fixture in the UK's literary calendar.

Wigtown is home to an estimated 250,000 books, and each year the festival provides 10 days of readings, performances, exhibitions and debates, prompting a mass migration of bibliophiles to this rural corner of Scotland. Featured authors and speakers have included Jeremy Bowen and Louis de Bernières.

Adrian Turpin, the programme director of the festival, said: "We are now selling 10 times as many tickets as there are people in the town. It's gone from just being something which locals came to, to attracting readers from Northern Ireland, the Central Belt of Scotland, and northern England. It's become a part of the literary calendar.

"What this festival has is its rural setting; it's very intimate. We have authors like Jeremy Bowen who come back year after year."

Les Snowdon, the editor of Scotland on Sunday, said: "The Wigtown Book Festival has, in a short period of time, become one of the most exciting and innovative events on the Scottish cultural calendar and Scotland on Sunday is delighted to work with the organisers as media sponsor."