A BOOKER Prize winner has hit out after Glasgow's Aye Write festival was shelved due to a lack of funding. 

Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, took to social media calling the cancellation "unacceptable". 

We previously reported the plug had been pulled on Aye Write after it was turned down for financial support by the Scottish Government's arts agency Creative Scotland. 

While Aye Write is produced by Glasgow Life, it is understood it was reliant on Creative Scotland's continuing support through its 'open fund' which supports events such as Celtic Connections and Glasgow Film Festival. 

READ NEXT: Glasgow event shelved after nearly 20 years as funding is CUT

Glasgow Times:

A bid of £77,500 was rejected. 

In a thread posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Glasgow-born Douglas said Scottish politicians are "failing to do their jobs to protect my art" and said Ireland has a better understanding of the importance of "culture, people and literature". 

He wrote: "The righteous outrage around the cancellation of the [Aye Write] festival is not merely a conversation about the merit of literary festivals, or whether Scotland's first city deserves on. 

"It is much much bigger than that. 

"I have watched in horror as Scotland has haggled over funding for the arts, has closed her libraries, and now has allowed the cancellation of a major literary festival in her largest city. 

"A festival that has a focus on Scottish voices. 

"In the past year, I've sat through many interviews asking about the surge of great Irish writing. 

"And while Irish writers are GREAT, it's also clear to me that Ireland understands that culture, people and literature are her strength and they fund it like they mean it. 

"I toured all major Irish festivals and then spent another week touring the smaller towns from Ennis to Drogheda. 

"And yet my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, cannot have a literature festival? That's unacceptable."

He continued: "When I won the Booker Prize, within hours of the announcement many of the major political parties contacted me asking for my support. 

"But the politicians who wanted to use my art to protect their jobs are failing to do their jobs to protect my art. 

"Aye Write is not just about one city or one festival, it's about a nation's pride in her art. 

"It's about working-class access to literature - and let's not be coy here: working-class people are crucial to Scottish literature. 

"Get a haud of yersels. And let Glasgow be great."

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Launched in 2005, Aye Write featured around 175 authors appearing in more than 120 events across 10 days last year.

Guests included former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, crime writer Val McDermid, poet Liz Lochhead, comics Frankie Boyle, Josie Long and Janey Godley, and broadcasters Sally Magnusson and Aasmah Mir.

Glasgow Life has also shelved the Wee Write book festival for children and young people, which was held separately from Aye Write.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: “The Aye Write and Wee Write book festivals celebrate the joy of reading, writing, and books, bringing audiences and authors together.

"Their delivery is dependent on securing external funding and while bids for funding support continue to exceed monies available, especially during the current difficult economic climate, some events will inevitably miss out.

“Aye Write and Wee Write have developed and grown over the years thanks, in part, to support through Creative Scotland.

"Our 2024 funding application to Creative Scotland was not successful so Aye Write and Wee Write will not be able to take place as festivals this year. We appreciate this will cause considerable disappointment.

“Glasgow Life will organise some pop-up Aye Write events during 2024 and will develop an application for multi-year funding starting in 2025, which if successful, means a return for the festivals next year.”

A spokesperson for Creative Scotland said: “We recognise the significance of Aye Write to audiences and the literature sector and understand that this is disappointing news.

“The National Lottery open fund for organisations remains available to Aye Write to apply for further funding, and we welcome future applications.

"As demand for these funds continues to increase, Creative Scotland also continues to advocate for more resources to support culture and creativity across Scotland.”