A Glasgow event has been shelved after nearly 20 years after funding was cut.

The plug has been pulled on Aye Write, one of Scotland's biggest book festivals, after it was turned down for financial support by the Scottish Government's arts agency Creative Scotland, The Scotsman reports.

While Aye Write is produced by Glasgow Life, the paper understands it was reliant on Creative Scotland's continuing support through its 'open fund'. 

A bid of £77,500 was rejected. 

The fund supports events like the Celtic Connections and Piping Live music festivals, the Glasgow Mela, the Glasgow Film Festival, and Glasgow International, the city’s biennial festival of contemporary art.

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.”