Dolly delivers child book scheme

Ms Parton's scheme will be launched at Scotland's book town

Country music star Dolly Parton has chosen Galloway as the site for the Scottish launch of her international literacy campaign for youngsters.

The Imagination Library scheme supplies a free book to children every month.

It has proved a success in the US and she now wants to extend it to Scotland, starting in the Machars area - home to the national book town, Wigtown.

Last year she brought the project to the north of England - with Rotherham selected as the launch venue.

The scheme will see every pre-school age child registered in the area being sent a free book every month.

We are delighted that Dolly has chosen Wigtown Book Festival to launch the Imagination Library in Scotland Catherine Campbell Arts administrator

Ms Parton has said her desire to promote childhood reading stems from seeing how illiteracy disadvantaged her own family.

The programme in southern Scotland will be sponsored and run by the organisers of the annual book festival.

Arts administrator Catherine Campbell said they were pleased to launch the scheme.

"We are delighted that Dolly has chosen Wigtown Book Festival to launch the Imagination Library in Scotland," she said.

"It is just a really exciting addition to our year round programme of events."

Ms Campbell added that she believed the book festival - which runs from 26 September to 5 October this year - was the perfect occasion to start the project.

'Really important'

"I think it will be a great boost to the community," she said.

"Wigtown is Scotland's national book town and so it is the ideal place to start the programme in Scotland.

"It is really important to us as the national book town that the children of Wigtown and the Machars are encouraged to read."

Ms Parton started the programme in 1996 in her home town of Sevierville, Tennessee and it has since spread across 43 states in the US.