“Less Big Fish, more Local Hero,” reads a line from a Buzzfeed article about The Open Book, the world’s first Airbnb bookshop, based in Wigtown, Scotland. Written in 2016, that line now feels prophetic – nine years later, that very same Scottish sanctuary of stories becomes Ethos’ chosen Local Hero. Notorious for luring in lovers of words from around the world; this issue, it’s us who have fallen under The Open Book’s spell.
Published:
28.04.2025
Writer:
Emily Wilcox
“The Open Book began in 2014 as a residency opportunity for creative individuals looking for time and space to develop their practice,” says Anne Barclay, The Open Book’s operational director.
“Between 2014 and 2015, we welcomed artists, musicians, writers and theatre-makers who each spent two weeks developing their creative practice whilst running the bookshop. In 2016, the funding came to an end, so the idea was to turn The Open Book into a secondhand bookshop running experience, via Airbnb.”
Then, on the paperback of that viral Buzzfeed article, Anne tells me, “the Bookshop Holiday Experience has been booked two years in advance ever since, with more than 6,000 people subscribed to the cancellation list.” 6,001 now. I added my name to the list the moment I discovered this papery corner of the cosmos.
How The Open Book works
“Bookings come through Airbnb, so we’re instantly in contact with guests. Two years ahead, we’re normally just touching base but get in touch again closer to their stay to answer any questions and arrange meeting and greeting. When guests arrive, they are met by Joyce Cochrane, of The Old Bank Bookshop, who shows them around the bookshop and the town, then introduces them to the very basic accounting system, offers the opportunity to change displays, price books and categorise them, and make inventive use of the blackboard that goes outside each morning to entice visitors in to browse,” explains Anne.
And like the blurb of a book, the displays often transform into a portrait of the people in occupancy. Filled with their favourite books, free stickers, handmade creations, crocheted poppies, origami workshops, even cheese and wine. “Some guests come with firmer plans and creative ideas for their time in the bookshop. Many host events to bring in visitors and meet local people, adding to the cultural calendar of the town,” she adds.
Joyce, of The Old Bank Bookshop (a title up there with royals, emperors, constellations), explains, “when Open Bookers [something Joyce affectionately calls occupants of the Airbnb] ask me about opening hours, we want people to enjoy the experience, so a rough guide is between 10am to 4pm, or 11am to 4pm – but if they want to get out and about, they can choose other hours.” But that’s not all they can choose. “Guests can also take over the social media accounts. Other people in the town are curious about what the Open Bookers are up to. We have quite a following,” she says.
The Open Book’s visiting characters
“Opening those double doors for new guests, their faces light up. I’ll never tire of it. The thrill they feel when they arrive, after they have waited so long for this adventure [likely due to The Open Book’s two year waitlist] and then this is their moment, their bookshop, they get to put their own mark on it. It’s incredible. Especially for people who have travelled so far to get here.”
Long distance visitors are more frequent than you might at first imagine, considering the almost whimsically remote nature of the location. One might think finding Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town, comprising 17 bookshops and bookish businesses (but surprisingly not a single wig shop?) would be the same as stumbling upon a faerie door hidden in the depths of the Machars forests. Then again, most faerie kingdoms don’t have Instagram.
“We’ve had people from New Jersey,” who, after their first visit, decided to return, flying all the way to Edinburgh to begin a six-week tour of the east and west coast, finishing in Wigtown. “People from New York,” who have since had Joyce and her family stay with them on their star-spangled soil. “People from Maryland,” who have returned so often that Joyce has lost count, but fondly recalls how frequently they’ve come back to volunteer at the festival. “We get a lot of people from North America, some from Sweden, some who are Russian, English, Irish, Scottish. And all of these people bring such richness.”
Richness – and rich chocolates, as Joyce discovered a decade ago, when guests from Beijing departed after depositing a massive Ferrero Rocher into her daughter’s arms. The older of the guests, a grandmother, took Joyce’s hands in hers and they stood, smiling at one another. Not a word passed between them – neither spoke the other’s language – but Joyce tells me with warmth in her words how emotional that moment was. “And that’s because of The Open Book. Books transcend language barriers.”
However, it’s not always about where the visitors are from – but what they do. The Open Book has played house with writers. Authors. Librarians. NASA scientists who train astronauts to spacewalk. Publishers. Filmmakers. Journalists who bring their 80-year-old mothers who bring fruit loaf. Interior designers. Playwrights. Lawyers from New York who are so fixated with cats that they brought their own inflatable mog to hang out of the legendary windowseat upstairs. Teachers. Families. Humanitarian aid workers who described their stay as “healing.” Couples. Fiancés. Couples who propose at The Open Book and leave as fiancés.
And then there are those stayers who are simply book lovers, lured in by the lives shelved within. That’s what this smorgasbord of characters have in common; their spirits kindred, their souls storied, every being who steps through that threshold, devoted to the written word.
“There are around 800 people in the town and yet it can change the lives of those who pass through it. The Open Book brings the world to Wigtown – all because of the love of books.”
The Open Book and the community
“The Open Book brings a plethora of guests from around the globe to become part of Wigtown’s community for a short time. People meet, make friends, create bonds that last long after they close the door on their Open Book experience. Many keep in touch, visit again and several now come back to volunteer for the annual Book Festival.” Anne shares.
“Wigtown Book Festival relies heavily on its volunteers, taking tickets, hosting, driving to meet authors, ferrying authors around, and helping out in the festival bookshop. Dave is one of them – he volunteers a lot. He even decided to offer Machars Tours to the Open Bookers whenever he is available. And they love it!”
With the local festival, Dave’s tours, The Bookshop Band (originally from Bath, they came and did a residency in the early days of The Open Book – now they live there), the Flash Fiddle Mob (the fiddle group that Joyce herself is a key player in), The Storyteller (a resident wild teller of stories who pops into the shop with her dog and bursts into storytelling mode, so I hear), poetry groups, writers groups and many other community activities, it’s as obvious as a large font that The Open Book has been shelved alongside a surplus of bestseller stuff within their bibliophilic society.
“It’s such a small space,” Joyce tells me. “There are around 800 people in the town and yet it can change the lives of those who pass through it.” Then she says something that makes my ink-stained heart heave a happy sigh. “The Open Book brings the world to Wigtown – all because of the love of books.”
Well, world, get in line. I’m a book lover out wandering south of where the stories are, and plotting my way to their pages.
You can BOOK your bookish stay here: airbnb.co.uk/rooms/7908227
