King's Birthday Honours: Founder of Borders Book Festival awarded an MBE
Last updated 13th Jun 2025
The founder of the Borders Book Festival has been awarded an MBE for services to literature and culture in the King's Birthday Honours.
The announcement comes as thousands of book-lovers converge on Melrose for this year's event, which is believed to be worth more than £2 million to the local economy.
Historian and author Alistair Moffat - who also founded the Lennoxlove Book Festival in East Lothian and Kelso Arts Festival - revealed he's "chuffed!"
As well as writing more than 30 books on Scotland and Scottish history, Alistair was also a creative influence behind the Great Tapestry of Scotland, which now sits in a purpose-built gallery in Galashiels.
Before all of this, Alistair worked with STV, rising from Arts Correspondent and Documentary maker to become Director of Scottish Television Enterprise.
And before that, he ran Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe for five years, during which it became one of the biggest arts festivals in the world.
WATCH: Selkirk Standard Bearer reveals leading the Common Riding was 'best day ever!'
Reacting to tonight's announcement, Alistair said: "It’s a lovely surprise, and I confess to being chuffed!
"Most things I’ve been involved with depend on lots of other people and their superb support and I want to acknowledge that.
"It has been a lot of fun doing the book festival, the Great Tapestry of Scotland and writing about the history of places I love.
"And so to be given such a kind and generous acknowledgement in the middle of the Borders Book Festival is leaves me, well, dead chuffed."
READ MORE: Fire rips through second home in Tweed Valley in less than three weeks
Other Borderers being honoured include Principal Social Scientist of Forest Research, Mariella Marzano from Peebles, who has been awarded an OBE for services to Forestry.
And Linda Gray also receives an OBE for services in the community in Chirnside.
For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our new home page - https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/