Stephen King donates to support Buckie Thistle’s fundraising drive

On 1 October 2026 Buckie Thistle thanked author Stephen King for a donation to a fundraising campaign in Moray aimed at securing the future of the Highland League club. The contribution comes as the side seeks to address a current financial predicament.

The pair first struck up a relationship six years ago when King featured the club in his book If It Bleeds. At that time the best-selling writer of works including Carrie and The Shining donated two copies of the novel to the Moray side, one of which was auctioned off. The 79-year-old has provided further support this time round. Club officials say the latest gift forms part of a wider effort to boost the club’s coffers.

Buckie Thistle interim president Daniel Farquhar told BBC Scotland: "It is fantastic. We reached out and we are just really grateful for Stephen to take the time to donate something." Farquhar is the son of long-standing president Garry Farquhar, who stepped down for health reasons earlier this year. The club have found it tough to make ends meet since that change.

Farquhar said: "We don't want to disclose the sum but it is a nice little figure that will keep us going. It will help pay for players and operation costs and things like that." He reported the response they received from King included the line 'hopefully this donation inspires others to get involved and put their hands in their pockets as well'.

On the club’s wider finances Farquhar warned: "Our operating costs of around £20,000 per month are far outweighing the money coming in at the moment, so we are undergoing a big task just now just to look at expenditure, try and reduce that." He added: "We have had in the region of £55,000 worth of donations in the last five or six weeks, so it is phenomenal." The 79-year-old's latest gift arrives amid that fundraising push.

Buckie Thistle found themselves in the spotlight in early 2024 when they played Celtic in the Scottish Cup, losing 5-0 in Glasgow. Farquhar said the club was "eternally grateful" and concluded: "so we are eternally grateful and we just hope it does inspire others to help us."