Literature links

Bookshops
Literature Organisations
Education and learning
Information
Literary Festivals
Literary Magazines
Poetry
Prizes, Awards and fellowships
Publishers

Bookshops

Word Power	A leading quality independent bookshop in Edinburgh with a worldwide online service.
BooksfromScotland	A new website, set up by the Scottish Publisher's Association and part-funded by the Scottish Arts Council, to promote and sell books published in Scotland, written by Scottish authors or of general Scottish interest.
Books and Beans	A coffee shop and second hand bookshop combined. There are poetry evenings at 6.30pm on the last Thursday of every month run by the Dead Good Poets.

Literature Organisations

Association for Scottish Literary Studies	The ASLS aims to promote the study, teaching and writing of Scottish literature and to further the study of the languages of Scotland.
Comhairle nan Leabhraichean	Comhairle nan Leabhraichean (The Gaelic Books Council) was set up to promote Gaelic Books and is mainly funded by the Scottish Arts Council.
Edinburgh International Book Festival	The book festival is a key event in the festival season and runs for two weeks in August.
Moniack Mhor	The only dedicated creative writing centre in Scotland. It offers mainly taught courses, mostly in association with the Arvon Foundation.
Publishing Scotland	A trade association of almost eighty Scottish publishers, assisting their members with the marketing of their books to the widest possible readership.
Scottish Book Trust	An organisation committed to the promotion of reading and books.
Scottish Language Dictionaries	A body established to develop dictionaries and promote the languages of Scotland.
Scottish Poetry Library	The Scottish Poetry Library holds a vast collection of written works as well as tapes and videos. The emphasis is on contemporary poetry written in Scotland but also featured are historic Scottish works and contemporary works from all over the world.
Scottish Storytelling Centre	The Scottish Storytelling Forum is Scotland's national charity for storytelling and in 1997 it established a resource and training centre - the Scottish Storytelling Centre - at The Netherbow in Edinburgh.
Scots Language Centre	The main aim of the SLC is to promote the Scots language through various means. They are based at the AK Bell library in Perth.

 

Education and learning

Quick Reads	A major new initiative supported nationally by a host of organisations. Some of the biggest names in fiction and non-fiction have published short, fast-paced books designed to encourage reluctant readers.
Scuil Wab	Launched by Scottish Language Dictionaries, the Scuil Wab is a website for children of all ages, developed to encourage the use of Scots from an early age.
Literature in Learning	A national network to support education staff and creative professionals who are working together to develop creative uses of language with children.
Literature Training	This website is the easy way for writers and all those involved in creating or supporting new writing and literature to find out about the wealth of training and professional development opportunities in the UK.
BRAW	BRAW is the network for the Scottish Children's Book, and the website aims to promote the magical world of Scottish Children's books. It will help parents, carers, librarians, teachers and children access a goldmine of information on contemporary Scottish children's authors, illustrators and their books.

Information

ConFAB: Working with Words	ConFAB aims to support, develop and expand opportunities for writers of all mediums, encouraging the innovative growth of the arts of the written and spoken word across Scotland and internationally
Edinburgh City of Literature	Website containing information about Edinburgh City of Literature
Hi-Arts	Established to promote and develop the arts in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
Texthouse	Contemporary writing news from the Scottish Borders
26	A not-for-profit association of professional writers and language specialists
Writers' Services	The website for writers
Writers' Guild of Great Britain	The guild represents writers in TV, film, radio, theatre, animation and books.
Writing Scotland	A collection of all the best Scottish literature resources on the web

 

Literary Festivals

Borders Book Festival	Four days in June when writers and audiences are welcomed to historic Melrose and words come alive at this friendly book festival in the heart of the Scottish Borders. This popular annual event has a programme covering a broad range of interests and authors who will appeal to audiences from age five to 105.
Burns Festival	Every year in May, this festival brings together international performers with local people to celebrate Scottish life and culture.
Scottish Storytelling Festival	A city-wide programme of events for adults and children, including National Tell a Story Day
StAnza	Held annually in the ancient university town of St Andrews, this is the only regular festival dedicated to poetry in Scotland.
St Magnus Festival	Orkney's annual celebration of the arts. This festival is held every June and encompasses music, drama, dance, literature and the visual arts.
Wigtown Book Festival	This festival is held annually in September and has expanded from the traditional three days to ten days.
Word - University of Aberdeen	The Word festival is one of Scotland's most popular literary events and takes place annually over three days at the King's College Campus at the university of Aberdeen and various other venues across the city.
Ullapool Book Festival	An opportunity to hear some of Scotland's finest writers in the most captivating setting. The festival takes place in May and features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, storytelling, and lectures, with both English and Gaelic events.
Aye Write!	Aye Write! is Glasgow's first ever major book festival, and is a celebration of the rich variety of Glasgwegian writing. It also brings together the best of Scottish and international writing, with over 150 events taking place and around 170 authors coming to the city.
Edinburgh International Book Festival	The Edinburgh International Book Festival is now a key event in the August Festival season. It began in 1983 and was biennial at first but became an annual celebration in 1997. Held in the beautiful surroundings of Charlotte Square Gardens, the Book Festival attracts thousands of visitors of all ages, and programmes over 650 events.

Literary Magazines

Chapman	Chapman published the best in Scottish writing and promotes new writers, new ideas and new approaches.
The Dark Horse	Founded in 1995, this is an international magazine committed to British and American poetry. It is published in Scotland.
The Drouth	A magazine dealing in informed critique, satire, film, theatre and prose.
Edinburgh Review	A magazine containing essays, new poetry, short stories, novel extracts, review articles and shorter reviews.
Lallans	Published twice a year and is the journal of the Scots Language Society. It includes poetry, fiction, reviews and articles in Scots.
Northwords Now	A new writers' magazine for the North, which is published quarterly.
Product	This is a multi-arts magazine which promotes the work of writers and artists in Scotland, provides unique coverage of contemporary Scottish culture and encourages dialogue on arts and politics in Scotland.
Saltire Magazine	The latest news, views and interviews from the Saltire Society.
Textualities	Textualities covers diverse aspects of the world of the book, from author interviews and original writing to specialist articles about rare and collectible books.
Variant	Free arts, culture and political magazine, published four times a year

 

Poetry

Poetry with Bite	A leading organiser of performance and poetry
Poetry Book Society	A specialist poetry book seller and a book club for everyone who enjoys poetry
The Poetry Society	This society exists to help poets and poetry thrive in Britain
The Poetry Library	Based in London, the membership of the Poetry Library is open to any UK resident. It contains the most comprehensive and accessible collection of post-1910 British poetry.
The British Library	The British Library contains an extensive collection of poetry in many languages as well as literary criticism supporting the collection.
The Academy of American Poets	Founded in 1934 to support American poets and to encourage appreciation of contemporary poetry
Poetry Ireland	A national organisation dedicated to developing, supporting and promoting poetry throughout Ireland
Football Poets	Founded on the work of Stroud Football Poets, this is now a site for all football poets, lovers of football and alternative poetry.
Scottish Parliament and poetry	The Ploughman poem, now on public display within The Scottish Parliament Visitors Centre, was chosen as the winner of A Poem for Scotland, an open International Competition to find a poem which would mark the last St Andrews Day before the new millennium and the inauguration of The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Prizes, Awards and Fellowships

Dundee Book Prize	A biennial prize of £10,000 and the chance of publication by Polygon, awarded for an unpublished novel
Edwin Morgan Translation Fellowship	This scholarship, supported by the Scottish Arts Council, provides one free place at the 2005 Scottish Universities' International Summer School, based in Edinburgh. The Fellow, a published translator or Scottish Literature, will attend SUISS for six weeks studying British and Irish Literature from 1900 to the present.
James Tait Black Memorial Prize	Two prizes of £3,000 each are awarded annually: one for the best biography and one for the best novel, published during the calendar year.
Pushkin Prizes	A unique creative writing initiative for pupils in S1 and S2
Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Award	An award open to writers who are Scottish by birth or currently resident in Scotland
Saltire Society Scottish Literary Awards	Two awards, Scottish Book of the Year and Scottish First Book of the Year are open to any author of Scottish descent or living in Scotland
Scottish Arts Council Book Awards	Three book awards and three Children's book awards of £2,000 each, open to authors of Scottish descent or living in Scotland

Publishers

Canongate Books	Details of imprints, new books, news and features
Itchy-Coo	Specialises in Scots language books for children and young people
Kettillonia	Publisher of pamphlets, based in Angus, Scotland. Kettillonia aims to put original, adventurous, neglected and rare writing into print, published as pamphlets.
Luath Press	A growing Edinburgh-based publishing company with strong Scottish connections
Publishing Scotland	A trade association of almost eighty Scottish publishers. A list of members of the association is also available on this site.