“Scotland is the world’s Book Nation. No other country can boast so many per capita. In addition Scottish literature is going through a golden period with world-renowned names such as Sandy McCall-Smith, JK Rowling and Ian Rankin. The audience for book festivals is also huge at approximately 400,000 each year and their collective economic impact is immense. With the help of EventScotland, literature can and should become part of Scotland’s branding. As the world’s Book Nation, Scotland glows with talent.” Alistair Moffat, Lennoxlove and Borders Book Festival.

From the poems of Robert Burns, to the acclaimed works of Irvine Welsh, the romantic prose of Walter Scott and the crime fiction writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Scotland has a literary heritage to be proud of and an impressive array of events to match.

Wigtown Book Festival, Lennoxlove Book Festival, Nairn Book and Arts Festival, Borders Book Festival, StAnza and Word - University of Aberdeen Writers Festival have all benefited from EventScotland support.

All told, EventScotland has invested over £300,000 in literary events between 2005 and 2010 and continues to identify opportunities to support events of all sizes which celebrate Scottish contemporary and traditional literature.

Some of the UK’s most widely recognised stars including crime fiction writer Ian Rankin, travel writer, actor and comedian Michael Palin, and political strategist and journalist Alastair Campbell have been amongst the featured writers at Scotland’s book festivals.