I saw a triangle slicing the water fifteen feet away. It was a shark's fin. An awful tingle, cold and liquid, went up and down my spine.

Yann Martel


The projects we work on, current and completed, are all designed to celebrate and promote Edinburgh's literature, and to inspire an interest in books, words and reading.

We look for creative ways to engage our partners at home and abroad, so that together we can champion reading and writing in our city and beyond.


International Residency 2010
International Residency 2010

The City of Literature Trust is working in partnership with Cove Park, the Scottish Arts Council and Arts Victoria to welcome our first International…

Summer Read 2010
Summer Read 2010

Take a break with a great Scottish book this summer as part of the brand new TESCO Bank Summer Read, a national reading promotion…

Greater North: Cities of Literature 2008
Greater North: Cities of Literature 2008

A key project for the Trust, we developed, co-ordinated and delivered a fact finding study trip in Edinburgh and Melbourne for 19 arts delegates…

Book Swap
Book Swap

To mark the 500 years of printing and publishing in Scotland, Publishing Scotland – the industry and promotion body for publishers in Scotland -…

Books Into Film
Books Into Film

Classic books-turned-film were shown at the Edinburgh Filmhouse this year, in a collaborative project with the City of Literature Trust.  After each…

Festival of Libraries
Festival of Libraries

The first public event for showcasing the library services housed in Edinburgh was run in October 2007, with over 700 members of the public…

Poetry In Motion
Poetry In Motion

We collaborated with the Scottish Poetry Library and Oxfam on a project to produce a series of poems, written by writers who are…

Scottish Writers' Series
Scottish Writers' Series

In January 2008, Scottish contemporary writing was put firmly onto the European stage with nine top quality and diverse writers from Scotland taking part,…

Story Shop
Story Shop

To celebrate the short story and its compact beauty, the City of Literature Trust has run an annual series of free readings of 'micro…

Championing the Work of Sir Walter Scott
Championing the Work of Sir Walter Scott

The City of Literature Trust worked with the National Trust for Scotland to host a dinner for delegates at the International Press Institute’s World…

Old Town Festival
Old Town Festival

In 2007, the traditional Old Town Festival was revived in Edinburgh.  A collaboration with the Scottish Storytelling Centre and our sister-UNESCO organisation Edinburgh World…

Literary Map
Literary Map

In 2005, we produced a literary map of Edinburgh in partnership with VisitScotland, Orange, The List and Scottish Book Trust, for distribution…

The City of Literature publication
The City of Literature publication

As part of the original bid to UNESCO, a publication was produced pulling together in one place all of the Edinburgh's literary credentials, past…

Dedicated Followers of Fashion
Dedicated Followers of Fashion

The City of Literature Trust was commissioned to bring a literary element to Edinburgh's very first Fashion Festival in April 2006, engaging five writers to…

International Writers Exchange
International Writers Exchange

City of Literature is promoting the cultural exchange of writers, including planned exchanges with the famous writers' centre in Varuna, Australia and Vancouver and…

Literary Prizes
Literary Prizes

We are working to encourage high-profile literary events and awards to come to the city; the first of these, the prestigious Man Booker International…

Tartan Week
Tartan Week

The City of Literature Trust presented an evening of words and song in Washington to celebrate Scotland's literary heritage as part of the Tartan Week…

Writer in Residence Programme
Writer in Residence Programme

From February 2006 to late 2007, we ran a series of six Writer in Residence opportunities all across the City of Edinburgh, each reaching…