About Us

Co-Chair

Philippa Cochrane

Philippa is Director of Programme at Scottish Book Trust, where she leads the delivery of the organisation’s offer.  For the previous 13 years Philippa led the development and delivery of SBT’s programmes for adults, including Book Week Scotland.and over the last 22 years at Scottish Book Trust, led the Reading Communities team, the Schools team, the Learning team and the Children’s team. She served as a member of the Wigtown Festival Board for nearly six years. Philippa is trained in coaching, co-creation, and fundraising as well as having trained as a teacher in the distant past.

Co-Chair

Mairi Kidd

Mairi is a published writer of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, in English and in Gaelic, and often contributes to TV broadcasts on literature. Her board experience includes membership bodies such as the Independent Publishers’ Guild, public body MG Alba and multiple Gaelic arts charities and organisations including a volunteer directorship of a children’s bookclub CIC. Mairi previously served as Director of The Saltire Society, CEO of Seven Stories the National Centre for Children’s Books, of Moat Brae and of Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig, and was MD of Barrington Stoke and Head of Literature at Creative Scotland.

Treasurer

Peter Burnett

Peter is the founder and Publishing Director of Leamington Books, which has published over fifty titles in Gaelic, Scots and English since 2020, including  fifteen books by first-time authors. Originally from Aberdeen, he has himself written fourteen books with seven different publishers, and has a background in journalism, tech, finance and retail. 

Secretary

Vikki Reilly

Vikki is the Marketing & Trade Development Manager for Publishing Scotland, the Trade & Network body for Publishing in Scotland. She has over 20 years of experience in the book industry, first as a bookseller, then in the sales and marketing departments of Mainstream Publishing, Mercat Press and Birlinn Ltd, where she was also on the editorial board. Vikki released her first book The Beatles 101: A Pocket Guide in 101 Moments, Songs, People and Places in 2020.

Ray Anyasi

Ray is Global Director at Bookause, Festival Director for Rayany Creators Film Festival, and a member of The Society of Authors in Scotland Committee. Previously, he was Programs Director for Lagos Comic Con, Africa’s most attended literary event between 2015-2022. Ray is an author, poet, comic creator and screenwriter. He is also a certified Creative Enterprise Consultant and Events Strategist. Some of his books like Ujasiri, Sorrows of Udi, Broken Clouds and To Live Again have been translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, German and Portuguese.

Alison Lang

Alison is Director of Comhairle nan Leabhraichean (The Gaelic Books Council). Previous roles have included work at the Scottish Parliament, the National Theatre of Scotland and MG ALBA (The Gaelic Media Service), and she also spent a number of years as a freelance author, editor and dramatist. Alison formerly served as a charity trustee for Clì Gàidhlig and Theatre Gu Leòr.

Sophie Moxon

Sophie is Executive Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, a global gathering point for creativity, connection, and critical thought. For over 20 years, her work has centred on building communities around books and reading. Sophie joined the Book Festival in 2015 and has worked across the organisation during a period of significant change. Prior to that she spent 11 years at Scottish Book Trust, as Live Literature Scotland Manager, Head of Programme and then Deputy and Acting Director. She has also worked for Arts Council England and in development, marketing and PR.

Isla Rosser-Owen

Isla is CEO of the Wigtown Festival Company. After university in Edinburgh and SOAS, where she studied Arabic and Near & Middle Eastern Studies respectively, Isla initially developed a career in publishing, working primarily as an editor for many years. After volunteering for Islay Book Festival, Isla took over as chair and festival director and led the organisation through a period of expansion and positive change for six years. Isla first joined Wigtown Festival Company in 2018 as cultural producer, with a remit for literature and sector development, before moving on to Bradford Literature Festival to take a lead on the programming team as senior creative producer. Isla returned to Scotland’s Book Town in her current leadership role in 2025, overseeing the future strategic, creative, and operational direction of Wigtown Festival Company as it began an exciting new chapter.

Claire Squires

Claire is Professor in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, and former Director of the Scottish Graduate School of Arts & Humanities (SGSAH). Her research interests focus on the history of the book, publishing studies and book cultures in the 20th and 21st centuries, both in the UK and globally. Her publications include Marketing Literature: The Making of Contemporary Writing in Britain (Palgrave, 2007), with Beth Driscoll The Frankfurt Book Fair and Bestseller Business (CUP, 2020) and The Frankfurt Kabuff Critical Edition (Wilfrid Laurier, 2023), and as co-editor with Andrew Nash and I. R. Willison, The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain Volume 7: The Twentieth Century and Beyond (CUP, 2019). She previously worked at Hodder Headline plc, and as a freelance proofreader and copy-editor. She has been a judge for the Saltire Society Literary Awards, and is a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Awardee (2015).