Literary celebrations
Scotland is a proud literary nation with a long, rich literary heritage. To help you keep track of (and plan for) all the big anniversaries of our nation’s writers and their works, plus all the literature- and book-related days that are celebrated in Scotland each year, we’re developing this searchable list so you don’t miss out on what’s coming up.
The three tables below are ordered by current year (2018), future years (2019-2022), and previous years (2015-2017).
Please let us know if there are any national literature-related anniversaries or days being celebrated in Scotland to include this year, and beyond, by emailing admin@literaturealliancescotland.co.uk or tweeting us @LitScotland.
Thank you!
2018
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2018 | VisitScotland: Year of Young People |
| Muriel Spark centenary | |
| Irvine Welsh: 25th anniversary of 'Trainspotting' | |
| Muriel Spark: 50th anniversary of 'The Mandelbaum Gate' (published 1965) | |
| Mary Shelley: 100 years since publication of 'Frankenstein' | |
| W.S. Graham centenary | |
| JM Barrie: centenary of the publication of 'Echoes of the War' plays | |
| Moniack Mhor Writers' Centre 20th anniversary year | |
| Gaelic Books Council 50th anniversary year | |
| Encyclopædia Britannica 250th anniversary | |
| The Pushkin Prizes in Scotland & St Petersburg 30th anniversary | |
| 31 Jan 2018 | Muriel Spark's 100th birthday |
| 1 Mar 2018 | World Book Day |
| 8 Mar 2018 | International Women's Day |
| 21 Mar 2017 | #WorldPoetryDay |
| 23 Apr 2018 | World Book Night |
| 16-23 June 2018 | Independent Bookshop Week |
| 8 Sept 2018 | International Literacy Day 2018 |
| 4 Oct 2018 | National Poetry Day |
| 6 Oct 2018 | Bookshop Day |
| 8-14 Oct 2018 | Libraries Week |
| 13 Nov 2018 | Robert Louis Stevenson Day #RLSDay |
| tbc Nov 2018 | Book Week Scotland |
2019-2022
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Year of Conversation |
| International Year of Indigenous Languages (UNESCO) | |
| Hamish Henderson centenary | |
| 2020 | Edwin Morgan centenary |
| VisitScotland: Year of Scotland's Coast and Waters | |
| 2021 | Edwin Morgan centenary |
| Walter Scott 250th anniversary | |
| 2022 | VisitScotland: Year of Scotland's Stories |
Previous years: 2015-2017
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2017 | VisitScotland: Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology |
| 250th anniversary of Edinburgh's New Town plan (1767) | |
| Iain Banks: 30th anniversary of 'Consider Phlebas', the first Culture novel | |
| JM Barrie: 80th anniversary of his death | |
| Scottish PEN 90th anniversary year (9 Dec) | |
| 2016 | VisitScotland: Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design |
| Jessie Kesson centenary | |
| Robert Louis Stevenson: 130th anniversary of 'Kidnapped' | |
| Iain Banks: 30th anniversary of 'The Bridge' | |
| 2015 | VisitScotland: Year of Food |
| JK Rowling: 50th birthday | |
| GWS Barrow: 50th anniversary of 'Robert the Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland' | |
| Walter Scott: 250th anniversary of his long poem about Robert the Bruce, 'The Lord of the Isles' | |
| GS Fraser centenary | |
| George Campbell Hay centenary | |
| Sydney Goodsir Smith centenary | |
| John Buchan: 75th anniversary of his death | |
| Centenary of John Buchan's 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' |