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, upcoming years, and previous years from 2015.
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!
2021
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| Extended to 2021 | VisitScotland's Year of Coasts & Waters 2020 |
| 27 April 2020 - April 2021 | Edwin Morgan 100 |
| Sir Walter Scott 250th anniversary | |
| George Mackay Brown centenary | |
| 30 Jan-6 Feb | #NationalStorytellingWeek |
| Feb | #LGBTHistoryMonth |
| 21 Feb | International Mother Language Day |
| 4 March | World Book Day |
| 8 March | International Women's Day #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021 |
| 21 March | UNESCO World Poetry Day |
| 23 April | World Book Night |
| May tbc | Bookbug Week |
| 19-26 June | Independent Bookshop Week #IBW2021 #IndieBookshopWeek |
| 8 Sept | International Literacy Day 2021 |
| 30 Sept | International Translation Day |
| Oct | Black History Month (Scotland) #BHM2021 |
| 7 Oct | National Poetry Day #nationalpoetryday Theme: Choice |
| 9 Oct | Bookshop Day #Booksaremybag |
| 4-10 Oct | Libraries Week #LibrariesWeek |
| 13 Nov | Robert Louis Stevenson Day #RLSDay |
| 15 Nov | Day of the Imprisoned Writer |
| tbc Nov | Book Week Scotland |
Upcoming
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2022 | VisitScotland: Year of Scotland's Stories |
| Mollie Hunter centenary | |
| New Writing Scotland 40th anniversary | |
| Black & Blue by Ian Rankin 25th anniversary |
Previous years