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 (2020), future years (2021-2022), and previous years (2015-2019).
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!
2020
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| VisitScotland's Year of Coasts & Waters 2020 | |
| 27 April 2020 - April 2021 | Edwin Morgan 100 |
| Apr-Sep 2020 | Arbroath 2020 celebrating the 700th anniversary of The Declaration of Arbroath through a cultural, arts and community festival |
| James Hogg 250 (1770-1835) | |
| Feb 2020 | #LGBTHistoryMonth |
| 1-8 Feb 2020 | #NationalStorytellingWeek |
| 5 March 2020 | World Book Day |
| 8 March 2020 | International Women's Day #EachforEqual #IWD2020 |
| 21 March 2020 | UNESCO World Poetry Day |
| 23 April 2020 | World Book Night |
| 20-27 June 2020 | Independent Bookshop Week #IBW2020 |
| 8 Sept 2020 | International Literacy Day 2020 |
| 1 Oct 2020 | National Poetry Day #nationalpoetryday |
| tbc 2020 | Bookshop Day #Booksaremybag |
| 5-10 Oct 2020 | Libraries Week |
| 13 Nov 2020 | Robert Louis Stevenson Day #RLSDay |
| tbc Nov 2020 | Book Week Scotland |
2021-2022
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Sir Walter Scott 250th anniversary |
| George Mackay Brown centenary | |
| 2022 | VisitScotland: Year of Scotland's Stories |
Previous years: 2015-2019
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 2019 | International Year of Indigenous Languages (UNESCO) |
| A Year of Conversation 2019 | |
| Hamish Henderson centenary | |
| 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 | |
| Moniak Mhor Writers' Centre 25th anniversary year | |
| Gaelic Books Council 50th anniversary year | |
| Encyclopædia Britannica 250th anniversary | |
| The Pushkin Prizes in Scotland & St Petersburg 30th anniversary | |
| 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' |