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 (2019), future years (2020-2022), 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!
2019
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| International Year of Indigenous Languages (UNESCO) | |
| A Year of Conversation 2019 | |
| Hamish Henderson centenary | |
| 26 Jan-2 Feb 2019 | #NationalStorytellingWeek |
| 7 March 2019 | World Book Day |
| 8 March 2019 | International Women's Day #BalanceforBetter |
| 21 March 2019 | UNESCO World Poetry Day |
| 23 April | World Book Night |
| 15-22 June 2019 | Independent Bookshop Week #IBW2019 |
| 8 Sept 2019 | International Literacy Day 2019 |
| 3 Oct 2019 | National Poetry Day Theme: Truth #nationalpoetryday |
| 5 Oct 2019 | Bookshop Day |
| tbc Oct 2019 | Libraries Week |
| 13 Nov 2019 | Robert Louis Stevenson Day #RLSDay |
| tbc Nov 2019 | Book Week Scotland |
2020-2022
| YEAR | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 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: 2015-2018
| YEAR | 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 | |
| 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' |