Edinburgh celebrates 20 years since becoming first City of Literature

The Scottish capital gained the permanent designation in recognition of its significance as a “literary capital” on October 13, 2004.

The Edinburgh City of Literature Trust, which originally devised the concept of a City of Literature, has since organised hundreds of literature-related events and projects in the city.

These include the 2014 Great Scott! installation, which saw the floors, walls and windows of Waverley Station emblazoned with Sir Walter Scott quotes to mark the 10th anniversary of the designation.

The installation, inside what is believed to be the only station named after a novel, proved so popular it has been preserved by the station owners and the quotes greet travellers today.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, more than 60 representatives from cities of literature around the world will descend on Edinburgh later this month for a four-day conference to mark the achievements of the past two decades, and make plans for the future.

Gerald Richards, interim chairman of the trust, said: “The Edinburgh City of Literature Trust believes that literature in its broadest sense transforms lives, and that it is a true way to understand and celebrate ourselves, Edinburgh city and our nation.

“We will use the opportunity of hosting the Unesco City of Literature conference to build new international programmes for Scottish writers, share best practice, develop new collaborative projects in the capital, and it’s a great opportunity to celebrate Edinburgh’s vast cultural and literary output.”

Other events organised by the trust in the past 20 years including lines of poetry being projected on to Edinburgh Castle rock and, in collaboration with filmmaker and artist Terry Gilliam, a 10-metre illuminated installation in the Old Town featuring a quote inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote.

The trust has also organised city-wide reading initiatives and given away 93,000 free books through schools and community programmes.

Poet and author Michael Pederson, who was appointed Edinburgh Makar – the city’s official poet – this year, said: “Edinburgh is a literary behemoth, bubbling up with lustre and lore – now, then and every epoch inbetween. What a thrill to be made makar at such a salient moment in its formidable history.

“I’ll be using my makarship to ensure poetry remains within the heartbeat of this extraordinary, complicated, quirky, shapeshifter of a capital city, always punching above its weight.

“Here’s to its Gothic splendour, here’s to this glorious work.”

To mark the anniversary, the Scottish Book Trust has launched a list of 20 Edinburgh-based novels, with the public asked to name their favourite book set in the city.

Val Walker, culture and communities convener at City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It is exciting that it’s been two decades since Edinburgh was first given the title City of Literature.

“It’s even more exciting to think where it will be two decades from now, as the network continues to grow.

“We are, as always, extremely proud of being the founding city of this international cohort of Unesco cities of literature and look forward to continue working in partnership with Edinburgh City of Literature.”

The City of Literature designation recognises excellence and places an obligation on cities to nurture and support their artform.

There are now 53 cities with the designation, and they collaborate internationally by sharing best practice, supporting freedom of speech and running projects which ensure literature reaches as wide and diverse an audience as possible.