Books & Poetry

Scotland’s wild landscapes and dramatic history have been a rich source of inspiration for writers for centuries

New analysis reveals the Scottish locations where most books are set
From the windswept moors of the Highlands to the lush landscapes of the Outer Hebrides and ancient abbeys of the Scottish Borders, every corner of Scotland has found its way into literature, resulting in thousands of books set across the whole country.

Crime writing festival Bloody Scotland reveals longlist for 2024 McIlvanney Prize

Crime writing festival Bloody Scotland reveals longlist for 2024 McIlvanney Prize

Crime writing festival Bloody Scotland reveals longlist for 2024 McIlvanney Prize

Lady's Tower in Fife

Lady's Tower in Fife

How a famed Fife landmark inspired a gripping French literary thriller

Elizabeth Bishop poem translated into Scottish Gaelic by University of Glasgow

Elizabeth Bishop poem translated into Scottish Gaelic by University of Glasgow

Elizabeth Bishop poem translated into Scottish Gaelic by University of Glasgow

The novel asks profound political and philosophical questions about Scotland's Culture War issues

The novel asks profound political and philosophical questions about Scotland's Culture War issues

1

The novel that does for Scotland’s Culture Wars what Orwell did for totalitarianism

Bowie was 'mischievous and calculating - but brave to make gay comments'

Bowie was 'mischievous and calculating - but brave to make gay comments'

1

'I am gay' - Why the day David Bowie said he was gay changed pop forever

The Black Cuillins Across Loch Scavaig. Picture: CM Dixon/Heritage Images/Getty Images

The Black Cuillins Across Loch Scavaig. Picture: CM Dixon/Heritage Images/Getty Images

'The raw beauty of Skye took my breath away'

Writer Rab Wilson

Writer Rab Wilson

'Get scrievin awa an hae a go' - Herald launches Scots Language poetry prize

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone will go up for auction

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone will go up for auction

1

First edition Harry Potter book sells for more than £40k at auction

Travel books make great travel companions

Travel books make great travel companions

'I wish to be hell on wheels, or dead' - 10 of the greatest travel books

Deliver Me is a slice of Southern Gothic body horror

Deliver Me is a slice of Southern Gothic body horror

The woman who wouldn't believe the doctors when they told her she wasn't pregnant

He wrote like an angel: An appreciation of John Burnside

1

'The world fizzes with colour and tension in this frontier fairytale'

Indigenous Scots Language Awards to be held in Ayrshire for 2024 ceremony

Indigenous Scots Language Awards to be held in Ayrshire for 2024 ceremony

2

Indigenous Scots Language Awards to be held in Ayrshire for 2024 ceremony

Summer holidays are the time for glamorous locations and suspense-laden twists

Summer holidays are the time for glamorous locations and suspense-laden twists

10 most gripping summer reads for 2024: Thrillers, murder mysteries and cosy crime

The City of Glasgow College is close its TUC Education Centre

The City of Glasgow College is close its TUC Education Centre

1

Letters: Decision to close union education centre must be reversed

Duo discovered at Wigtown Book Festival releasing album with The Who's Pete Townshend

Duo discovered at Wigtown Book Festival releasing album with The Who's Pete Townshend

1

Duo discovered at Wigtown Book Festival releasing album with The Who's Pete Townshend

The novel is set in a Fife coastal town

The novel is set in a Fife coastal town

A town so isolated that even moving to Glasgow seems an unattainably glamorous dream

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is facing calls to cut ties with investors Baillie

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is facing calls to cut ties with investors Baillie

7

Patrick Harvie: 'mixed feelings' over fossil fuel book festival boycott campaign

Hugo Rifkind is the son of the Conservative Party politician Sir Malcolm

Hugo Rifkind is the son of the Conservative Party politician Sir Malcolm

2

A story of doomed and very posh love from a scion of the Scots elite

Protesters outside Baillie Gifford's offices

Protesters outside Baillie Gifford's offices

ROSEMARY GORING

10

The climate activists and Pro-Palestinian campaigners who seek only to destroy

Lisa Woollett. Picture: Ellie Wainwright

Lisa Woollett. Picture: Ellie Wainwright

Uncovering the Scottish village that was buried in 1413 during a nine-day sandstorm

Kevin Barry's novel has the same grit and glamour as TV series Deadwood

Kevin Barry's novel has the same grit and glamour as TV series Deadwood

Stolen horses, vengeful husbands and a trio of psychopathic Cornish killers

Wigtown Book Festival is ending its partnership with Baillie Gifford after 14 years

Wigtown Book Festival is ending its partnership with Baillie Gifford after 14 years

3

Wigtown Book Festival to end Baillie Gifford partnership after 14 years

The Edinburgh Book Festival has ended its deal with Baillie Gifford after pressure from campaigners

The Edinburgh Book Festival has ended its deal with Baillie Gifford after pressure from campaigners

7

Carlos Alba: Campaigners were right to protest Baillie Gifford Book Festival funding

John Burnside: A man who came through the fire & forged something better of himself

John Burnside: A man who came through the fire & forged something better of himself

1

John Burnside: A man who came through the fire & forged something better of himself

A Scottish bothy

A Scottish bothy

Author tackles notion that Scotland's bothies are attracting the 'wrong sort'

How can we stop our calls for justice from forcing our festivals to close?

How can we stop our calls for justice from forcing our festivals to close?

2

How can we stop our calls for justice from forcing our festivals to close?

Acclaimed Scottish poet and novelist John Burnside dies aged 69

Edinburgh International Book Festival

Edinburgh International Book Festival

Edinburgh International Book Festival

10

Edinburgh International Book Festival ends Baillie Gifford sponsorship

DAO announce 2024 Associates

DAO announce 2024 Associates

Edinburgh poet announced as new Disability Arts Online Associate Artist

Emma Stone in the adaption of Gray's Poor Things

Emma Stone in the adaption of Gray's Poor Things

New funding for Alasdair Gray Archive to commission creatives

Mhairi McFarlane is preparing to release her 10th novel this month

Mhairi McFarlane is preparing to release her 10th novel this month

BEST OF SCOTLAND

Meet the Falkirk-born author determined to get rom-com taken seriously

Kayus Bankole of Young Fathers performs onstage at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California

Kayus Bankole of Young Fathers performs onstage at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California

Malini Chakrabarty: Institutional racism is destroying Scotland's cultural tapestry

Tighnabruaich Beach

Tighnabruaich Beach

The Argyll bay that inhabits my dark imagination, by writer Daniel Smith

Any Human Power

Any Human Power

Book review: A revolution guided by dreams

Hanna Dyka (left) Dr Peter Kormylo and Susan Taylor

Hanna Dyka (left) Dr Peter Kormylo and Susan Taylor

Rare book of Burns poems in Ukrainian donated to Mitchell Library

The top ten fantastic new books hitting the shelves this summer

The top ten fantastic new books hitting the shelves this summer

The top ten fantastic new books hitting the shelves this summer

Holyrood provides plenty of ammo

Holyrood provides plenty of ammo

'There is no shortage of mischievously funny lines in this satire on Scots politics'

17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, left, shot dead two men during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Wisconsin

17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, left, shot dead two men during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Wisconsin

American literary star and the family secret of gran who shot dead his grandfather

The best tourist attractions in Scotland? It's got to be the graveyards

Sarah Perry: Picture: Sophie Davidson

Sarah Perry: Picture: Sophie Davidson

'A creature out of time who’s never really absolutely at home in the world'

This is a heady dive into late 19th Century Japan

This is a heady dive into late 19th Century Japan

Scottish missionaries and Japanese prostitutes in an absorbing historical tale

6

After the Union, the English were tied to 'incorrigibly violent' Scotland

Rankin wrote to Lothian and Borders Polis and was directed to a Leith police station, where he found himself a suspect in a case

Rankin wrote to Lothian and Borders Polis and was directed to a Leith police station, where he found himself a suspect in a case

RAB'S SCOTTISH ICONS

1

Curious crime writing legend Rankin almost became a suspect himself

'We like a bad boy, don’t we?' Ian Rankin on the rebirth of a dark and gritty Rebus

Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire

Bothwell Castle in Lanarkshire

'This Scottish castle is like something out of Narnia'

Domhnall Gleeson and Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn

Domhnall Gleeson and Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn

10 of the best new historical fiction novels to read right now

Winner of the 2023 Anne Brown Essay Prize Rodge Glass (centre) is presented with his award by Adrian Turpin (left), Creative Director of the Wigtown Book Festival and broadcaster and author Gavin Esler

Winner of the 2023 Anne Brown Essay Prize Rodge Glass (centre) is presented with his award by Adrian Turpin (left), Creative Director of the Wigtown Book Festival and broadcaster and author Gavin Esler

Herald columnist Brian Taylor leads the judging panel for prestigious prize

Glasgow Boys, by Margaret McDonald

Glasgow Boys, by Margaret McDonald

Scottish coming of age story is handled with boundless sensitivity and compassion

On a misty Highlands morning, hiking in the hills above Glen Almond, Caroline discovered a holy grail for foragers: the delicious, elusive, near-mythical cloudberry

On a misty Highlands morning, hiking in the hills above Glen Almond, Caroline discovered a holy grail for foragers: the delicious, elusive, near-mythical cloudberry

BEST OF SCOTLAND

Stumbling across cloudberries, one of Scotland's rarest fruits

Luke Sutherland

Luke Sutherland

LUKE SUTHERLAND

'The Golden Void by Hawkwind always lifts me outside of myself'

Demonstrators, a young boy among them, picket in front of a school board office in protest of segregation, St Louis, Missouri, early 1960s. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images).

Demonstrators, a young boy among them, picket in front of a school board office in protest of segregation, St Louis, Missouri, early 1960s. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images).

Dead at 22, the woman who should have been one of the greatest American writers

Story Wagon is running storytelling events on the isle of Bute this summer

Story Wagon is running storytelling events on the isle of Bute this summer

Storytelling events aim to 'reanimate public space' on Scottish island

Read more articles