Scottish Book Trust
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Book Trust is a national organisation based in Edinburgh, Scotland
for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Scottish Book Trust works with and for a range of audiences, including: babies and parents through their Bookbug programme; children and young people; teachers and learning professionals; writers and publishers.
• Invests £3 million per year to inspire and encourage readers and writers in Scotland
• Funds over 1,200 literature events connecting 50,000 readers with writers through Live Literature funding
• Reaches every baby in Scotland through their Bookstart book gifting programme
• Champions and supports over 400 Scottish writers and illustrators throughout their careers
• Runs the biggest children’s book
awards in the UK, judged by over 30,000 schoolchildren
• Develops resources to support hundreds of teachers and librarians improve literacy
• Promotes the joy of reading and writing to 20,000 online visitors a month, including teenagers
Working through locally-based partners including libraries, health professionals and early years settings, Bookstart gives free books to all Scottish children at around:
• 8 weeks – Bookstart pack for babies
• 18 months – Bookstart +
• 3 years – Bookstart Treasure Chest
The packs are given with guidance materials for parents and carers, including advice on sharing books with young children, information about libraries as well as fun and engaging materials to boost a child’s language, listening skills and early writing.
• The Royal Mail
Awards, which is now Scotland’s largest reading campaign, involving nearly 25,000 children in schools and libraries across Scotland, reading and voting for their favourite Scottish children’s books of the year.
• Scottish Book Trust also runs a national touring and events, showcasing the best children’s authors and illustrators and their new books. Authors are taken all over the country to meet and inspire children in their schools, increase their reading confidence and their interest in creative writing
.
opportunities for writers at all stages of their careers.
The Scottish Book Trust mentoring programme helps writers unlock their potential and move forward in their writing careers. Past mentors have included novelists Bernard MacLaverty
, Alan Bissett
and Louise Welsh
, as well as industry professionals such agents and editors.
Mentoring is also available for emerging authors, as part of the New Writers Awards.
It provides resources and CPD for teachers based around its programme.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Scottish Book Trust works with and for a range of audiences, including: babies and parents through their Bookbug programme; children and young people; teachers and learning professionals; writers and publishers.
Key Facts
Scottish Book Trust:• Invests £3 million per year to inspire and encourage readers and writers in Scotland
• Funds over 1,200 literature events connecting 50,000 readers with writers through Live Literature funding
• Reaches every baby in Scotland through their Bookstart book gifting programme
• Champions and supports over 400 Scottish writers and illustrators throughout their careers
• Runs the biggest children’s book
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
awards in the UK, judged by over 30,000 schoolchildren
• Develops resources to support hundreds of teachers and librarians improve literacy
• Promotes the joy of reading and writing to 20,000 online visitors a month, including teenagers
Early Years programme
Bookbug, previously known as Bookstart in Scotland, aims to encourage all parents and carers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible, so that every child in Scotland develops a lifelong love of books.Working through locally-based partners including libraries, health professionals and early years settings, Bookstart gives free books to all Scottish children at around:
• 8 weeks – Bookstart pack for babies
• 18 months – Bookstart +
• 3 years – Bookstart Treasure Chest
The packs are given with guidance materials for parents and carers, including advice on sharing books with young children, information about libraries as well as fun and engaging materials to boost a child’s language, listening skills and early writing.
Children and Young People programme
Scottish Book Trust children’s programme aims to get children and young people excited about reading and writing. It reaches over 45,000 children across Scotland every year through live book events and reading and writing campaigns, which include:• The Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
Awards, which is now Scotland’s largest reading campaign, involving nearly 25,000 children in schools and libraries across Scotland, reading and voting for their favourite Scottish children’s books of the year.
• Scottish Book Trust also runs a national touring and events, showcasing the best children’s authors and illustrators and their new books. Authors are taken all over the country to meet and inspire children in their schools, increase their reading confidence and their interest in creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
.
Writer development programme
The Writer Development programme offers a range of professional developmentProfessional development
Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement. Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning...
opportunities for writers at all stages of their careers.
The Scottish Book Trust mentoring programme helps writers unlock their potential and move forward in their writing careers. Past mentors have included novelists Bernard MacLaverty
Bernard MacLaverty
Bernard MacLaverty is a writer of fiction. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 14 September 1942, and lived there until 1975 when he moved to Scotland with his wife, Madeline, and four children...
, Alan Bissett
Alan Bissett
Alan Bissett is an author and playwright from Hallglen, an area of Falkirk in Scotland. After the publication of his first two novels, Boyracers and The Incredible Adam Spark, he became known for his different take on Scots dialect writing, evolving a style specific to Falkirk, suffused with...
and Louise Welsh
Louise Welsh
Louise Welsh is an author of short stories and novels, based in Glasgow, Scotland.Welsh studied History at Glasgow University and traded in second-hand books for several years before publishing her first novel....
, as well as industry professionals such agents and editors.
Mentoring is also available for emerging authors, as part of the New Writers Awards.
Learning Professionals
Scottish Book Trust works with teachers, librarians and literature development experts to create learning resources, projects and events which promote literacy through literature.It provides resources and CPD for teachers based around its programme.