Published: 07 Feb 2020
Image: Chrys Salt at the Tasmanian Poetry Festival. Photo credit: Richard Macfarlane.
18 Scottish writers have been awarded grants to promote Scottish writing and culture worldwide by the Author International Travel Fund, a cornerstone pilot initiative of new international promotion service, Scottish Books International.
Alan Bett, Literature Officer at Creative Scotland said:
“It is increasingly important for authors and poets to take their work to international readers. The Author International Travel Fund has put Scottish writers in front of live audiences at festivals and events from Dublin to Australia, allowing their books to be read and discussed while opening up a variety of professional opportunities. Crucially, the Fund helps to remove the financial barriers in the way of writers from all backgrounds being able to exchange ideas and share their work more widely across the globe.”
Scottish Books International began life late November 2018 as a scoping project supported by Publishing Scotland, the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Creative Scotland to create a key point of contact for the Scottish sector, one acting as a connecting force for Scottish literature overseas.
Marion Sinclair of Publishing Scotland said:
“Scottish Books International is in its first year and aims to bring together all parts of the literary/book ecology in Scotland for the overseas promotion of Scottish writing, publishing and festivals. Through activities such as the Author Fund and the linkages with our other international activities and organisations, it is more vital than ever that we engage in a co-ordinated way to highlight and showcase the work of the sector.”
SBI launched internationally last year at the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair, celebrating its primary purpose: to support the development of international links for Scotland’s writers, festivals, publishers and organisations in other territories.
The Author International Travel Fund was set up as a grants scheme supporting authors invited to festivals and events overseas to promote their work. Aiding the facilitation of cultural exchange, the fund aims to:
In its first year of operation the fund has supported 18 Scottish writers and Scottish Books International is looking forward to growing this support in the coming year. The panel is drawn from Creative Scotland and the Edinburgh International Book Festival as well as the SBI manager.
Chrys Salt MBE, Writer and recipient of the award, said:
“I can’t thank the SBI enough for last year’s award from the Author International Travel Fund enabling me to accept the prestigious invitation to be International Poet at the Tasmanian Poetry Festival 2019. A subsequent tour of my work up the East Coast of Australia attracted wide audiences – both live and ‘on air’. Feedback was terrific; I made valuable contacts, sold £500 worth of books, and enhanced my reputation as a writer. My sequence about Scottish outsider artist Angus MacPhee from Uist was particularly well received, making folk aware of an important Scottish story.”
Details of grants awarded are listed below:
Find out more about Scottish Books International on their website
