UNESCO’s First City of Literature: Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh is the birthplace and home to world-famous writers, poets, and playwrights including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Sir Walter Scott (Waverley), and JK Rowling (Harry Potter). It even has its own Poet Laureate, the Edinburgh Makar.

During two weeks each August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival features the world’s largest literary festival of its kind. It welcomes approximately 800 authors from nearly 40 countries and brings in over 225,000 visitors annually.

The more than 50 bookshops in this city of half-a-million people are key venues for a vibrant culture of readings, literary cabarets, and workshops. In 1725 the world’s first circulating library opened in Edinburgh and today free public libraries can be found all over. The National Library of Scotland, the leading center for the study of the Scots, the Scottish Poetry Library, and the Scottish Storytelling Centre are all found in Edinburgh.

City leaders are working closely with other Cities of Literature on a range of projects to share knowledge and expertise. Learn more here