Edinburgh hosts vibrant 2024 annual conference for UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature

The conference spanned four-and-a-half days, hosting 57 delegates from 37 cities, including Edinburgh, across 15 official events. These events showcased Edinburgh at its finest, highlighting why it was the first UNESCO City of Literature.

Delegates were introduced to many of Edinburgh’s remarkable literary organisations and charities, as well as to the Gavin Wallace Fellow, Mary Paulson-Ellis, who shared the work she has been doing with writers from other Cities of Literature. They also visited Abbotsford, the historic home of Sir Walter Scott, before attending a Civic Reception hosted by Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge.

During the reception, Edinburgh-based writer Mary Paulson-Ellis delivered a compelling keynote speech from a writer’s perspective, followed by a tribute from Hannah Trevarthen, Director Nottingham City of Literature, to former Edinburgh Director Ali Bowden.

On the Thursday, UNESCO Creative Cities Secretariat’s Denise Bax joined the conference, and delegates visited the National Library of Scotland, where they toured the exhibitions. Later, they proceeded to the Edinburgh Futures Institute, the new venue for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. There, the delegates participated in a Utopia Lab session with poet and Creative Projects Manager Jennifer Williams and met some of the Book Festival’s team.

The day concluded with a Literary Afternoon Tea at the Grand Sheraton Hotel, featuring Ian Rankin, Alistair Moffat, and Chitra Ramaswamy, where delegates and academics enjoyed literary-themed treats inspired by books like Trainspotting and Rob Roy.

The final day focused on University engagements, with a visit to Napier University to meet professors and course leaders, followed by a presentation at the University of Edinburgh where academics and City of Literature colleagues shared collaborative projects. The conference concluded with an eclectic mix of poetry, translation, and music featuring Edinburgh Makar, Michael Pedersen, poet Hollie McNish, musician Conor O’Brien, and Bremen-based writer Sadaf Zahedi.

Delegates brought with them their open minds, their passionate advice and tips, and children’s picture books, which were donated to Edinburgh Children’s Library. The donations offer a range of diverse and beautifully illustrated titles in the original language of each of the Cities.

During the Cities of Literature Annual Conference, an Academic Symposium was also held. Edinburgh City of Literature Trustee James Loxley brought together academics from higher education institutions connected with Cities of Literature to discuss past, present, and future collaborations and to explore greater academic coordination across the network. The participants discussed a range of global and local challenges and opportunities where meaningful organisation could develop, and agreed to take steps toward enhanced academic networking in the near future. They expressed hope that such a network would provide advice, support, inspiration, and shared experiences among universities and other higher education institutions working alongside Cities of Literature organisations.

About Edinburgh City of Literature

In 2004, Edinburgh was the first city to become a UNESCO City of Literature, sparking a global network of creative cities. Now there are 53 Cities of Literature that come together as an international advisory hub for aspiring Cities of Literature. Each city is dedicated to a host of international projects, collaborations, and advocacy for literature. The UNESCO designation ‘City of Literature’ recognises excellence and places an obligation on cities to nurture and support their artform. The cities 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, locally and internationally.