Edinburgh University Press (EUP) is to publish the previously unpublished private papers of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). One of the most-studied and revered figures in US history, Douglass was a self-educated emancipated slave whose career as a writer and a racial equality activist spanned the American Civil War period. EUP was chosen to publish by Dr Walter O Evans, the owner of the private papers, based on connections to the author (he visited Scotland and undertook an anti-slavery speaking tour), and Dr Evans's belief that EUP's scholarly rather than commercial priorities made it the best fit with his desire to make the papers widely accessible to scholars.

The Insider of 24 May 2018 (Colin Donald) has the full story of this major and exciting publishing event, The book's authors will be at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 20 August and publication of If I Survive in September will be accompanied by an exhibition at the National Library of Scotland.

i-SPY the iconic spotting guides, beloved by children and parents are celebrating their 70th anniversary. The series was first published in 1948 when creator, Charles Warrell, began selling small paperbacks versions in his local Woolworths.

A lot may have changed since then but kids still love to spot! The simple, enduring formula remains unchanged - look around you, tick off what you see and once completed send off to receive a certificate. There's also a limited number of special anniversary badges this year.

Co-published by Collins and Michelin there are currently over fifty i-SPY books available to buy in the series, with over half a million sold in the UK.  See the Collins website .

SALTIRE SOCIETY PUBLISHER AWARDS 2018 OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

Now well-established on the literary calendar, the Publisher and Emerging Publisher awards are open for submissions until Monday 20 August 2018. You can find full details and application forms on the Saltire Society's website.

ORWELL BOOK PRIZE 2018

Poverty Safari  by Darren McGarvey (Luath Press) is the winner of the  Orwell Book Prize 2018 .  Winter  by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton) was shortlisted.

INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2018

Solar Bones  by Mike McCormack is the winner of this year's award. Canongate Books publishes the UK version of this novel which was first published by Tramp Press, an independent in Ireland.

EDGE AWARD 2018

Edinburgh-based 404 Ink were announced as recipients of a  Young Edge grant , for Scotland's most promising young entrepreneurs. 404 Ink is the first publisher to receive the accolade.

SUNDAY HERALD CULTURE AWARDS SHORTLIST 2018

404 Ink are also shortlisted for a culture award in 'The One to Watch' category. Bernard Lavery, Gail Honeyman, Malachy Talack and Michael Pedersen are all shortlisted for 'Best Writer'. The winners will be announced on 12 July. See the Sunday Herald Culture Awards website .

PEN TRANSLATES AWARDS 2018

Books from seventeen countries and ten languages make up the latest round of PEN Translates award winners. They include two novels to be published by Edinburgh-based Charco Press: Peruvian title The Distance between Us by Renato Cisneros, translated from Spanish by Fionn Petch, and Brazilian title Resistance by Julián Fuks, translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. 

GOLDEN MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (Bloomsbury Publishing) has been announced as the winner of the Golden Man Booker Prize at the closing event of the Man Booker 50th Anniversary Festival at Southbank Centre in London. The winner of this special one-off prize was chosen by the public from a shortlist selected by five specially appointed judges.

ARTFUND MUSEUM OF THE YEAR 2018

The amazing Glasgow Women's Library was on the shortlist for the biggest museum prize in the world. As a finalist they were awarded £10,000. The winner - Tate St Ives - was awarded the title and £100,000 at a ceremony on 5 July. See the Art Fund website .

KELPIES PRIZE 2018 SHORTLIST

The Kelpies Prize is an annual prize for new Scottish writing for children run by publisher Floris Books. This year's shortlisted books are: Haunted Tide  by Celia Bryce; The Lost Wizard of Nine Witches Wood  by Hannah Foley; and Over the Sea to Skye  by Robin Scott-Elliot. The winner will be announced on 24 August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. For more details, see the Floris Books website .

THE WAINWRIGHT GOLDEN BEER PRIZE 2018 SHORTLIST

The Dun Cow Rib by John Lister-Kaye (Canongate), The Seabird's Cry by Adam Nicholson (Collins) and The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (Hamish Hamilton) are among the seven books shortlisted for this prize celebrating the best books about nature, the outdoors and UK travel. The winner will be announced on 2 August. See the Wainwright Golden Beer Prize website .

THE MCKITTERICK PRIZE 2018 SHORTLIST

Darke by Rick Gekoski (Canongate Books) has been shortlisted for this prize for a first novel by a writer over 40. The winner will be announced on 19 July. See the Society of Authors website .

THE TOM GALLAN TRUST AWARD 2018 SHORTLIST

A short story - My Body Cannot Forget your Body - by Glasgow-based writer Kirsty Logan has been shortlisted. The award is for a short story by a writer who has had at least one short story accepted for publication. The winner will be announced on 19 July. See the Society of Authors website .

EDWIN MORGAN PRIZE 2018 SHORTLIST

Tom Docherty, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Daisy Lafarge, Peter Ratter and Roseanne Watt are all shortlisted for the 2018 Edwin Morgan Prize. The poets are shortlisted on the basis of an unpublished collection of poems. For more on all the poets, see the Scottish Poetry Library website. The winner will be announced at a special event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Wednesday 22 August.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL FIRST BOOK AWARD 2018

The winner of this award for debut novelists/first-time publications in English is selected by readers. Everyone who casts a vote is entered into a prize draw to win all the titles in the award. Novels on the list include: Black Snow Falling by LJ MacWhirter (Scotland Street Press); The Tyranny of Lost Things by Rhiannon Cosslett (Sandstone Press); Sal by Mick Kitson (Canongate Books); Resistance  by Julián Fuks, translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn (Charco Press); and Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar by Olga Wojtas (Saraband).

THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2018 SHORTLIST

Two Scottish writers have books among the six shortlisted titles: Denise Mina has The Long Drop (Harvill Secker) and Val McDermid has Insidious Intent (Sphere). The winner will be announced on 19 July.

The recent fire at Glasgow School of Art means that an iconic building could be lost. But it also means local residents still can’t get into their homes, businesses are closed, education is disrupted. For Aye-Aye Books at the CCA it means they can’t open the bookshop, or even get into it. The CCA is within the fire exclusion zone and no one knows when that might change. Right now they can’t trade and that may be the position for weeks or months. They have no income, but continuing costs. If you can help with their fundraising, please donate at GoFundMe now.

This event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival brings together a panel from Publishing Scotland (Moira Forsyth of Sandstone Press), the new National Centre for Writing in Norwich (Peggy Hughes) and the RLS Fellowship in France. Being a writer can be a precarious business. With threats to funding and publishers struggling, the networks and communities that support writers have become increasingly important to their creative life. This discussion explores how we can ensure literature thrives in Scotland and beyond. It takes place on 11 August 2018 at 4pm. You can buy tickets from the Edinburgh International Book Festival website.

BUTE NOIR CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL (ROTHESAY): 3 TO 5 AUGUST

As usual, there's plenty of 'murder and mayhem doon the watter' in this year's festival. New writers join a host of big names including Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Chris Brookmyre, Alex Gray and Graeme Macrae Burnet. See the Bute Noir website .

FRINGE BY THE SEA (NORTH BERWICK): 3 TO 12 AUGUST

Extending to 10 days for the first time, this popular festival has a programme jam-packed with music, comedy, literature, film, politics and other seaside shenanigans. The literature strand includes Richard Holloway, Ron Butlin, Vivian French, Debi Gliori, Sally Magnusson and Judy Murray among others. See the Fringe by the Sea website.

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE : 3 TO 27 AUGUST

The programme is overwhelming but even a short trawl unearthed a fair few bookish events including: Blackwell's Writers at the Fringe; That's What She Said (women writers spoken word); Adam Kay ( Secret Diaries of A Junior Doctor); A Substitute for Life (a play about a man who uses books to hide from reality); children's shows based on the Wee MacNessie; and Cat in the Hat books; Misha Glenny author of McMafia; Austentatious (back for the seventh year); and a talk on entertainment and publishing contracts. See the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL: 3 TO 27 AUGUST

Lots of theatre, dance and music of course but this year i t also features two special evenings of Lit out Loud from Neu! Reekie! as part of Light on the Shore at Leith Theatre. See the Edinburgh International Festival website ( Neu! Reekie! #1 and Neu! Reekie! #2) .

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL: 3 TO 27 AUGUST

As well as hundreds of events in Charlotte Square Gardens, the festival has expanded into George Street again with a cafe, bookshop and new Muriel Spark Theatre venue. Broad themes in the vast and varied programme include: freedom and equality, politics for change, sport and society, our planet and us, Scottish ideas and Muriel Spark 100. Adele Patrick, Afua Hirsch and Yanis Varoufakis are just some of the guest selectors. See the Edinburgh International Book Festival website .

SCOTLANDSFEST 2018 (EDINBURGH): 20 TO 24 AUGUST

What was it like to paint Muriel Spark’s portrait? What is the connection between computer code, myth and magic? How do we grow a better Scotland? Does politics matter? All this and more at ScotlandsFest sessions with writers, artists and thinkers, where you are also invited to have your say. Organised by Luath Press, publisher of two Saltire Award-winning books in 2017. See the Luath Press website.

BEYOND BORDERS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL (INNERLEITHEN): 25 AND 26 AUGUST

Visit Traquair's beautiful Walled Garden over the festival weekend for music; film; workshops; storytelling; exhibitions; yoga and meditation; and food and drink. Allan Little interviews former CIA agent Valerie Plame, Razia Iqbal explores the on-going fight for women’s voices to be heard, and Richard Holloway and Stuart Kelly discuss their latest books. For details and to book, see the Beyond Borders website.

The Publishing Scotland website has a calendar of book festivals.

 PUBLISHING SCOTLAND/EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL: EDINBURGH

Scottish Books International Manager (24 hours per week, fixed term 18 months): apply by Thursday 12 July 2018.

RIAS: EDINBURGH

Receptionist/Bookshop Assistant. Apply for this job-share position by Friday 13 July 2018.

FLORIS BOOKS: EDINBURGH

Sales and Marketing Assistant (initial 12 month contract): apply by 9am on Monday 16 July 2018.

SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST: EDINBURGH

Marketing Communications Co-ordinator: apply for this full-time, fixed-term position (until 31 March 2019) by 9am on Thursday 19 July 2018.

DC THOMSON MEDIA: DUNDEE

Editor 110% Gaming: apply for this full-time, permanent position by Friday 20 July 2018.

ACAIR: STORNOWAY

Marketing and Communications Officer: apply for this full-time position by Monday 23 July 2018.

SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST: EDINBURGH

Director of Programme: apply for this full-time position by Monday 23 July 2018.

FLORIS BOOKS: EDINBURGH

Junior Designer (initial 12 month contract): apply by 9am on Monday 30 July 2018.

404 INK: EDINBURGH

Non-executive board members: apply by 31 July 2018.

PICTURE HOOKS: VARIOUS

The 2018/19 mentoring scheme is now open to illustrators: apply by midnight on 30 September 2018.

For more details of all these jobs, see the Publishing Scotland website .

LITERARY WORLD CUP

If only the World Cup was decided on votes like Scottish Book Trust's Scottish Novel World Cup! But maybe not given what happens at Eurovision. Anyway, check out the Scottish Book Trust website to see what novels are still in the running.

BASH STREET KIDS AT THE MCMENACE

Temporarily renamed, Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum is hosting an exhibition of all things Beano in celebration of the publications's 80th anniversary. The show takes in the history of the comic's publisher DC Thomson as well as the story of printing and the birth of Beano. This free exhibition runs until 2 October 2018.

GROWING UP WITH BOOKS

This exhibition at Edinburgh's Museum of Childhood explores the world of children's books. It features a l arge selection of books from the Museum archives, ranging from the 18th century through to the mid 20th century and runs until 9 December 2018 .

AND FINALLY ...

A book that summarises the classics with two pictures and the least amount of words possible has to be recommended reading for this long sun-soaked summer. Literary Hub has some examples of the highly efficient summaries. Abridged Classics by John Atkinson (HarperCollins) is out on 26 July 2018.