Many congratulations to Canongate Books author Ruth Ozeki who has won the 2022 Women’s Prize for Fiction (pictured); the Scots Language Publication Grant Awardees for 2022 included Animal Fairm from Luath Press, Birds and Beasties: Scots Poems for Bairns from Itchy Coo / Black & White Publishing Ltd, Cedric the Flapper Skate from Doric Books CIC and Liberties from Rymour Books. And we spotted 3 Canongate titles on the James Cropper Wainwright Prize 2022 longlists as well as their staffer Helena Gonda, Senior Commissioning Editor listed as a 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair Fellow. And news just in, indie bookshops across the UK reveal the winners of the Indie Book Awards, as part of Independent Bookshop Week (18-25 June) - and they include Mrs Death Misses Death from Canongate in the Fiction category.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail or to talk about eligibility, please email Marion. Deadline for applications – 7 July 2022. This is tight but the form is not onerous, and we will make decisions very shortly after the closing date so travel, accommodation and meetings can be planned. 

To apply, please complete the Application form and read the Terms & Conditions below and email to [email protected] by 5pm on Thursday 7 July 2022.

The nine Publishing Scotland 2022 Fellows have been announced and we look forward to welcoming them to Scotland from 22-28 August. 

They are as follows:  

To book a slot at one of the above networking events email Patrick Jamieson with details of which event you wish to attend ASAP.

The new round of digital funding is open for applications from Scottish publishers. Apply by 1 August.

The Go-Digital fund supports Scottish-based book publishers in bringing their books to a new digital audience. It’s administered by Publishing Scotland with the help of funding from Creative Scotland.

The costs that will normally be funded are:

For digital marketing purposes

For the services of a specialist/consultant

For attending a digital event or conference

For equipment and software necessary in supporting the digital project

For attending a training course, or arranging an in-house training course on a digital theme.

Publishers can claim costs up to a maximum of £1,500 per company.

We are delighted to open the new round of translation funding for 2022 - an opportunity for international publishers to translate Scottish writers.

The purpose of the fund is to support publishers based outside the United Kingdom with the payment of translation fees to translate Scottish writers. Funding will be offered in the form of a grant and it is for translation costs only. Please share with your international colleagues.

We’ve added a new section on Policy which includes Scottish Independence, publishing and culture so far.

We have met with the team at EIBF and chatted about the sales opportunities for Scottish publishers post Covid recovery. The space for the bookshop is much smaller than the Charlotte Square village of bookshop tents we are used to. Overall the space given for the festival in general is reduced post Covid and thus the bookshop will remain so, at least until they relocate to the Quartermile next year.

However, they were confident this year that footfall will be increased, 2021 suffered from social distancing and reluctance of the general public to come to in-person events, and improved accessibility of the site this year should encourage more book buyers through the doors.

There will be a few changes to increase the flow of customers in the shop and integrate it better into the site, and there is more signing areas and a big event bookshop in Central Hall too. We plan to put together shelf talkers and help with your marketing and will be in touch about that soon.

Attached here full info and the spreadsheet to complete for submitting up to 10 titles for the shop – no charge again. Please send your spreadsheets back to Lucy by 1 July.

Join us at the Publishing Scotland offices on Wednesday 29 June (5.30–7pm) for a BookMachine Talking Audio Watch Party.

We will be gathering to connect in person and watch the virtual event on-screen where guests from Little, Brown, Audible UK, Beat Technologies and Pan Macmillan will be discussing 'Can anything be an audiobook?'. They’ll consider how publishers have experimented creatively with traditional book genres in audio, as well as the role of original recordings, a producer’s perspective and how consumers interact with audio. For more information on the event topic and speakers, see the Talking Audio event page. You don't need to buy a ticket to join us.

Vikki and Joan will be hosting in the North Bridge Room at the Publishing Scotland offices in Edinburgh from 5.30 to 7pm for chat, viewing and refreshments. If you are interested in coming, email [email protected].

Publishing Scotland’s Year of Stories online content continues with features, publisher spotlights and more showcasing our membership. We’d love to hear more about your upcoming books for the remainder of 2022, so please send any AIs, catalogues, or general information to Heather.

You can book now for our autumn courses including Introduction to Copy-editing, Introduction to Proofreading, Editing for Better Communications and Marketing your Freelance Business.

We are not running courses over summer but have details on our website for BIC, BookMachine, The Bookseller, and Nielsen events including:

• The Bookseller Marketing and Publicity Conference (27 June)

• Byte the Book: Book buyers: who buys books these days and what do they buy? (29 June)

• Nielsen BookData: Publisher Seminar (29 June)

• BookMachine: Talking Audio (join us for the Watch Party!) (29 June)

• BIC Brunch: Rights (30 June)

• BIC ONIX Essentials (5 and 6 July)

• BIC Brunch Thema Session: Children and Education (28 July)

For details of all our courses, see the Publishing Scotland website. See also Events.

A new Sustainability Industry Forum (SIF) has been launched by six book trade organisations with the aim of collaborating to reduce environmental impacts.

SIF’s overarching remit will be Publishing Declares, a series of pledges launched by the PA last year for companies to sign up to. Four working groups building on previous sustainability research will focus on:

The organisations involved are:

BooksfromScotland are delighted to welcome back the Scottish BPOC Writers Network to guest edit this month's issue based round the theme of Sanctuary.

‘Community is a key aspect of the safety that sanctuary provides.’

July/August – Summer Reading: Books that celebrate Scotland as a destination, books for getaway reading

September – Pause: Books that nourish any of the senses

October - Beyond borders: Books that have an international outlook

November/December- Festive Reading and Gifts

Any enquiries please contact Vikki Reilly.

Welcome to the latest Top 20 Bestselling Scottish Books in Scotland chart. And we have a new number one. It's William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin's The Dark Remains, published by our friends at Canongate.

Denzil Meyrick's The Death of Remembrance is still doing very well at number two, and we have new entries by Andrew Greig with the paperback release of Rose Nicholson, Jacqueline Wilson's reimagining of The Magic Faraway Tree, and JK Rowling's 25th anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Ten years on from the first Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival the run has extended to four days, the number of events has doubled and the authors are more diverse than ever. 2022 sees the return of several Bloody Scotland favourites - the dramatic torchlit procession through Stirling's historic old town led by pipes and drums, Scotland tackling England in the crime writers’ football match, the Crime at the Coo cabaret featuring an array of crime writers showing off their musical talents and the much-loved Quiz.

In addition to authors Sir Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz, Lisa Unger, Jeffrey Archer, Ann Cleeves and Frankie Boyle, debuts are at the heart of Bloody Scotland. As well as a commitment to bring the festival to the wider world and those who can’t make it to Stirling can buy digital passes.

This paper sets out a detailed analysis of the UK’s performance across a range of economic and social indicators relative to that of ten European countries. It is the first in the 'Building a new Scotland' series, focusing on independence.

Arkbound Foundation launch Crowdbound crowdfunding platform for books and projects that cover social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

The RSL Open programme celebrates the excellence of writers from communities that have been under-represented in UK literary culture. The RSL believes that literature is at its best when it includes voices from the greatest breadth of backgrounds and experiences, in all literary forms, from across the UK. RSL Open was launched in 2020 to celebrate the great diversity of outstanding writers and writing in Britain by electing 60 Fellows over the following two years of backgrounds and from communities under-represented in UK literature.

They are asking publishers, agents and arts administrators, passionate readers, and peers – to recommend excellent writers from communities under-represented in UK literary culture for nomination to their Fellowship. Deadline 17 July 2022.

Events and opportunities

Entries are open until Friday 19 August 2022 for the world’s most valuable literary sports-writing prize.

Apply by 14 September for this award from the Royal Society of Literature for first-time writers of non-fiction through a generous bequest from author and RSL Fellow Giles St Aubyn.

The UK Government’s Help to Grow scheme aims to give small and medium-sized businesses the tools they need to innovate, grow and help drive recovery from coronavirus.

There are two programmes:

Management

Sign up to the 12-week Help to Grow: Management course and get 1:1 support from a business mentor and access to an alumni network. Delivered in partnership with Small Business Charter, courses are running at leading business schools across the UK.​ The programme is 90% funded by the government so you only pay £750. Find out more on the Small Business Charter website.

If any Publishing Scotland members are interested in what is involved in the Management programme, we can put them in touch with a member who is taking part.

Digital

You’ll be able to access free, impartial online support about how digital technology can boost your business’s performance. From December 2021, if your business is eligible, you can also get a discount of up to 50% towards the costs of buying approved software, worth up to £5,000. Register Your interest on the UK Government website.

Paisley Book Festival seeks a programmer to support the delivery of the Paisley Book Festival in February 2023

Apply as soon as possible for this full-time, permanent job in Dalkeith.

Apply as soon as possible for this full-time, permanent position (Edinburgh and home working).

Apply by 29 June for this intern role based in Glasgow.

Apply by Friday 1 July 2022 for this full-time, fixed term position.

Apply by Friday 1 July 2022 for this part-time position. Scottish PEN is seeking a capable and imaginative freelancer.

Apply by 7 July 2022 at 12:00 for this permanent full-time fundraising role based in Edinburgh.