Edinburgh Book Festival: Scots, Stories & the Seat That Nearly Launched My Granny

Welcome to the Edinburgh International Books Festival 2025 - my happy place!

My Edinburgh International Book Festival 2025 is officially underway - and yes, the legendary colour-coded spreadsheet has made its triumphant return. Kay means business. No faffin’, no fluffin’, and absolutely no dilly-dallying. This is a tightly scheduled literary operation.

My first event was “Gettin Stairtit wi Writin Scots,” a writing workshop led by Orcadian poet and novelist, Harry Josephine Giles. It was an absolute delight!

The workshop was filled with fun and thought provoking exercises that encouraged us to open up the Scots language and explore different ways of working with it. We were introduced to useful resources - Scots dictionaries, thesauruses, and a range of writing from other authors. We also had discussions about the language's rich history and many dialects.

Picked up a copy at the onsite festival book shop

I often incorporate text into my artwork, and the workshop really inspired me to start weaving Scots into that creative process.

Scots makes me think of my Granny. Hearing certain words instantly brings a big, beaming smile to my face - full of warmth and memory, especially moments spent chatting in her kitchen as a child. It holds depth and heart and has the power to express things that I believe standard English just can’t. With its playful rhythm, the Scots language also has a charming way of adding humour to everyday talk, leading to loads of witty and amusing sayings. 

Scottish themed children’s books on sale at the festival shop

One of the workshop exercises involved spending three minutes writing about our favourite place. I chose my local theatre - a space I’ve loved since childhood, where I used to see The Singing Kettle perform on stage. These days, I have the privilege of working there as a casual front of house staff member. Every time I’m on shift, I can almost feel my Granny beside me in that auditorium.

One very specific memory always sticks in my mind: she once bought last minute tickets that ended up being right at the back - up in the gods. What she didn’t realise was that the seats were directly in front of the speaker. So when Cilla and Artie burst onto the stage and the music kicked in, my Granny got such a fright she leapt right out of her seat. I thought it was hilarious. She absolutely did not.

Two familiar Scots writers doing a live broadcast on the festival grounds. The wonderful Len Pennie (Scots language poet) and Val McDermid (Scottish crime writer).

In the workshop, we were asked to write freely about a memory like this, then reflect on the related senses - what we could see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. We then had to narrow our writing down to a maximum of 20 words, adding any Scots that came to mind, with dictionaries and resources on hand if we needed them.

Here’s what I came up with:

Saying this out loud makes me laugh - it captures exactly how I felt as a kid in that moment. If my wee Granny were still around and knew I was writing this, she’d be calling me a cheeky wee besom without hesitation! 

The workshop made me realise how many Scots words are still tucked away in my mind, resting in my unconscious, waiting to be revived and spoken again.

Upstairs in the Edinburgh Futures Institute building - home of the festival

Towards the end of the session, another participant reflected on the misconception that Scots is “just slang.” As a group, we discussed the negative connotations tied to that word - how it’s entangled with class, power, and social hierarchy.

Someone joked, “Posh folk don’t have slang. They have idioms.” It was a moment that really stuck with me - both funny and sharp, and a reminder of how language is treated so differently depending on who’s speaking it.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is open until Sunday, 24th August 2025. There are a variety of in-person and online events for all ages, something for everyone!

If you're interested in exploring the programme of events, you can find out more on the official festival website.