Scottish has always punched above its weight when it comes to the arts – from film stars to poets.
And that’s certainly the case when it comes to novelists, with many of the world’s best-known authors harking from Scotland.
The earliest books written in Scotland date back as far at the sixth century and since then generations of writers have continued to put their country on the literary map.
In no particular order, here are 10 of the Scottish authors who have sold the most books worldwide. For the purposes of this list we have not included those people who have simply chosen to call Scotland home – with apologies to the likes of Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling and Under The Skin author Michel Faber.
5. Robert Louis Stevenson
Born in Edinburgh in 1850, where he was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Edinburgh University, Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a multi-talented novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Kidnapped. Photo: Hulton Archive
6. Walter Scott
Born in Edinburgh in 1771 the historian, poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott originally worked as a lawyer before turning his hand to literature. His historical novels include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Waverley, and The Heart of Mid-Lothian. The gothic Scott Monument in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens is the second largest monument to a writer in the world (after Cuba's José Martí monument). Photo: Hulton Archive
7. Iain Banks
The much-missed author Iain Banks was born in Dunfermline in 1954 and was equally popular as a writer of mainstream novels such as The Wasp Factory and The Crow Road and of science fiction, under the name Iain M Banks. He announced he had inoperable cancer in April 2013, and tragically died just two months later. Photo: Mike Lawn
8. J.M. Barrie
Forever to be remembered for his most famous character - Peter Pan - Sir James Matthew Barrie was born in Kirriemuir in 1860 and was educated in Scotland before moving to London where he wrote his most successful novels and plays. Peter Pan first appeared as a character in Barrie's novel The Little White Bird, before becoming the central figure in the play entitled Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. The play premiered in 1904, before being expanded to create a second novel, called Peter and Wendy, published in 1911. Photo: Getty Images