Edinburgh was the world's first City of Literature - let's shout about it

Dr Harriet MacMillan, who takes up her role as director of the body next month, said she wanted to capitalise on the city’s status as an internationally-recognised literary hub to encourage more people to take an interest in books and writing.

She also said she wants to monetise commercial sponsorships around the rich cultural heritage of the city’s writing legacy - as well as the success of contemporary authors.

Dr MacMillan said Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, which was established 20 years ago as the first of its kind in the world, needs to shout about its successes “more loudly” - and forge partnerships with commercial sponsors.

She said: “What I'd like to see is everybody in the city being aware of what it means to be the world's first city of literature and everyone to have that feeling about it.

“Edinburgh as a city of literature has got this incredible international kudos. All the other cities of literature in the world look to Edinburgh for inspiration and guidance and support, and it really is such an important thing on that international cultural stage. My feeling is that there should be more recognition and more activity here in Edinburgh to celebrate that.”

She said creating a city-wide understanding of Edinburgh's literary history would help take city children away from screens and back to reading.

“Finding ways into engaging young readers is hugely important,” she said. “Literacy rates are falling, and I know that fewer children are reading books. So I do think that is a huge challenge, but it's also an interesting provocation we'll be thinking about as we flesh out what comes next.

“It's really important to demonstrate to young people that actually looks an alternative way of being. They're actually a remedy and a safe place away from what can be quite dangerous in terms of smartphones and the internet. I think technology is great, but also I'm very aware of what harms it can cause. I think anything we can do to be getting hands books in the hands of younger readers, we should do.

“I think that part of it needs to come from the classroom, and part of it also needs to be about parents being empowered to be encouraging reading.”

She said she would also like to create a public facing space for the organisation in Edinburgh to be “more active within the city” and offer support for local writers hoping to extend their reach abroad.

Dr MacMillan said: “Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature has done a lot of really amazing things over the past 20 years, but it's been quite quiet about it.”

Initiatives have included erecting quotes from Sir Walter Scott’s best known novel, Waverley, across the floors, windows and walkways of Waverley Station, as well as inscribing the words of Scottish authors into the city’s walls and pavements and projecting poetry onto Edinburgh Castle rock.

She said: “For me, projects that encourage participation from the public are really important. The visual elements and the train station and elsewhere have been amazing. I'd love to see more of that.

“I'd love to see also those elements that encourage a certain level of interaction, and developing different technological ways of presenting the city stories. We've got such a great campus to work from and I'd love to see opportunities for both people living in Edinburgh, and also the many visitors who come to Edinburgh to really engage with those stories in interesting and unique ways.”

Literary tourism

She suggested installations describing Edinburgh’s literary heritage could be created, as well as information boards erected around the city. Meanwhile, she also plans to tie up with existing organisations to “provide a literary element to other existing forms of tourism”.

She said: “Obviously it is expensive and I'm not going to promise the world, we’re a small organisation. But that's the kind of thing I would like to do.”

However, she sees an opportunity in monetising the city’s literary heritage. Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature is partly funded by Edinburgh Council and partly through private donations.

She said: “We would like to be generating some income from from these activities. We have so many people coming to Edinburgh, and I think we need to be capitalising more on sharing that literary heritage and our contemporary literary scene with that audience.

Dr MacMillan, who was previously literature officer at Creative Scotland, said: “We're developing our new strategy, and we're going to be identifying some new sources of funding to support it in a more sustainable way.

“I think sponsorship is a great starting point. if we start, if we pick up doing more participatory public projects again, then those are ideal for sponsors. There’s a lot of wealth in the city. Having worked in arts funding, I know there’s not much of that around, but there is money and there are people who believe in this work, so we need to match them up.”

She acknowledges difficulties in corporate sponsorship in arts.

Her comments come just weeks after new Fringe chief executive, Tony Lankester, also called for the arts to become more commercial in its approach to acquiring funding.

Dr MacMillan said: “I think it can sometimes feel quite an uneasy pairing and I understand why that would be, and I think some people think that that could be at odds with being as inclusive as possible, but I don't think that's necessarily true. If you're if you're welcoming all people, then that is a good offer to a company.

“Having worked in arts funding and having had all of the ups and downs that we have over the past few years, I don't want to see the artists in Scotland be completely decimated. I think we have to find ways to work smarter and more collaboratively, to continue to provide services that people really need and that make life meaningful. “

Last year, a range of book festivals, including Edinburgh International Book Festival, were forced to pull sponsorship from long-term backer Baillie Gifford amid threats from campaigners, who criticised the investor’s investments in fossil fuels.

Dr MacMillan said: “This is happening at the same time as it's getting harder and harder to get public money. It is a really challenging time for arts organisations, and I think that there has to be a real balance between pragmatism and principle and also making sure that this sector is a space where everyone feels heard.

“But casting the net far and wide and seeing who we can work with and how we can do that in a way that really benefits people is going to be at the heart of what we do.”