feature HOME FROM HOME


Home is where the art is


text Caroline Carpenter


s the home of many renowned classic and contemporary writers, innovative publishing houses and bookshops, thriving poetry, crime and nature writing scenes—as well as burgeoning comic book and SFF spaces, and more literature and arts festivals than you can shake a stick at—Scotland is a cultural hub and, as such, it attracts creatives from all over the world.


A few of the international writers who have chosen to make Scotland their home spoke to The Bookseller about why they moved to the country and shared their perspectives on its cultural landscape.


“Edinburgh was the first place I ever lived that made ‘writer’ seem like a viable career,” says Eris Young, a writer of speculative fiction and non-fiction, including They/Them/Their and Ace Voices. Young is currently the fiction


CALIFORNIA-BORN ERIS YOUNG RELOCATED TO SCOTLAND


editor at sci-fi magazine Shoreline of Infinity. Originally hailing from Santa Ana in California, they moved to Scotland


for university and decided to settle in the capital aſter discovering its “vibrant literary communit”.


They add: “Scotland has such a deep and


rich literary tradition. It has been the place where I have learned to respect my own work enough to let it flourish, and the support of other writers has been integral to that. I have also found myself exposed to such a rich well of inspiration, from Scotland’s natural beaut to the strong anarchist and queer political communities I’ve encountered. It all informs my work.” Young believes there is “so much interesting


writing and art coming out of Scotland right now” thanks to the many writers based there who are “willing to take risks and push


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