On a fine spring day in April, we were all gathered at the University of Stirling for a conference, ‘Environmental Histories of Scotland: Mapping Out A Way Forward’, a diverse gathering of historians, geographers, archaeologists, policy makers and writers setting out to reflect on and understand the key challenges facing Scotland’s environment, policy and practitioner responses. At lunch, we sat outside in the courtyard, parks and lovely open-air spaces within the University parkland, conversed, thought and wrote….

An edited recording of a workshop by Kirsty Gunn, Reinhard Behrens and Gail Low for Book Week Scotland 2023, drawing on two instances of Behrens’ art work and a short extract from Charles Simic’s Dime Store Alchemy, to reflect creatively on adventures, travel and travel writing. Work by attendees at the event appear after the recording.

A gathering of written riches to dip into.

What holds the pieces together?

Each, in its way, travels the landscape of creative essaying: boundaries crossed, imaginations stretched, pieces presented with polish and flair. Words and thoughts travel together mapping ideas, memories, desires, reflections, observations.

Placed here with care these writings form a treasure trove inviting exploration.

Stories can be found by everyone… in houses and attics... ideas for writings might be tucked away in boxes, recipes, furniture in rooms, in pieces of clothing at the back of a wardrobe... In family histories... discovered in conversations, letters, family archives, photos, films... In memories shared or stories told by others. Take a look at these lovely short pieces produced at the Book Week Scotland Workshop in November 2023, and worked on after the event.

How might one make a relationship with art that’s thoughtful, creative and imaginative but which isn’t criticism professionalised? We challenged to our students to take us on personal, philosophical, imaginative and aesthetic journeys in words—reflecting on issues, questions, and concerns that arise from Chimera at the Cooper Gallery in Dundee. Poetic, wryly humorous, and impassioned, these varied creative responses ask questions about the nature of the art and gallery experiences….

Meeting Places grew out of a number of creative writing workshops, including students of Lochaber High School in Fort William; Dundee International Women’s Centre; Hot Chocolate Youth Centre, Dundee; the University of Dundee and a special event for Book Week Scotland focusing specifically on queer voices. Meeting Places is a vibrant snapshot of creative thought from across generations and communities in Scotland.

Reviewing is conventionally thought of as a simple evaluative exercise. But how might we take a book for a walk—let the book talk to, even change, how we think about ourselves and the world? Participants were asked to reimagine reviewing as a creative conversation, and of inviting others into the room to be part of that discussion. Daniel Sluman’s Single Window (Nine Arches Press, 2021), shortlisted for the TS Eliot Poetry, was chosen for the task.

As part of Book Week Scotland’s and The Scottish Coastal Rowing Association's ‘RowAround Scotland 2021’ festivities, ‘Waterlines’ was a workshop conceived to turn the delights of being on the water into words. Participants signed up for rowing tasters at a participating local club if they hadn’t already rowed in a skiff, then joined in free online reading and writing workshop to transform their experiences of being on or in the water into writing.

‘These Windows’ invited student writers and illustrators from the University of Dundee to participate in a word-and-image collaborative workshop. Participants were invited into object handling sessions, and given some information and context by curators. Two follow-up studio sessions, hosted by Hannah Whaley, with writing and art mentored by Andy Jackson and Graham Johnston, led to an online and print publication.

During the Covid lockdown, much of our life was spent in front of screens, and contact was virtual and imagined, rather than in person. This workshop was designed to explore the experience of those virtual and imagined spaces. This workshop was held during the Covid lockdown --- a way for young people to think about the strange online world we were all inhabiting. This creative session made space to write and think about online selves in a new way, and to hear from how and what writers were doing during this time.

How might one write essays that take objects to generate work that conveys a sense of the presentness of an enounter—a relationship—rather an offer mere information? The Hospitalfield Workshop for Schools started with students and teachers from Angus, Dundee and Fife schools joining the roundtable on education and teaching in the main conference, ‘Taking Ideas for a Walk’. Exchanges were frank and free about writing within the limitations of an environment of mixed abilities and the urgency of preparing students for exams and coursework assessments.