Paper Trails

Paper Trails is our ambitious, multi-year project, in partnership with Edinburgh Libraries and the Streetreads Library, celebrating and supporting the work that these vibrant cultural hubs do in the local community.  

Libraries are so much more than just lending services. They are safe spaces and play a vital role in making literature accessible, combatting social isolation, tackling the UK’s literacy crisis, and supporting community life. With such a close alignment to our own aims at the Book Festival, working together makes sense! 

Over the next five years, we’re partnering with five library services across the city, listening to librarians’ expert knowledge and meeting with local people to gain insight into the wants and needs of their communities, then working together to co-design bold and bespoke creative experiences for each of them. Think poetry residences, creative writing workshops, in-conversation author events, zine-making classes, and more – whatever each community tells us they’d like to see. Throughout the project, we’re working with a wide range of groups, including young people, older adults, and those facing homelessness, harnessing the power of words to build connections, strengthen social ties, and support personal growth. 

Sound good? Find out what we’ve been getting up to so far: 

The five libraries: 

• The Mobile Library Service 
• Liberton High School Library 
• Muirhouse Library
• Ratho Library 
• Streetreads – a library for people experiencing homelessness