A Look Back on Paper Trails

As summer approaches, the August Festival feels as though it’s just around the corner – and it is! Before we get into the full swing of the big event at Edinburgh Futures Institute, though, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year gone by, and how our communities Paper Trails project with Edinburgh Libraries has materialised in each of our five partnering libraries. Paper Trails is the Book Festival’s multi-year communities project working to tackle literacy inequality and social isolation. We’re partnering with five local libraries across Edinburgh, to support and expand their work as thriving cultural hubs, co-created with the communities they serve. 

Autumn 2025 

Liberton High School Library: Creative Writing and Art Workshops 

Author Michael Lee Richardson and artist Fionnuala Doran facilitated a creative writing and art workshops with S1 and S6 pupils. The workshops encouraged young people to reflect on their recent year, what their hopes for the future and for their new school building are, as well its impact on the local community. The resulting artwork and writing are currently displayed in the school and will be featured in an exhibition during the Book Festival this August. 

Mobile Library Service: Care Homes Writers in Residence 

October marked the start of our project with Mobile Libraries, bringing Writers in Residence to eight different Care Homes across Edinburgh. Along with writers Ellen Renton, Julie McNeill, Ken Cockburn, Xana Marwick, and trainee artists Lucy Lauder and Huw Turnbull, the groups at the Care Homes engaged in a five-week programme of creative writing, poetry workshops, podcast creation, and honestly anything that felt creative and relevant to the people involved. 

Read more about the sessions here! - Paper Trails: Autumn 2025 Residential Care Home Sessions | Edinburgh International Book Festival

Liberton High School Library: Zine Making Workshops  

Illustrator and graphic designer, Candice Purwin, worked with an enthusiastic group of S1 classes to design their personally planned, crafted, and illustrated zines! Purwin introduced the students to zines as a concept, their ease and accessibility to all, and the power of individuality that they allow their creator to possess. Many students reported how the chance to write and illustrate their own stories, with no prior references or thematic connection, felt refreshing and fun. 

Read more about these sessions here! - Looking back on three weeks of zine-making! | Edinburgh International Book Festival

Winter 2026 

Muirhouse Library: Author Events 

Winter was a busy month at Muirhouse Library and North Edinburgh Arts. We hosted a series of author events, seeing writers such as Val McDermid, Doug Johnstone, Irvine Welsh, Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi, Joseph Coelho and Masie Chan bring their creativity, charisma and passion for writing to audiences of Muirhouse and North Edinburgh. The events spanned across three weeks, evenings, mornings and afternoons, and one of the authors even brought their guitar and sang a few songs – you’ll have to guess who! 

Ratho Library: Intergenerational Storytelling Sessions 

In Ratho, we brought storyteller and artist Claire McNicol to engage with the importance of intergenerational storytelling, and how commonly our personal stories of a certain place and community can resemble each other across different generations. The P7 class from Ratho Primary School and the Over-50s Club participated in this project, bringing two groups which regularly use the space – but normally not at the same time – together for two sessions. 

Read more about the sessions here! - Intergenerational Storytelling Sessions at Ratho Library | Edinburgh International Book Festival

Streetreads Library: Exhibition Curation, Creative Writing and Illustration 

Over the Spring community members from the Streetreads Library joined forces with poet Hannah Lavery and illustrator Katie Quinn to create poetry and imagery exploring Edinburgh through their eyes, as people who have experienced homelessness in the city. The culmination of the project saw participants collaborate with Buildhollywood to curate a thought-provoking exhibition to share their bold, unfiltered take on the Edinburgh the tourists don’t see. The exhibition was displayed on street level poster sites in May, and the participants will also perform their work at this year's Book Festival.

Liberton High School Library: Creative Career Pathways Project with S6’s 

It appears something major started across all our community partners in the winter, and Liberton High School was no exception. Along with the S6 students, we began a Creative Career Pathways Project, focusing on real information into the workings of a major literary festival in Edinburgh, but woven into these insights, were interactive activities which slowly built up to a fully planned literary event, led and designed by the S6 groups themselves. The eight-week projected culminated in the grand finale, where each group presented their expertly crafted festival, with an ultimate winning festival revealed at the end of the project. 

Spring 2026 

Muirhouse Library: North Edinburgh Community Festival 

Spring brought the sun this year, and the sun was certainly out for North Edinburgh Community Arts Festival. This year, we shared a stall with Muirhouse Library and spent a morning and afternoon talking to the local community about the importance of library spaces. Amongst colouring-in sheets and mapping exercises, we gave away a grand total of 150 free books to visitors of our stall! 

Ratho Library: History and Author Events 

At the end of May, we hosted a week-long series of author talks to celebrate local history month. Authors and historians such as Mary Paulson-Ellis, Alistair Moffat, Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi and Elle McNicol joined us to talk all things history, from the exploration of what local history truly means, to the power of statues, symbols and ways of remembering, and even to the power of creativity and rewriting history through a fictional lens. 

Summer 2026 

And suddenly, it’s summertime! Our Paper Trails projects will take pause for the time being, but all our community partners will be present for our August festival, whether it's through their attendance on site, or whether it’s on stage for their own events! Although Paper Trails is our flagship communities project, we work all year round with a variety of partners across Edinburgh. Check out our Exhibition Space at Edinburgh Futures Institute to learn more about our work throughout Edinburgh and beyond!