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    • 10 things I appreciate about the Scottish Book Trust

    The Scottish Book Trust changes lives through reading and writing. It is a charity, part-funded by the Scottish Government.  It supports me enormously as a dyslexic booklover and writer.  Here are 10 things about the SBT that I’m particularly grateful for.  They are just a sample of what the SBT offers.  I hope you’ll find something that interests you, either here or on the SBT’s website.
    1. Videos
    The SBT has a wide range of videos, for example the Creative Writing Masterclass with Phil Earle and the Booktrailer masterclass. 2. Twitter feed SBT’s twitter feed @scottishbktrust is very visual, with lots of images and video. I find it exciting, informative, and stimulating. 3. Opportunities for writers The SBT compiles a list of opportunities for writers each month. This lets me find out about places I can submit my writing to. For example, in September’s list I found out about a poetry project, which I wrote a poem for. 4. E-Newsletter I receive the list of opportunities in an e-Newsletter. The newsletter also includes advice and a prompt for the SBT’s monthly 50-word Fiction Competition. 5. Booklists The SBT compiles its own booklists, for example this one.  I find these lists really helpful because they show the book covers and let me discover books to engage with. The lists are categorized by age (adult, teen, child); and type, including Scottish books. 6. Information on dyslexia The SBT’s website has many interesting and useful articles on dyslexia. 7. Bookbug Bookbug is an early years programme that aims to inspire a love of books and reading in every child across Scotland. As this introductory video explains, Bookbug achieves far more than that. The Bookbug programme has gift packs for babies, toddlers, 3-year-olds and Primary 1 pupils. It also has song / rhyme sessions for parents / carers and their pre-school children. There’s a Bookbug session in almost every library in Scotland. The Bookbug songs and rhymes are available here, in audio and video. 8. Book Week Scotland Book Week Scotland is an annual celebration of books in Scotland. This year it runs from 27 Nov. – 3 Dec. There are hundreds of live events across Scotland and also a virtual festival. I’ve enjoyed a wide range of events in previous years. For example, author talks, a self-management event, and a book launch.   These events have helped me to grow professionally and personally, for example by letting me make new contacts and by exposing me to new books. Community groups and organisations can host event(s) during Book Week Scotland. The SBT provides funding and promotional materials. 9. Public participation campaign Each year the SBT sets a theme for Book Week Scotland. This year’s theme is Nourish. The SBT invites members of the public to write on that theme, about something from their own experience. The SBT publishes on its website all the writing people submit that meets the campaign’s criteria. It also chooses some of the submissions for an e-book that it publishes during Book Week Scotland. 10. Live Literature Programme The SBT runs a programme called Live Literature that part-funds events and residencies. Community groups / schools choose an author / creator from the SBT’s directory and run their event / residency whenever they wish. How about you? Would you like to share your experience of the SBT e.g. what you like about it, how it helps you, and how you take part in its work? Please feel free to post a comment. By an anonymous adult member of Dyslexia Scotland BWS-Logos-RGB-PinkBWS (3)