University of Aberdeen Scottish Literature researchers Dr Elizabeth Elliott, Prof. Timothy Baker and Dr Sarah Sharp were recently awarded funding by the Royal Society of Edinburgh for their project ‘Towards a New Companion to Scottish Literature’. The forthcoming Routledge Companion to Scottish Literature includes contributors drawn from creative industries and publishing, early career academics, and established researchers. With subsections on Environments, Circulations and Communities, the anthology departs from the conventional format of the academic companion volume by adopting a thematic and cross-period approach to the many stories of Scottish literature.
The recently awarded funding will enable the research team to hold development workshops for contributors and to disseminate the volume’s findings to scholars and the wider public. They also hope to build connections between researchers and practitioners within the field that will yield new research collaborations. The Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies supported the RSE bid and will provide match funding for the development workshops. The research team commented ‘We are delighted and grateful to receive this funding and for RIISS’s support. At its heart, this project seeks to move away from linear approaches to recognise the dynamic character of Scottish literary tradition across time, integrating marginalised voices and forms of knowledge, and developing a fuller sense of its relevance for Scotland today.’