IASSL welcomes new members from all around the world. If you research Scottish literature in any language (English, Gaelic, Latin, Scots), whether at a university, as an independent scholar, or as a PhD student, we'd love to have you on board!

Congratulations to IASSL member Rob Sutton who has just defended his PhD thesis on '"Cultural Jacobitism" in the Writing of Anne Grant (1755-1838)' at @ljmuofficial.bsky.social. The dissertation is available in open access: researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28...

Upcoming events with IASSL members: this year's annual John Galt Lecture will be delivered by Robert Irvine @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social on 1 May 2026 at the Wellwood Burns Centre & Museum on 'John Galt and Scotland's Forgotten Revolution.'

Next IASSL webinar in the 'Environmental Scotland' series is coming up on Monday 20 April 2026 at 5 pm (UK time) on Zoom. The event will feature two talks, by Garry MacKenzie and Coinneach Maclean, and will be followed by a discussion. Free to attend, all welcome! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🌿 tinyurl.com/ca9bs4nt

The IASSL PhD Award is aimed at outstanding PhD dissertations on Scottish literature submitted outside of the UK (written in English or other languages). The first round is open for submissions! 🏆🎓 scotlit-iassl.org/awards/iassl...

New publications by IASSL members: David Manderson's essay ‘Promiscuous Sympathies: Alan Sharp and Robert Burns' has been published in The Burns Chronicle @edinburghup.bsky.social. It examines Sharp's screenplay 'Burns,' written between 2001–2010. tinyurl.com/383v37tz

The 2026 @mcgill.ca Chair in Canadian-Scottish Studies Colloquium will take place on 10 April 2026. The keynote address will be delivered by Rob Dunbar, @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social & Chair of @bordnagaidhlig.bsky.social. The event is going to be livestreamed: tinyurl.com/3x8c6ry5 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇨🇦

Call for Papers: 'Politics, Place and Print Culture: The 14th International Walter Scott Conference', @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social, 28-30 June 2027, organised by @mckeever.bsky.social & team. Deadline for proposals: 1 October 2026. Details of financial support for PGRs to follow. tinyurl.com/yt2vj4x7

Research & impact by IASSL members: the plans to restore Ellisland farm, the only home designed and built by Robert Burns, are underpinned by research carried out at Barnbougle Castle in East Lothian by Gerry Carruthers @glasgow.ac.uk who is also a trustee of Robert Burns Ellisland Museum and Farm.

New publications by IASSL members: the article 'Adventures in Mind and Landscape: Poetics of Emptiness in Gary Snyder and Kenneth White' by Monika Kocot (University of Lodz) has been published in the Polish Journal for American Studies 19 (2025). Available in open access: tinyurl.com/evw6jmsd

New projects of IASSL members: @ainsley76.bsky.social (@uniofaberdeen.bsky.social) has been awarded funding from the @royalsoced.bsky.social to support the second stage of her project on Walter Scott’s Lighthouse Yacht Journal (1814), with heritage partners at Abbotsford and the @nlb-uk.bsky.social.

@uniofstandrews.bsky.social is currently looking to hire a new permanent lecturer in Scottish Literature with specialism anywhere within the period c. 1760-present. Closing Date: 16 April 2026 | Interview Date: 7 May 2026. www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

New publications by IASSL members: the monograph 'The Matter of Genre: Ian Rankin and the Tartan Noir Novel' by @agnieszkasch.bsky.social (University of Gdansk) has been published by Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu w Siedlcach. tinyurl.com/4bekfkd2 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇵🇱 Congratulations!

New projects of IASSL members: Craig Lamont @glasgow.ac.uk has been awarded an AHRC Curiosity Award for his project on memory and care experience in Scottish life-writing. The project is supported by partners across Scotland: @aberlourcharity.bsky.social, @celcis.org, @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social.

The conference ‘Flux and Flow in Irish and Scottish Literatures’, organised by @juliegay.bsky.social & Lea Sinoimeri, will take place on 9-10 April in Boulogne-sur-Mer, with keynotes by @monikaszuba.bsky.social, Tim Brannigan, and Ian Stephen. 🇫🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇮🇪 Full programme: fluxandflow.univ-littoral.fr

New publications by IASSL members: Glenda Norquay has published a biography of Stevenson with @reaktionbooks.bsky.social. The book explores his role as a literary innovator and cultural commentator, revealing how his work engaged with the anxieties of a rapidly changing world. tinyurl.com/4s93px3a

New projects of IASSL members: @eleanorbell.bsky.social @unistrathclyde.bsky.social has secured an AHRC Catalyst grant. The project ‘Beyond The Dear Green Place: Recovering the Lost Works and Literary Networks of Archie Hind’ will run in 2026-28. Congratulations! Read more: tinyurl.com/2yns355a

Sarah Sharp @abdnriiss.bsky.social @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social received the Honourable Mention for the article ‘The Settler Colonial Cotter: Situating “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” in Post-Revolutionary America,’ published in the Burns Chronicle @edinburghup.bsky.social. tinyurl.com/255n2rm6

Kang-Yen Chiu received the 2025 Jack Medal for his chapter 'Translation and Film Adaptation of Ivanhoe in the Modern History of Taiwan,’ published in 'Scotland and China: Literary Encounters' (@scroll-scotlit.bsky.social, @degruyterbrill.bsky.social, 2025). Read the statement: tinyurl.com/255n2rm6

Kang-yen Chiu (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan) is the recipient of the 2025 Jack Medal. Sarah Sharp (@abdnriiss.bsky.social @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social) was awarded the Honourable Mention. Congratulations! 🏵️ Find out more about the awardees: tinyurl.com/255n2rm6

New publications by IASSL members: 'Eagle and Lion: Polish Poems and Scots Translations,' edited and translated by Derrick McClure, with Tom Hubbard as consulting editor, is now available from Grace Note Publications. 🇵🇱 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 www.gracenotepublications.com/catalogue

The CIVIS Scottish literature webinar on the 'Outreach of Scottish Literature' will be held on 12 March 2026, 5–6pm GMT. 📌 John Corbett: As Others See Us: Scottish Literature in and out of Translation 📌 Paul Barnaby: The Birth of BOSLIT: Setting up a Database of Scottish Literature in Translation

Awards for IASSL members: @murrayp.bsky.social (@glasgow.ac.uk) has been awarded the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow’s Glasgow Medal and the honorary degree of D.Litt. from @robertgordonuni.bsky.social in Aberdeen. Photo: Prof. Pat Monaghan presents the Glasgow Medal

The Scottish Literature volume of the online Literary Encyclopedia seeks entries (1500-2500 w) on works, authors, and topics not featured in the database. If interested, please contact: pre-1945 ScotLit: Arianna Introna, [email protected]; post-1945 ScotLit, Gina Lyle [email protected].

The 'Reading Scotland' series by Scotland Hub @unimainz.bsky.social has featured many IASSL members. Talks by @annafancett.bsky.social, @paulmalgrati.bsky.social, @leoniejungen.bsky.social, @drcleoocy.bsky.social, @ainsley76.bsky.social and other scholars are available on the RS YouTube channel. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇩🇪

IASSL member Domenico Di Rosa @glasgow.ac.uk is going to take part in the panel 'The Caledonian Trans Reveal' at the @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social, 4 March, 5:30 pm, in person & streamed. tinyurl.com/ycydpfvy

The @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social @abdnriiss.bsky.social Spring Seminar Series begins this week. Members of the public and students and scholars from other institutions worldwide are welcome to attend. Please contact Michael Brown ([email protected]) to request the link and join online.

The lastest episode of the podcast @thecarryingstream.bsky.social features two IASSL members: @paulmalgrati.bsky.social as the host and Kirsteen McCue as the guest, discussing Scottish folk song and European music: pod.link/1865430519

New publications by our members: "The Page as Gendered Cultural Recess: Female Creative Anxieties in Margaret Oliphant’s 'The Library Window' (1896)" by @leoniejungen.bsky.social has appeared in "Writing Angst". Available in open access: tinyurl.com/mrmwwpwe

New publications by our members: Lejla Mulalić has co-authored the volume 'A Country of Their Own: Writing Scotland as a Woman' (University of Sarajevo Press), which discusses Rona Munro, Liz Lochhead, Sharman Macdonald, Agnes Owens, and Kathleen Jamie. 🔓 Read in open access: tinyurl.com/4v2knp4y

CfP: 'Scotland and the In-Between,' the annual conference of the French Society for Scottish Studies, will be held at Université de de Lorraine, Nancy, 12-14 November 2026, co-organised by IASSL member Céline Sabiron. Papers may be delivered in French or English. Full CfP: tinyurl.com/5h8v293z

CfP: 2026 Postgraduate Symposium of the @studyscotlit.bsky.social, @glasgow.ac.uk, 8 May 2026. Submissions deadline: 15 March 2026. Hybrid attendance will be an option; PG travel bursaries will be available, courtesy of the Andrew Tannahill Fund. ucsl-scotland.com/2026-pg-symp...

New publications by our members: Maike Dinger's monograph 'Discourse, Voice, and the Politics of Participation in the Scottish Independence Referendum' has been published by @springernature.com. One chapter is dedicated to Scottish indyref literature. tinyurl.com/358bk4hx

Call for Papers: Centre for Scottish & Celtic Studies Postgraduate Symposium, 28 May 2026, @glasgow.ac.uk & online, 'People, Place and Movement'. Abstracts and enquiries: [email protected], deadline: 2 March 2026. Proposals are welcome from postgraduates at any stage of their career.

Save the date for the next International Walter Scott Conference: 28-30 June 2027, @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social. Keynotes by Philip Connell and Porscha Fermanis & a special session marking the anniversary of Ian Duncan’s 'Scott’s Shadow: The Novel in Romantic Edinburgh' @princetonupress.bsky.social.

New publications by our members: Céline Sabiron's monograph 'Unveiling Lady Scott: Walter Scott, French Influence and Transcultural Connections' was recently published by @universitypress.cambridge.org.

New publications by our members: Carla Sassi's article 'Merciful Solidarity Across Space and Time: Affective Communities in Contemporary Scottish Fiction' (2014–2024) was published in 'English Studies' (2025). tinyurl.com/2ph5fsdj

Jetstone Books expand the portfolio of Scottish titles, producing new editions of works by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and John MacDougall Hay. William Malcolm’s Grassic Gibbon biography 'History of a Revoluter', also by Jetstone, was shortlisted for Saltire Research Book of the Year. tinyurl.com/ykvmssbm

New publications by our members: 'Setting the Stage: New Wave Scottish Drama from the 1970s and 1980s' (ASL, 2025), edited by Steven Cramer and John Corbett. The volume includes plays by Peter Arnott, Ian Brown, Jo Clifford, Sue Glover, and Rona Munro.

The recordings of CIVIS seminars on contemporary Scottish Literature, organised by Marie Hedon, Corey Gibson, and Kirsten Stirling, are now available as a recordings: 'Poetry and Public Life in Scotland'; 'Poor Things Revisited'; 'IndyRef and Scottish Literature'. lerma.univ-amu.fr/contemporary...

The Carrying Stream is a new podcast for Scottish words and ideas, hosted by IASSL EC member Paul Malgrati. The first episode, now available on Spotify and Apple Podcast, features poet and Gaelic translator Taylor Strickland; Scots writer and activist Billy Kay; and Burns scholar Moira Hansen.

The John Galt Society welcomes applications for a grant (of up to ₤1000) to defray expenses incurred in connection with research concerning John Galt. Two types of research projects—archival and digital—are eligible. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2026.

New publications by our members: Fiona J Mackenzie's biography 'The Cadence of a Song: The Life of Margaret Fay Shaw' (Birlinn, 2025) explores the legacy and life of the American born folklorist, musician, and photographer who played a major part in preserving Hebridean music and traditions.

The Scottish Catholic Studies ArtsLab (SCAL) was recently launched at @glasgow.ac.uk, with the aim to explore the contribution of Catholics and Catholicism to Scottish cultural and intellectual life. One of the directors of the Lab is IASSL member Craig Lamont. Find out more: tinyurl.com/3uwj3uhj

Season's Greetings from the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures ❄️ Beannachdan na Ràithe bho Chomann Eadar-Nàiseanta airson Sgrùdadh Litreachas na h-Alba ✨ William Crozier: 'Edinburgh in Snow' (about 1928), National Galleries of Scotland, tinyurl.com/mryzywuk

The latest issue of the IASSL newsletter has been dispatched to all members and is also available online: have a read for updates about awards, publications, grants, events, calls for papers, and more. 📩 📫 tinyurl.com/tvf3rna4

New survey by the @glasgowburns.bsky.social - how do you celebrate Burns Night? Feel free to respond and share!

The recording of the IASSL webinar 'Finlay J Macdonald at 100 | Fionnlagh Iain MacDhòmhnaill aig 100', with talks by Mhairi Brennan (Aston University), Rob Dunbar (University of Edinburgh), and Petra Johana Poncarová (Charles University, Prague), is now available on YouTube.

New publications by our members: John Galt's 'Transatlantic Tales and Essays', edited by Angela Esterhammer, published by @edinburghup.bsky.social. The first complete scholarly edition of Galt’s short fiction and essays on transatlantic themes, including previously unpublished texts.

Great news from colleagues at the Universities Committee for Scottish Literature: the newly launched Scottish Literary Studies Book Prize is going to be awarded biennially to an outstanding work of scholarship in the field of Scottish literary studies. Nominations are open for the 2026 prize. 🏆📚