Scotland has an internationally famed literary tradition. October 13 2004 brought this to light when Edinburgh was proclaimed as the first UNESCO World City of Literature. The city's Writers' Museum gives us only a short introduction to the vast array of Scottish writers, focusing on Scott, Burns and Stevenson. The legacy of Scott cannot be ignored when in Edinburgh, with the 200ft Scott Monument towering over the main shopping street and the main railway station named after Scott novels. This all suggests a heyday in the past.

But today's Scottish fiction has been described as 'one of the vibrant cultural arenas in Europe', with writers such as Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin, JK Rowling and Alexander McCall Smith to name but a few. Edinburgh now represents Scotland as a whole and is proud to be the inaugural member of an emerging global network of literary cities. What the designation will mean for Edinburgh and Scotland is not yet clear. Donald Smith, a prominent figure in Scottish culture as Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, admits the title is a 'very exciting development and a hugely beneficial opportunity, but only if we have the confidence to grasp it and take it forward'.

Writers can be published and promoted from Scotland successfully, even if the writer is not Scottish or not based here - Canongate had a great success in 2002 when Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi won the prestigious Booker Prize - but it's not without its challenges. Des Dillon, one of Scotland's most popular contemporary authors, finds it frustrating when he tries to take his work to new places: 'We should be able to write about our own place, and pass it on to America, for example, without having to get that great big London tick.'

Cultural Rights?

Scotland can be proud of its writers. Changes are on the way. The Cultural Commission, headed by James Boyle, former chair of the Scottish Arts Council, is working on a framework to decide the future of the arts in Scotland. The Cultural Commission's remit is to 'explore the notion of cultural rights for the Scottish citizen, and those of its creative community and define how these might be translated into a scheme of entitlements; redefine the institutional infrastructure and governance of the Scottish cultural sector to enable it to deliver the entitlements that spring from rights'. Radical changes are envisaged: 'The outcome of what may be a series of radical changes will be a nation that encourages the habit of creativity through the release and celebration of its citizens' talents.' Thus Scotland could be the first country in the world to introduce cultural rights for its citizens.

What might this mean for readers, writers and publishers? What is cultural entitlement for writers and readers? Literacy or literature? Reading for reading's sake? A compulsory X hours of literature, history and/or culture in the school week? Cultural content laws for libraries and broadcasters? Cultural expenditure and priorities embedded across Scottish Executive departments? A separate minister for Culture? A poem on every bus and train?

Writers, publishers, any citizens of Scotland are all invited to submit their comments and proposals to the Cultural Commission - see www.culturalcommission.org.uk. A good example of a localised Statement of Cultural Entitlement is to be found at www.portree-high.sitekit.net/Cultural.html.

Scottish Television newsreader John Mackay is joined by colleague Shereen
Nanjiani at the launch of his second novel, Heartland. His bestselling first novel The
Road Dance has recently been published in Germany and Denmark.