Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust Board
Chair
Ruth Plowden
Ruth Plowden has over 25 years of experience of volunteering for non-profit organisations. She was a Trustee of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Now, for whom she also chaired the Scottish Advisory Panel and served on the Science Committee.
She was on the Development Committee and John Murray Campaign Group for the National Library of Scotland, was a Trustee of the Lamp of Lothian, a founding director of the Lammermuir Festival and has worked as a fundraising consultant for many other charities. A former journalist, writing features for national newspapers, she is in the process of completing her first book, a work of narrative non-fiction.
Di Speirs
Di Speirs is the Books Editor for BBC Radio, and is responsible for many of Radio 4’s Readings, as well as for ‘Open Book’ and ‘Bookclub’ on BBC Radio 4, for ‘World Book Club’ on the BBC World Service and for the BBC National Short Story Awards. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
James Loxley
James Loxley is a Professor of Early Modern Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He first completed his PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, and went on to hold a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Leeds for three years before taking up an appointment at Edinburgh. In recent years he has also led a number of research projects funded by the AHRC and the Royal Society of Edinburgh such as LitLong.
Jane Spiers
Jane Spiers is incoming Chair of the National Theatre of Scotland (from September 2022) and Chair of Sound Scotland. She was formerly Chief Executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts (2012-2022) and Perth Concert Hall and Perth Theatre (2003 – 2012) and managed the Literature Department at Southern Arts Board for six years. She has an Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt.) from Robert Gordon University for services to the arts and she is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland awarded for contribution to Scotland’s cultural environment.
Loïs A Wolffe
Loïs is a professional fundraiser.
She has worked in the not-for-profit sector for most of her working life, except for that time in the early 90s when she produced a feature film and took it to Cannes Film Festival. In recent years she has raised funds for Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society and headed up fundraising at Edinburgh International Book Festival and then the National Library of Scotland where she spearheaded successful campaigns to acquire the final tranche of the Muriel Spark archive and also to save Scotland’s first printed book (the Aberdeen Breviary) for the nation.
She is currently working with Amnesty International in their Scotland office. She has a degree in Medicinal Chemistry, which basically means she spent a few years learning how to make high quality LSD.
Rachel McCrum
Rachel McCrum is a poet, performer, workshop facilitator, and platform builder.
She was the Broad of cult Scottish spoken word cabaret Rally & Broad, with fellow poet-promoter Jenny Lindsay, and the inaugural BBC Scotland Poet in Residence. Her first collection 'The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate' was published with Freight Books in 2017.
She currently lives in Montreal, Quebec, where she is the Director of Les Cabarets Bâtards, Administrative Director of Mile End Poets' Festival, and Communications and Membership Services Co-ordinator for the Quebec Writers' Federation.
Lianne Lodge
Lianne Lodge is the Head of the Charities and Not for Profit team at Gillespie Macandrew, and works in the fields of charity law and private client dealing with asset protection, succession, guardianship and tax.
Lianne is the Trust's Company Secretary.
Gerald Richards
Gerald Richards is the Chief Executive Officer of the Super Power Agency, a nonprofit focused on youth writing and creative expression based in Edinburgh. He is also the Founder and Director of B & G, a consultancy that believes individuals and organisations flourish best by being creative, clear about their purpose and by telling a better story about what they do.
Angus McCallum
Angus McCallum is a Senior Finance and Operations Professional, with experience in analysing governance and operational processes. He has worked variously as Head of Risk, Regulatory Support, Information Security, Financial Crime and Internal Audit at AEGON Scottish Equitable Plc, and Finance and Operations Director at LEBC Group Ltd. Angus was also a previous Board Member of Fire Exit Theatre, and has a strong interest in the promotion of literature and reading.
Vineet Lal
Vineet Lal was born in Singapore and grew up in Edinburgh. He has degrees in French from the University of Edinburgh and Princeton University, and also studied translation and conference interpreting at Heriot-Watt University. After a career in tourism and marketing with VisitBritain, VisitEngland and VisitScotland he turned to literary translation, and he has now translated a number of leading French authors including Guillaume Musso, Michel Bussi and Grégoire Delacourt. He has been a Trustee of Edinburgh City of Literature since 2013.
With thanks to our Founding Trustees
Jenny Brown
established the Jenny Brown Associates literary agency in 2002. She was previously Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council, presenter of book programmes for Scottish Television, and founder Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival (of which she is now a Board member). She is also a former Committee member of the Association of Authors’ Agents and was shortlisted in 2014 for Agent of the Year Award. She is Chair of the Bloody Scotland crime writing festival.
Catherine Lockerbie
is a founding Trustee and was director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival for nine years. She has been a scriptwriter and broadcaster as well as freelancing in the fields of arts and education for a variety of publications in Scotland and London. In 1990 she was appointed Literary Editor of The Scotsman and spent the subsequent ten years at that newspaper. Catherine has chaired award committees and has judged many literary prizes, including the Whitbread Awards and in 2006, the Orange Award for New Writing.
James Boyle
spent his career in the BBC where he held various posts including Head of Radio Scotland, Chief Adviser Editorial Policy UK and Controller Radio 4. He has written many scripts for radio and a number of TV plays for educational television. He was a Civil Service Commissioner, a former Chair of the Scottish Arts Council and is currently Chair of the National Library of Scotland.
Lorraine Fannin
joined the Scottish Centre for the Book at Edinburgh Napier University in 2009, working on Creativity and Rights. She was previously the Chief Executive of Publishing Scotland, formerly the Scottish Publishers Association. The organisation has responsibility for the support and development of the publishing sector in Scotland, working with companies, organisations and individuals in the industry, and co-ordinating joint initiatives and partnerships.
With thanks to all those who have served as Trustee and Company Secretary:
Trustee:
Lloyd Anderson, Julia Armour, Francis Bickmore, Jackie Brock, Colin Browne, Abigail Carney (former Chair), Mary Campbell (former Chair), Sheila Cannell, Rob Conner, Stuart Cosgrove, Sandy Crombie (former Chair), Roy Cross, Karen Cunningham, Tom Devine, Paul Docherty, Ron Grosset, George Grubb, Lesley Hinds, Martin Hinds, Marc Lambert, Martina McChrystal, Liz McGettigan, Ian McKay, James McVeigh, Matthew Perren, Ian Rankin, Frank Ross, Ali Smith, Martyn Wade OBE, Greg Walker, and Donald Wilson.
Company Secretary
Paul McKenna, Caroline Storrie, Liz Lynxwiler and Suzanne Davidson.