Scottish stories come to life in audio

This year’s book, ‘Scotland’s Stories: Friendship’, explores the theme of friendship through the true stories, voices and experiences of people across Scotland.

The Scotland’s Stories collection was created through Scottish Book Trust’s annual writing opportunity that invites people from all over the country to share their personal tales.

Over 70,000 free copies of the book are available, and an accessible audio edition has been produced with the support of RNIB.

In Scotland, more than 180,000 people are affected by sight loss, and the partnership ensures the Book Week Scotland title can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Several of the authors were also involved in the recording process, lending their own voices and perspectives to bring the stories to life.

Among the stories featured is ‘We Need Tae Get a Pint’ by Scott Ferguson. The short story captures a reunion of two friends meeting for an overdue pint.

Speaking to RNIB Connect Radio, Scott reflects,

“I wanted to write about old friends who I hadn’t seen in a while,” he says. “When you’re younger, friendships are intense, but as you get older that naturally changes and that's part of life. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing- you can have a friend who doesn’t burn as brightly in your life but you still love them and have those memories together.”

For Scott, the chance to share that story more widely has been rewarding. “It’s great that ‘Friendship’ is free and available in different formats for everyone. From a writer’s perspective, it’s been an amazing experience and really gives you confidence when you are published. It also exposes you to other great writing happening around the country.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust said: “We’re very pleased to partner with RNIB for the audio version of our Scotland’s Stories book, as we want it to be accessible to everyone. People from across Scotland, no matter their writing experience, were asked to submit their true stories to us, and we selected a diverse range for inclusion in the book. Inviting these writers to narrate their own stories for the audiobook really enriches the experience, and it’s exactly what Book Week Scotland is all about.”

Grant Mallaber, Customer Success Executive at RNIB adds,

"RNIB are delighted to have supported the production of this book. Audio books give people with sight loss like myself the freedom to enjoy the same stories as everyone else, in our own way. Being able to hear some of the authors’ own voices adds a really personal touch and helps bring the stories to life."

Both the printed book and audio version are free from the Scottish Book Trust, distributed to celebrate Book Week Scotland 2025.