WE invite all Edinburgh residents to celebrate Languages Week Scotland (2 – 6 February) by joining a variety of activities promoting the languages spoken by New Scots at Edinburgh Libraries.
Muirhouse Library, 2 February, 6 – 7:30pm
Bringing together stories and experiences of Syrian and Sudanese New Scots, Join us for an open session that celebrates spoken and written Arabic through poetry, narration and calligraphy workshop.
Gilmerton Library, 4 February, 1 – 8pm
From lines to letters: Multilingual calligraphy
Celebrate one of the languages spoken by the Afghan community in Edinburgh, the library will offer Pashto alphabet pages for practice. Come along with family and friends to test your calligraphy skills. No booking required.
Oxgangs Library 5 February, 10:00 – 11:30am
From speech to mastery: Reading challenge in Arabic
Whether you are an Arabic or non-Arabic speaker, this fun session will provide a variety of activities that celebrate the language and culture through learning and discovery.
ONE YEAR EXTENSION TO INVESTING IN COMMUNITIES FUND
The Scottih Government has confirmed that Investing in Communities funding will be continued for a further year.
The announcement comes as a huge relief to community projects facing massive cuts to their funding, with services being slashed and some organisations facing closure.
Scottish Greens raised concerns over the uncertainty faced by many of Edinburgh’s third sector projects at a council meeting last month.
A looming catastrophe has been averted with the announcement of one year’s transition funding while a replacement to the Investing in Communities Fund is developed.
Edinburgh Northern and Leith MP Tracy Gilbert took up the case of local community organisations and yesterday received welcome confirmation that fears have been allayed – at least for now.
She said: “Following budget cuts, I raised concerns with the Scottish Government about the future of the Investing in Communities Fund. Ministers have now confirmed a one-year transition extension for existing projects ending in March.
“This will help in the short term, but it falls short of the long-term certainty our community organisations need. I’ll keep pushing for sustained funding and stability for the services people rely on.”
Local MSP Ben Macpherson has also been on the case. He said: “This morning I visited Dr Bell’s Family Centre to discuss a situation that was of real concern.
“Using my decade of experience – including how to get things done for local organisations – I’d written to The Scottish Government about it on Monday and followed this up today, working actively as their/your local constituency MSP … I was therefore very pleased that shortly after the matter had been resolved.
“I know it’s been a worrying time for the centre and am relieved that immediate worries have been lifted. My team and I will keep working with the centre to explore more funding streams, and support the impactful work they do in our communities.”
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Edinburgh projects who received Investing in Communities funding (2023- 26) are:
About Youth, Calder Youth Action Project (part of Wester Hailes Together), City of Edinburgh, £105,822
Community Renewal Trust, Our Neighbourhood: A new hyperlocal Community Wealth Building partnership, City of Edinburgh, £300,732
Dr. Bell’s Family Centre, Start Well, Live Well: Wellbeing Support for Families in Leith, City of Edinburgh, £348,067
Edinburgh Food Social Cic, Changing Craigmillar Food Culture, City of Edinburgh, £325,847
Fresh Start, Fresh Connections, City of Edinburgh, £280,201
North Edinburgh Arts, North Edinburgh Arts Link Up, City of Edinburgh, £331,400
Space @ The Broomhouse Hub, Together We Can, City of Edinburgh, £350,000
The Venchie Children And Young People’s Project, Family Support Service, City of Edinburgh, £208,732
Transition Edinburgh South (Scotland) Ltd, Investing in Gracemount, City of Edinburgh, £302,196
Whale, The Arts Agency, Creativity, Place and Enterprise in Wester Hailes (part of Wester Hailes Together), City of Edinburgh, £332,494.
Val McDermid, Irvine Welsh and Joseph Coelho lead major free programme for North Edinburgh – including 100 free books for local children
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh will return to the Muirhouse library he visited as a child this February, as the Edinburgh International Book Festival brings some of Scotland’s biggest literary names directly into the heart of North Edinburgh.
The programme – part of Paper Trails, a flagship initiative launched by Her Majesty Queen Camilla in 2025 – will see Val McDermid, Doug Johnstone, Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi, Maisie Chan and former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho OBE appear at North Edinburgh Arts and Muirhouse Library. All events are completely free to attend.
Welsh’s appearance marks a significant homecoming for the globally renowned author, who will appear digitally to discuss his Edinburgh roots and literary career to young people sat in the same library that helped shape his love of reading decades ago.
Jenny Niven, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival, said: “Libraries are where so many of us first fell in love with books, and they remain at the heart of our communities.
“Having Irvine Welsh return to the library that shaped him as a reader shows exactly why Paper Trails matters – these aren’t just buildings, they’re launchpads for imagination and possibility.
“At a time when literacy rates are declining and more than a quarter of older adults experience weekly loneliness, we’re committed to ensuring that world-class literature and creative experiences reach every neighbourhood, not just festival venues.
“This programme is about co-creating with communities, listening to local voices, and supporting libraries as the vital cultural hubs they’ve always been.”
Irvine Welsh, novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and filmmaker, said: “I’m joining remotely, but it still feels like I’m back in the room that first lit the fuse for me.
“Muirhouse gave me a quiet seat, a friendly word and a shelf full of new worlds—that’s all it takes to set a life on a different course.
“It’s brilliant to see Paper Trails investing in these spaces so every young person here can feel that same jolt of inspiration.”
Tony Stewart, Librarian at Muirhouse Library, said:“We see every day the impact and benefit for our users and the community, in having access to a safe and welcoming space filled books, activities and a team dedicated to helping in any way we can, and of course, a good book recommendation.
“We are very excited to be able to work with EIBF and Paper Trails to bring top class authors right to our community’s doorstep and provide some inspiration for any budding authors in the Muirhouse area, maybe even the next Irvine Welsh…”
The February programme will distribute over 500 free books to children attending events with Maisie Chan and Joseph Coelho – part of the festival’s five-year commitment to supporting Edinburgh’s libraries as creative community hubs.
Programme Highlights – February 2025
Claire Mitchell & Zoe Venditozzi: How to Kill a Witch
Wed 4 Feb, 6pm — North Edinburgh Arts
A lively, provocative exploration of Scotland’s witch-trial history from the hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast. Mitchell, one of Scotland’s leading lawyers, and Venditozzi uncover the brutal reality behind historical persecution.
Val McDermid: Winter Crime
Monday 9 Feb, 6pm — North Edinburgh Arts
Scotland’s ‘Queen of Crime’ discusses her latest Karen Pirie thriller Silent Bones and her new memoir Winter. With over 18 million books sold worldwide, McDermid rarely appears in intimate community settings.
Doug Johnstone: 20 Years in the Making
Wed 11 Feb, 6pm — North Edinburgh Arts
The bestselling crime writer reflects on two decades of literary success ahead of his landmark 20th novel. Johnstone’s Edinburgh-set thrillers have earned international acclaim and multiple award nominations.
Irvine Welsh: Writing Edinburgh
Thurs 26 Feb, 6pm — Muirhouse Library
A special remote appearance from the Trainspotting author, returning to the library he visited as a child. Welsh will discuss how Muirhouse and Edinburgh shaped his groundbreaking literary voice, followed by audience Q&A.
Maisie Chan: Family Fun
Wed 18 Feb, 2–3pm — Muirhouse Library
A half-term celebration of stories and creativity for families. Every child attending receives a free book to take home.
Schools Event: Joseph Coelho OBE — Poetry Alive!
Wed 11 Feb, 10.30–11.15am — Muirhouse Library An energising poetry workshop from the former Children’s Laureate (2022-24). Local primary school pupils will receive free books and participate in creative writing activities.
Join us for our next Community Walk & Chat, this Thursday 22 January at 10am.
Meet local politicians, take a walk around the area, and afterwards share your thoughts over a cuppa! Let’s discuss how to improve our local area together and make change happen.
Your voice matters – so come and join us! Everyone’s welcome. Meet us at North Edinburgh Arts.
NEN PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BLOG POST ON THIS DAY IN 2011
The very first NEN blog post was published on this day in 2011. The post read:
Hello, and welcome to the brand new NEN blog.
For those of you not already familiar with the newspaper, we are a local community paper serving the North Edinburgh community. We’ve been here for over thirty years.
This blog, along with our new Facebook page and Twitter stream, represents our first foray into the world of social media. We really want to encourage more participation, more questions and ideas from the North Edinburgh community – both online and offline – and hope that these new tools will help us to do that.
We already have a good website, where you can always find the latest edition of the printed newspaper. The blog won’t be replacing that, but will instead be there to show people the latest news about the area, and also to help us cover the current funding crisis we are facing as an organisation.
Above all, we want to include your input on the blog – be it ideas for stories, comments, pictures and events. So get in touch!
The NEN’s website was sadly deleted when funding ceased but our social media presence continues on both Twitter and Facebook and the blog is still going strong with 10 – 12 posts daily.
2025 was the NEN blog’s busiest ever year with 36,000 visitors. As I write this we’ve published more than 38,000 posts – all of these remain accessible online – and we’re currently on a run of publishing on 2749 consecutive days.
When the NEN office in Crewe Road North closed much of the NEN archive material was lost, but thankfully some of our picture library was salvaged and can now be found at granton:hub (Madelvic House), where the volunteer archive team has also collated all remaining hard copies of the North Edinburgh News newspaper.
Hopefully, between the physical archive and the NEN blog, you can find all you need to know about our community’s rich history – and we’re adding to that history every day!
We’re excited to share a fantastic creative opportunity for local adults who would like to develop skills in jewellery making at North Edinburgh Arts.
We have a couple of places available for an extended jewellery programme with Flourish Jewellery Project, open to local adults living in Granton or Pilton.
Workshops will run weekly on Thursday mornings, 10.30am – 12.30pm, from February to August 2026.
As places are limited, participants must be able to commit to attending weekly to ensure they get the most out of this opportunity.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:
Places are being offered to adults (aged 18+). The course is funded by City of Edinburgh Council Forth Ward so to be eligible to attend you must live in Granton or Pilton.
If you are interested in taking part but unsure if your address is eligible, please get in touch.
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL EVENTS NEXT MONTH
On a dark winter’s night, what could be more uplifting than hearing from leading Scottish authors? We know… seeing them for FREE!
Taking place in partnership with Edinburgh Libraries, our flagship communities project Paper Trails is kicking off the year in Muirhouse Library and North Edinburgh Arts for a special series of events this February.
Poetry, fantasy, crime, fiction… we’ve got it all covered with our top-tier line-up of speakers (if we do say so ourselves). And don’t miss the half term workshops for keeping little minds busy on the school break.
In partnership with EBIF Paper Trails and North Edinburgh Arts we are very happy to announce, what we hope to be our first, Muirhouse library Winter Book Festival!
Throughout February we will be hosting:
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi
Campaigners and hosts of the Witches of Scotland podcast and co-authors of How to Kill a Witch. Mitchell and Venditozzi join Vic Murray for a lively discussion about all things Scottish Witch trials and their sinisterly humorous book: How to Kill A Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy.
Doug Johnstone
Author bestselling works including anarchic rock and roll road trip story The Ossians, the darkly funny seven-book series The Skelfs, and the whip-smart sci-fi Enceladons Trilogy.
Ahead of the publication of his 20th novel later this year, join Doug Johnstone to celebrate his 20-year career as a writer, including sharing reflections and hilarious stories from the last two decades.
Maisie Chan
Author of Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths, Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past and the Tiger Warrior series. Listen to Maisie read from her hilarious, warm-hearted books; hear where she gets the inspiration for her stories from and then get stuck into an interactive drawing activity fuelled by your imagination!
You’ll also receive a free copy of one of Maisie’s books to keep.
This event is suitable all ages – perfect for some half-term family fun.
Val McDermid
Scotland’s undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’, Val McDermid joins Book Festival Director Jenny Niven to talk all things crime, dark nights, and share a few behind the scenes stories of having her books adapted for TV.
Irvine Welsh
Joining us via video link for this special event Welsh returns to Muirhouse Library, where he spent time as a child, to bring his characteristic wit, energetic imagination and unfiltered honesty home to the place that made him.
Details and tickets are available to book online via the link below:
There will also be a limited supply of tickets for each event reserved for residents of the local area available to be picked up in the library, pop into the library and ask a member of the team.
TODAY (Thursday 18 December), from 1.30pm to 2.00pm, join us and the Greater Pilton Singers for a performance of their specially penned song Solidarity Wins: A Song for Greater Pilton, surrounded by the Resistance exhibition at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two!
Written collaboratively by members from North Edinburgh Arts Art For Grown Ups Project and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre’s Arts and Culture Group – also with musician and activist Penny Stone – the choir created a gentle yet mighty protest song, evoking nostalgia and hope.
As well as their own anthem, they will perform a couple of classic soul and activism songs. The song has been developed as part of the Resistance outreach programme, which has culminated in the exhibition Solidarity Wins: Creative Resistance in North Edinburgh at the Portrait Gallery until 30 April 2026.
Poetry, fantasy, crime, fiction… we’ve got it all covered with our top-tier line-up of speakers (if we do say so ourselves). And don’t miss the half term workshops for keeping little minds busy on the school break.
