Birlinn Publishing Submissions

Birlinn Publishing

UK (Scotland) – Non-fiction, Bio, History, Scottish Interest
birlinn.co.uk
birlinn.co.uk/submissions
info@birlinn.co.uk

Birlinn – Passionately Independent

About Birlinn Publishing

Birlinn is an independent, Scottish and general UK-interest books publisher. Birlinn publishes topics including biography, history, military, politics and Scottish Gaelic. Birlinn is especially interested in books about Scotland, or works by Scottish authors.

The name Birlinn comes from the old Norse word ‘birlinn’, meaning a long boat or small galley used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. Birlinn was established in 1992.

Birlinn Publishing Submissions

Unsolicited submissions okay. No agent required.

Send synopsis and sample chapters first to: info@birlinn.co.uk.

Meet the Editors

Hugh Andrew (Founder) – Hugh is not just the founder but the commissioning editor too. Hugh founded the company 30 years ago and continues at the helm today with a keen eye for Scottish-interest, history and mapping titles.

Andrew Simmons (Editorial Director) – Andrew has worked at Birlinn since the early days. He is the Editorial Director, with a particular interest in nature-writing, memoir, history, literary non-fiction, current affairs and international politics, biography, food and drink.

Birlinn 2025/2026 titles

– Ireland: Mapping the Island
– The Cadence of a Song by Fiona J. Mackenzie
– Feast by Sarah Hankin
– Witches by Steven Veerapen
– Vampire State by Ian Williams

Birlinn in the news…

Night Train to Odesa Shortlisted

Night Train to Odesa by Jen Stout has been shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2025. This prize celebrates the wide range of literature written in or about the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and the shortlisted titles represent authors who were born in or live in the Highlands, as well as books whose content illuminates the culture, landscape, and heritage of the region.

Night Train to Odesa chronicles Jen Stout’s time reporting from the war in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, and is as timely as ever as the war continues to rage on. Jen’s remarkable book focuses on ordinary people in Ukraine and includes stories from the night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers: stories from the ground, from a writer with a deep sense of empathy.

This is the latest in a string of accolades for Jen’s debut book, including winning the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award, being selected as a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Award.

Find out more about the Highland Book Prize.

See if your book used to fit in with these Birlinn titles.

See their whole Catalog for 2025.

Birlinn Publishing
West Newington House
10 Newington Road
Edinburgh, Scotland
EH9 1QS
United Kingdom

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