Pages We Share: Refugee Creative Writing, Publishing, and Libraries in Scotland
Alexandros Plasatis, publisher of the other side of hope and a PhD researcher at Coventry University in partnership with the National Library of Scotland, is currently running a research project on refugee publishing and libraries in Scotland. The project asks how libraries might better collect, preserve, support, and make visible the publications and broader literary work of people with refugee experience.
For the research to carry greater force, and to help change the publishing landscape in Scotland and beyond, it needs evidence from the people and communities who know this work from within. Please consider participating if you are one of the following:
- Scotland-based refugee writers (they do not need to be professional or published writers, a strong interest in writing is enough): https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/coventry/pages-we-share-refugee-creative-writing-publishing-and-librar-2 (also available in Urdu, Persian and Arabic).
- Scotland-based refugee academics (may include both current and former academics, researchers, and PhD students, including those who were part of academic before displacement): https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/coventry/pages-we-share-refugee-creative-writing-publishing-and-librar-2 (also available in Urdu, Persian and Arabic).
- Refugee organisation based in Scotland, or with strong ties to Scotland: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/coventry/refugee-organisations-as-storytellers-journeys-in-publishing–1
- Scotland-based independent and/or micro publisher that publish refugee writers, or would like to do so. (may include small-scale publishers, even one-person publishers, and those who may not usually think of themselves as publishers at all, for example people producing pamphlets, zines, chapbooks, or small magazines): https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/coventry/publishing-together-independent-micro-presses-refugee-writing-1
Responses to these surveys, except the refugee organisations survey, can be given anonymously. The surveys take around 20 minutes on average. But their value goes far beyond a questionnaire. They will help build a clearer picture of refugee publishing in Scotland, the barriers people face, and what libraries, publishers, and cultural organisations might do differently. Their impact could be lasting, helping make refugee writing more visible, more valued, and better supported. Any questions or suggestions can be sent to Alexandros at A.Plasatis@nls.uk.