Slower, communal, oriented to readers

Time in nature and reading share important qualities: slowness, observation, wandering, reflection, and sustained attention. Reading outdoors, collectively but informally, creates a distinct kind of public cultural experience: quieter, more participatory, and less commercially structured than many conventional literary events.

What we’re planning

The structure is loose by design, and the three elements allow for different depths of engagement: someone who came to investigate the books might be convinced to sit and read, or to join a discussion.

The shop’s daily work, moved into the park

Tills Bookshop has traded on the edge of a public park in Edinburgh since 1985. The festival moves the shop’s daily work of putting second-hand books into readers’ hands into the park itself. The site is served by over a dozen Lothian bus routes and has walking and cycling paths throughout, so the day is open both to people who planned to come and to anyone passing through.

Books that have already had a life

As a second-hand bookshop, Tills’ trade is already circular. The Forest Library will be stocked with donated second-hand books, free for attendees to take home, modelling a reading culture that does not depend on new production and extending the festival’s effect beyond the day itself.

The festival aims to bring people who care about books and reading into conversation with people who care about nature and ecology. There is an existing overlap, evidenced by the popularity of nature writing; we hope the day turns outdoor enthusiasts into frequent readers, and instils a sense of care and intention towards book-related consumption in those who already read for pleasure.