Birlinn (publisher)

{{Short description|Scottish independent publishing house}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox publisher | image = 160px | parent = | status = | founded = 1992 | founder = Hugh Andrew | successor = | country = United Kingdom (Scotland) | headquarters = Edinburgh | distribution = BookSource (UK)<br>NewSouth Books (Australia)<br>Independent Publishers Group (US)<br>Casemate (US military books)<ref>{{Cite web| title = Catalogues :: Birlinn Ltd.| access-date = 2017-12-04| url = https://www.birlinn.co.uk/Catalogues.html}}</ref> | keypeople = | publications = Books | topics = | genre = | imprints = Polygon, Mercat | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|https://birlinn.co.uk/}} }}'''Birlinn Limited''' is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1992 by managing director Hugh Andrew.<ref>[http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/reports/2003-2004/publishing.pdf Royalsoced.org.uk]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/15433223.birlinn-marks-25-years-of-producing-seminal-books-about-scotland/ |title=Birlinn marks 25 years of producing 'seminal' books about Scotland |first=Rosemary |last=Goring |work=The Herald |date=28 July 2017 |access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref>

==Imprints== Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprints, including:

*'''Birlinn''', which publishes Scottish interest books, from biography to history, military history and Scottish Gaelic. (Its name comes from the old Norse word {{lang|non|birlinn}}, meaning a long boat or small galley with 12 to 18 oars, used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages.<ref>[http://www.clansinclairusa.org/articles/march2001/thebirlinngalley.php The Birlinn or Heraldic Galley] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625134953/http://www.clansinclairusa.org/articles/march2001/thebirlinngalley.php |date=25 June 2007 }}</ref>) *'''Polygon Books''', which publishes literary fiction and poetry, both classic and modern, from Scottish writers such as Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown, and the author of ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'', Alexander McCall Smith. It was founded in the late 1960s by students of the University of Edinburgh.<ref>[http://www.writewords.org.uk/directory/detail_page.asp?subtypeid=192&directory_id=4660 Polygon Publishers]</ref> *'''Mercat Press''', founded in 1970 and acquired by Birlinn in 2007, which publishes walking and climbing guides. (''Mercat'' is the Scots language word for "market" or "trade".<ref>[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Mercat Mercat - definition of Mercat by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia]</ref>) *'''John Donald''', publishing academic books about Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://birlinn.co.uk/john-donald/|title=John Donald {{!}} Birlinn Ltd|date=1 February 2026|website=Birlinn Ltd|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Digital Publishing and Ebooks == Birlinn makes its titles available as ebooks through its own website as well as through other online retailers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher - buy books online|url=https://birlinn.co.uk/|website=Birlinn Ltd|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In collaboration with TannerRitchie Publishing and Edinburgh University Press, Birlinn publishes ''Scotland's History Online,'' a major collection of new and backlist academic Scottish historical research aimed at academic libraries and individual researchers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wp.scotlandshistoryonline.com/|title=Scotland's History Online|date=1 February 2026|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable authors and works== * Alexander McCall Smith<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/insight/alexander-mccall-smith-942226 | title=Alexander McCall Smith - You have to know the places you're writing about |publisher=The Bookseller |access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref> ** Love in the Time of Bertie (2021) ** The People's City (2022) * Martin C. Strong<ref>[http://www.folklib.net/index/discog/bibliog_strong.shtml Folklib.net]</ref> ** ''The Great Folk Discography, Vol. 1: Pioneers & Early Legends'' (2010) ** ''The Great Folk Discography, Vol. 2: The Next Generation'' (2011) * Andy Wightman ** ''The Poor Had No Lawyers'' (Third Edition, 2015)<ref>Combe, M. M. (2011). Review of Andy Wightman, 'The Poor had no Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland (and how they got it)'. Environmental Law Review, 13(3), 242-243. https://doi.org/10.1350/enlr.2011.13.3.131</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == *[https://birlinn.co.uk/ Birlinn] {{Scottish Gaelic}}

Category:Book publishing companies of Scotland Category:Companies based in Edinburgh Category:Publishing companies established in 1992 Category:Scottish brands Category:1992 establishments in Scotland