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Stories are vital to every part of Scotland. Our stories reflect who we are and shape how others see us.
The Year of Stories 2022 will provide businesses and organisations with opportunities to engage and inspire locals and visitors to discover, celebrate and share their own stories of Scotland.
In this digital toolkit you will find information on:
Themed Years showcase the very best of Scotland; its product, its places and its people. You’ll find a packed programme of events and activity taking place throughout each celebratory year as well as lots of opportunities to get involved, whether you're a visitor, a business or an organisation.
Scotland’s Year of Stories will spotlight, celebrate and promote the wealth of stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. The year will encourage locals and visitors to experience a diversity of voices, take part in events and explore the places, people and cultures connected to all forms of our stories, past and present. It will contribute to recovery from the pandemic and inspire new stories of Scotland to be shared.
Watch our Year of Stories 2022 promotional videos, in English and Gaelic, and the Year of Stories 2022 events programme launch video to learn more.
Across literature, screen and entertainment, the Year of Stories will celebrate and showcase Scotland’s wealth of treasured and iconic stories and storytellers from classics to contemporary.
We want to shout about Scotland’s new and untold stories. The Year of Stories will shine a light on emerging, fresh and forward-looking talent and highlight the innovators that break boundaries across all forms of storytelling.
Our people and places have inspired the widest range of stories and storytellers across the world. The year will promote how Scotland’s diverse culture, languages, landscapes and ways of life – urban and rural – provide a source for all types and forms of stories, encouraging visitors and audiences to find out more.
Every community has its distinct tales to tell; stories of now as well as those passed through the generations. These are the stories we tell ourselves and share with others to make sense of time and place. The Year of Stories will provide the opportunity for every part of Scotland to tell its story.
Our encounters with nature are an unfailing source of stories old and new. Whether by the sea or land, along rivers or through woods, in city or country, we discover stories of birds, insects, animals and plants. These stories define our place in the natural world and help to create a more sustainable future for Scotland, as well as a greener planet.
Let people know you’re proud to be taking part in the Themed Year! From websites to social media, email signatures to flyers, use the official free-to-use ‘Supporting Year of Stories 2022’ logo across your own promotions. It’s a great way to showcase your activities and inspire potential visitors. You can access the brand guidelines and directly download the logo by completing our online form.
Whether it's the city streets and rural hideaways where some of Scotland’s most famous novels are set, or the dramatic settings that act as backdrops to classic films and TV series, images of Scotland can really help to tell a story. We have a specially curated collection of free images for use across your own channels to inspire visitors. To access them simply register for our Digital Media Library and search "Year of Stories 2022".
We’ve also compiled a short list of location examples to provide some inspiration, which you can view by downloading our story locations pdf. Why not look into the places near you with a literary or screen connection and see what opportunities they could offer in relation to the Themed Year.
Published September 2021
Social media is the latest form of storytelling and it’s a great way to share your stories, join the conversation and reach new audiences. Whether your preferred channel is Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, don’t forget to use our Year of Stories campaign hashtags on your posts to help people find your content: #YS2022 and #TalesOfScotland. If you’d like to build your online expertise, we’ve got lots of advice available. Find out more about how you can improve your digital skills.
Creating a web listing on VisitScotland.com for your business allows you to connect with visitors across the globe – the site has 23 million visits per year and is translated into six languages. If you don't currently have a VisitScotland.com web listing, you can apply for one for free in our global website section. It’s a great idea to update your listing with any Themed Year activity you have planned.
We also have a dedicated listings system for tour operators which you can sign up to for free. If you have a special tour that aligns well with the year, make sure you add the ‘Year of Stories 2022’ category for your listing so that we can pull out and promote these activities in our campaign activity.
The delivery of an exciting programme of special events is an important part of each Themed Year. The Year of Stories Open Events programme aims to capture the imagination and help us to tell and to celebrate Scotland’s wealth of unique stories.
The Open Events programme is complemented by the Community Stories programme that will spotlight the unique stories that matter to Scotland’s local communities. The fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. Applications for funding have now closed.
The Year of Stories 2022 Partner Events Programme is open for applications. This is a free, non-funded opportunity to align your event with the theme and benefit from potential inclusion in our promotional activity.
Visitors want to discover authentic experiences and hidden gems – can you share knowledge on local legends, folk tales or lesser-known stories to celebrate the year? Why not take inspiration from local tour guides? You can find tour listings on the VisitScotland website or enjoy our Tour Guide Tales podcast to hear storytellers recount their favourite tales and personal experiences.
Many visitors want to find out more about our stories and legends or walk in the footsteps of a literary hero. Why not learn more about the writers and stories, literary visitor attractions, festivals and bookshops in your area? Check out our Scottish Writers and Literature resource, which has a host of information, from myths and legends to literary attractions, literary tours and must-read book recommendations.
Scotland has long provided the backdrop and inspiration for filmmakers, from Outlander to The Crown and James Bond to the Avengers. Find out more about film and TV locations near you, so that you can share these with visitors. Our Film & TV in Scotland resource includes itineraries, maps and an e-book which explores films by region.
Are there local businesses or organisations you could explore working with to create new experiences, itineraries or products in celebration of the year to inspire visitors and locals? Think about how you might be able to work together to target new markets and expand your reach.
Every business and organisation has a story to tell. Take a look at your organisation’s history, location, people and product and think about how best to share that story with potential visitors in a way that will surprise and engage them. Explore the Only in Scotland marketing proposition as a starting point to understanding the emotional drivers for visitors and consider the stories that make you stand out.
Every business wants to know that it’s at the top of its game, and with the ever-evolving landscape of the tourism industry there needs to be continuous learning and development in order to stay relevant. Take a look at the latest events and training opportunities on offer from VisitScotland, many of which are free to attend.
See how others have used the platform provided by a Themed Year to successfully create a new product or campaign. For inspiration, see the case studies above which show how DMOs across the country and organisations like Publishing Scotland have used Year of Stories to showcase their activity.
We have up-to-date insights on key factors such as why people are attracted to Scotland as a destination, what they expect from a holiday here and specific information on domestic and international markets. Take a look at this useful intel and start thinking about how it might influence the way you tell your story and attract visitors.
The Year of Stories 2022 will celebrate the broadest range of visitor experiences in relation to the theme, with a focus on unique, authentic experiences, sustainable tourism and place. It will also seek to include and promote a diversity of voices. It's important to consider the accessibility of the stories that you tell and the forms in which you communicate. Take a look at our Inclusive Tourism toolkit to discover advice and support for inclusive practices and check out our Gaelic toolkit to discover how you can use the language and its culture to create a more immersive visitor experience.
Don’t miss out on news about Year of Stories 2022. Follow us on Twitter @visitscotland, @visitscotnews, @eventscotnews and across our Facebook and Instagram channels. You can also sign up for our VisitScotland and EventScotland enewsletters, and don’t forget to check back here as this toolkit will be regularly updated.
The year officially starts on 1 January 2022 and will run until 31 December 2022. Our events programme will run across 2022, however, the VisitScotland marketing activity and pre-promotion will start towards the end of 2021 to maximise the opportunities.
The Year of Stories will contribute towards the recovery from the pandemic by providing a collaborative platform to help promote your business, product and experiences.
There are a range of ways to get involved, including practical tips and assets in our industry marketing toolkit. Telling authentic stories to visitors (essentially becoming a storyteller yourself) is a great way to engage with the Year of Stories as well as providing visitors and locals with a quality experience.
Yes, the opportunity is available for all businesses and organisations to get involved – both large and small. For inspiration why not look at our Year of Coasts and Waters case studies as there are some great examples of how individual businesses have engaged with the year across 2020 and 2021.
Our Year of Stories 2022 Open Events Funding Programme is now closed. Events funding was also made available through the Community Stories Fund for organisations and groups working with communities. Find out more about the fund on the Museums Galleries Scotland website. The deadline for the second and final round of Community Stories Fund applications was 18 March 2022.
You can find out about other event funding opportunities on the EventScotland funding page.
The next Themed Year is yet to be announced. Watch this space!
If you’d like to find out more about the Year of Stories 2022, please email our Themed Years team.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here.
LAS is Scotland’s largest literary network, committed to advancing the interests of Scotland’s literature and languages at home and abroad.
MGS is the National Development Body for the Scottish museums sector, supporting more than 400 museums and galleries.
Bòrd na Gàidhlig is the principal public body in Scotland responsible for promoting Gaelic development, including providing advice to Scottish Ministers on Gaelic issues.
The National Library of Scotland is a reference library with world-class collections. It is also Scotland's largest library and one of the major research libraries in Europe.
The Scottish Storytelling Centre showcases Scotland’s culture year-round, from regular storytelling nights to one-off performances.
Scottish Book Trust is the national charity that brings the benefits of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a unique national resource and advocate for the art of poetry, and Scottish poetry in particular.
The independent advisory body to the Scottish Government on library and information related matters. They represent Members drawn from the public sector, school libraries, higher education institutions, further education colleges, health libraries and special interest libraries.
Publishing Scotland is the trade and network body for the book publishing industry in Scotland, working to promote our publishers both nationally and internationally.
BooksfromScotland is the largest online collection of Scottish books. Showcasing the best classic and contemporary fiction, poetry, non-fiction and children’s books with reviews, features and extracts.
The Scottish Tourist Guides Association has over 500 tourist guides across Scotland and aims to provide clients with professional tourist guides who’ll inspire, educate and entertain.
