The Open University in Scotland Bookshelf

The Open University (OU) engages with people across Scotland and the world.

The OU is supporting events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2021 with authors Douglas Stuart, Denise Mina, Kei Miller and Emma Dabiri and Carol Ann Duffy.

There is a wide range of free online learning to explore on the OU’s free learning site OpenLearn, including a ‘Skills for Life’ collection, a ‘Race & Ethnicity Hub’ and the short courses ‘Start Writing Fiction’ and ‘Writing What You Know’.

At the OU in Scotland no qualifications are required for most formal OU modules and if your personal income is less than £25k, you might be eligible to study for free with a part-time fee grant.

Find out more at www.open.ac.uk/scotland.

Featured products

Empty Nest: Poems for Families

£14.99

A stunning anthology of poems edited by Carol Ann Duffy on that special bond between parent and child through life, featuring some of our most beloved poets.

Rizzio: Darkland Tales

£10.00

From the multi-award-winning master of crime Denise Mina comes a radical new take on one of the darkest episodes in Scottish history - the bloody assassination of David Rizzio in Mary, Queen of Scots' chambers in Holyrood Palace.

Shuggie Bain

£8.99

Recommended by Genevieve Fay, our Communities Programme Officer:

Having recently been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, it is no wonder that many people, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are reaching for a copy of Shuggie Bain. Douglas Stuart has written this powerful debut novel drawing on his own life experiences.

Set in 1980s Glasgow, which seems to be unravelling under the weight of its own identity crisis, families struggle with unemployment, crushing poverty, and the waves of addiction that are engulfing much of the city. It is a book of both sadness and beauty, a chronicle of memorable characters, their defiance and hope in the face of the grim realities of life and survival.

Things I Have Withheld

£14.99

Award-winning poet and novelist Kei Miller explores the meanings of silence in this collection of provocative and lyrical essays

What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition

£7.99