Edinburgh Honours Ali Bowden for Two Decades of Literary Leadership

Ali Bowden is preparing to receive the prestigious Edinburgh Award 2025.

Impressions of her hands have been cast in clay by Leigh Bradley from the Colin Braid Stone Workshop, ready to be carefully carved into stone.

The handprints will be gilded and laid outside the City Chambers next to the prints of previous Edinburgh Award recipients including Doddie Weir, Ann Budge, Sir Chris Hoy, Elizabeth Blackadder and Sir Geoff Palmer.

Ali Bowden became Director of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature in 2006, following a ten-year career in publishing, and was in the role for most of its 20-year history.

Edinburgh became the world’s first UNESCO Creative City in 2004 and in the following years Ali helped to welcome new Cities of Literature as they joined, recruiting others from around the world in a bid to diversify the network. There are now 53 literary cities and more than 350 creative cities in seven artforms.

Ali’s name will be inscribed onto the Edinburgh Award honour panel in the City Chambers and she will be presented with an engraved Loving Cup by the Lord Provost at a ceremony in November.

The post Edinburgh Honours Ali Bowden for Two Decades of Literary Leadership appeared first on Edinburgh Magazine – Positive Local News in Edinburgh, Scotland.