Scottish publisher Birlinn launches free book app

Scottish Publisher Birlinn Ltd has launched Scotland by-the-Book is, a free app that brings books on subjects including history, fiction, cooking and poetry to readers with an interest in Scotland.

The app includes an interactive map of Scotland featuring books, bookshops and literary events. The Edinburgh-based independent publisher created the app in collaboration with digital agency Zudu.

Publicity and marketing director Jan Rutherford first conceived the idea as a way to share Scotland’s stories across the world. Rutherford commented: "With the shift to mobile-focused business models, we are excited to expand our digital offering with an intuitive app to reach more readers and different communities."

The marketing director added: "By downloading the app, you will discover a multitude of unique voices with nearly 600 brilliant books to explore."

The publisher has also joined forces with digital history publisher Tanner Ritchie to create Scotland’s History Online, a subscription-based e-library of Scotland’s historical research with fast keyword searches throughout the whole collection.

Aimed at academics, students and anyone studying Scottish and British history, the new e-library is supported by The Strathmartine Trust.