Ùr-Sgeul, the award-winning publishing project launched less than two years ago, today announced a major new marketing initiative supported by the Scottish Arts Council Writers’ Factory and Bòrd na Gaidhlig.

The development means that Ùr-Sgeul, the publishing wing of the Gaelic Books Council, will consolidate its position as the major publisher of new Gaelic fiction in the UK. The marketing funding contributes to the publication today of an Ùr-Sgeul catalogue, the first produced by the Gaelic Books Council.

Gavin Wallace, Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council, says: ‘Ùr-Sgeul marks a major turning-point in contemporary Gaelic literature; indeed it is a major development in Scottish publishing as a whole, which thoroughly merits our investment. The critical and commercial success of the imprint is vivid evidence that there is a vibrant contemporary Gaelic fictional voice demanding to be heard, and equally importantly, demanding to be read.’

The 16-page, full-colour catalogue comes in three different forms and is tailored to target the education, trade and commercial sectors. It showcases the company’s award-winning backlist, including Martin MacIntyre’s Ath-Aithne (Re-acquaintance), winner of the Saltire First Book of the Year Award 2003, and its forthcoming titles. It is printed in both Gaelic and English.

Christina Walker, Director of the Gaelic Books Council and lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, said: ‘This initiative will prove an indispensable aid to all involved in Gaelic education – students, teachers and university lecturers, as well as open up Gaelic publishing to non-speakers and learners.’

Ùr-Sgeul recently published Angus Peter Campbell’s An Oidhche Mus Do Sheòl Sinn (The Night Before We Sailed), which is short-listed for this year’s Saltire Book of the Year. Campbell says of today’s funding announcement: ‘As a writer, this initiative is critical in that it makes books more readily available, thereby creating a readership for contemporary Gaelic literature. Without readers we’ll have no Gaelic writers, and without writers we’ll have have no contemporary Gaelic language and literature worth bothering about. As a parent of six Gaelic-speaking children Ur-Sgeul gives me hope that they too can begin to fully articulate the world in their own imaginative terms.’

Ùr-Sgeul also announced today a new international collaboration, the first of its kind for 30 years.  Dublin-based publisher Cois Life will be publishing Irish Gaelic translations of contemporary fiction from the Ùr-Sgeul series. Stories from Martin MacIntyre’s Saltire Society Award Winning Ath-Aithne (Re-acquaintance), along with work from Duncan Gillies’ critically-acclaimed short story collection Tocasaid Ain Tuirc, will be published by Cois Life in summer 2005.

The Ùr-Sgeul series and its growing success comes at an important time in the development of access to the Gaelic language and literatures. The Cultural Commission’s recently published interim report, to which the Gaelic Books Council contributed, identifies the need for Scotland’s rich linguistic heritage to be developed through the arts and culture. The Edinburgh International Book Festival now has Gaelic established as a regular and highly successful part of its fabric. In addition, the recent UNESCO designation of Edinburgh as the first City of Literature means that there is growing acknowledgement of, and further avenues for, the placement of Gaelic in its rightful position in Scotland’s contemporary cultural sphere.

Ùr-Sgeul intends to bring at least 12 new writers to the forefront against this backdrop. Forthcoming work includes a contemporary and thought-provoking debut novel from Martin MacIntyre set in Edinburgh. The novel is based on the trials and tribulations of an Edinburgh taxi driver and follows on from MacIntyre’s Saltire Award-winning collection of short stories which were recently published by Ùr -Sgeul as a six CD box set. The novel will be launched at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2005. A cutting-edge new novel from Lewis writer Donald 'Rusty' Smith will be launched at the National Mod in Stornoway in October 2005.

The Ùr-Sgeul catalogue is available from: the Gaelic Books Council, or visit www.ùr-sgeul.com