Former Castle Douglas school pupil chosen to receive prestigious Edinburgh Award 2025
A former Castle Douglas school pupil has been chosen to receive a prestigious award.
Ali Bowden, the first director of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, will be presented with this year's Edinburgh Award, which recognises people who have made a positive impact on the city and gained national and international recognition for Edinburgh.
Previous winners since the award began in 2007 include authors Sir Ian Rankin, JK Rowling and Sir Alexander McCall Smith, violinist Nicola Benedetti, Olympic gold medal winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and the late businessman Sir Tom Farmer.
Ali, who attended both Castle Douglas Primary and High School, became director of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature in 2006, following a 10year career in publishing and was in the role for most of its 20-year history, standing down in September last year.
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.
She said: There's no doubt that Edinburgh has stolen my heart, and I've happily spent the last few decades banging the drum for this impressive, bookish, story-filled and ever-changing city.
'I am humbled, honoured and delighted – in equal measure – to be receiving the Edinburgh Award. I know it's only possible because of all the kind souls I've worked with over the years, on projects big and small, locally and internationally.
'All of them equally inspired by Edinburgh, this amazing, and first, City of Literature. Thank you all for doing a bit of hard work when I asked.'
The Lord Provost said: 'Ali Bowden is a most deserved recipient of the Edinburgh Award, and I'm really pleased that she has accepted the Civic Awards Committee decision to present it to her.
'Edinburgh blazed a trail when it became the first UNESCO Creative City in 2004 and with Ali at the helm for almost 20 years it has continued to flourish in this position.
'Not only has Ali gone above and beyond to create a diverse and engaging range of projects and programmes to enhance the literary city, she has played a key role in connecting Edinburgh with other literary cities around the world.
'I'd like to congratulate Ali on behalf of the city - we will all benefit from her legacy, which builds on the Capital's rich literary heritage while also bringing reading and literature to new and varied audiences.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Who is Alex Kingston's husband, Jonathan Stamp?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Doctor Who star, Alex Kingston, got married to Jonathan Stamp back in 2015 in Rome. She is joining the Strictly Come Dancing class of 2025, but what do we know about her spouse? Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 2 Alex Kingston is swapping the Tardis time machine for the Tango. Credit: Getty Who is Alex Kingston's husband Jonathan Stamp? Jonathan travelled the Mediterranean under a UNESCO International Arts Scholarship after he completed his master's degree in classical studies at Oxford University, where he received a first-class honours. He originally started as a journalist at The Economist and began a career in TV as a documentary maker, his speciality was history subjects. The journalist started with Channel 4 and then with the BBC, where he made 20 documentaries and even won three Emmys for his work. In 2000, he was appointed the Director of Development in the BBC's History Department. In 2002, he was appointed the BBC's Head of Archaeology. Two years later, he left the Beeb to become a historical consultant and co-producer on Rome, a drama set in the last days of the ancient Roman Republic. He was a historical consultant for TV projects with HBO, Showtime and Amazon, feature films with Sony and MGM Studios and console games with Ubisoft. Since his work as a historical consultant, he has continued to work in TV and film, primarily as a graphic designer and art director. More recently, he has written his own material for future TV projects. This includes Ellis a period drama based on Ellis Island in 1902, and District IV, a cop show set in Caligula's Rome. He has also completed his first feature script, Lords of Florence, inspired by a true story about a painting competition between Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Do Alex Kingston and Jonathan Stamp have children together? The couple do not have a child together; however, Alex Kingston has a daughter called Salome Violetta Haertel with her ex-husband, Ralph Fiennes, a fellow actor who has appeared in films like the James Bond franchise. 2 Alex Kingston with her daughter, Salome Violetta Haertel ahead of her starting strictly. What has Jonathan's wife Alex said about her Strictly announcement? Speaking about if she had any "signature moves" to the show's hosts, Alex teased: "My hips don't lie."
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
BBC Strictly Come Dancing start date confirmed as line-up revealed
Strictly Come Dancing will be back on screens in just a few weeks' time and the official date has been announced, just as stars such as Vicky Pattison and Stefan Dennis sign up Strictly Come Dancing's start date has been revealed. The BBC favourite is due to return to screens in a matter of weeks, and now the broadcaster has finally confirmed when it will be back on screen amidst a host of celebrity announcements. Fans will be able to tune in in just over four week's time, as Jon Kay confirmed live on BBC Breakfast: "Strictly starts on the 20th September," so that is when Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke will be seen for the first time this year as they launch the programme's 23rd series. For over a decade, Strictly Come Dancing has launched around the third week in September, but its very first series, which was won by Channel 5 newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, it was actually broadcast from May until July in 2004. Since then, the programme has occasionally begun in October but it has mostly aired from September and always runs throughout the autumnal months in the build up to Christmas. It comes after a Strictly Come Dancing star pulled out of the show as he made a career announcement. This year, Olympic sprinter and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was the first contestant confirmed for the 2025 line-up earlier on Monday. Harry, known as Nitro on the rebooted Gladiators, previously competed in last year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special and described his decision to return as "so nice I just had to do it twice." The first contestant announced to be joining Strictly was Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, also known as Nitro. The former Olympic athlete, who competed in last year's Christmas special, was revealed as a contestant during an episode of Newsround on Monday. Love Island winner Dani Dyer was the second celebrity confirmed for the new series. The reality TV star shared the news on The One Show on Monday night, with her one of three contestants who appeared on the show that evening. Actor Alex Kingston, known for her roles on shows such as Doctor Who and ER, was unveiled as the third celebrity for the new series. She was the second contestant to be interviewed on The One Show earlier this week. Footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was later named as this year's fourth contestant. He was the third and final participant revealed on Monday. Soap star Balvinder Sopal was then the fifth contestant to be revealed as part of the line-up. The actress , known for her role as Suki Panesar-Unwin on EastEnders, was unveiled as part of the line-up with viewers on ITV 's Good Morning Britain earlier this week. It was later announced that TikTok star George Clarke will be competing on the new series of Strictly too. The content creator was named as a contestant on BBC Radio 1 's Going Home Drivetime Show yesterday. RuPaul's Drag Race UK runner-up La Voix, also known as Christopher Dennis, was unveiled as the seventh celebrity taking part on Wedneday. The news was revealed on the Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. The Apprentice star Tom Skinner has also been given a spot on the dancefloor, as has actress and model Ellie Goldstein, and rugby star Chris Robshaw will also be taking part. And on Thursday, Geordie Shore legend Vicky Pattison was announced as celebrity number 11 to be taking part. She said: "I'm buzzing like a an old fish but I'm really nervous as well. I've never done anything like this before, I'm opening up to a whole new audience as well. I'm terrified. Can you tell? I'm terrified." Just hours later, Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis was unveiled as part of the lineup. H said: "I'm very excited to be doing something completely and utterly out of my comfort zone but because of that, I'm petrified." He added that British viewers be "sick of" him eventually as Neighbours will also be airing until the end of the year. He added that he's had advice from co-star April Rose Pengilly, who has taken part in Australia's Dancing with the Stars. "She said, 'Every night I put ice packs all over my body,'" he revealed
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
ITV star shares traumatic miscarriage experience on This Morning sofa
This Morning star Dr Zoe Williams opened up on suffering a miscarriage live on the ITV show ITV star Dr Zoe Williams has shared her traumatic miscarriage experience on the This Morning sofa. During Thursday's (August 14) episode of the popular ITV morning programme, hosts Emma Willis and Craig Doyle engaged in a conversation with Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington and her husband, Andy Parsons, about raising awareness for miscarriage. The couple have tragically experienced two miscarriages in recent years, one in 2022 and another in 2023. Dr Zoe was also present to provide further information about miscarriages, before revealing that she had previously had two herself, a fact she had never publicly disclosed before. "Zoe, I know you come on here as an expert to help people and you haven't spoken publicly about this before, but it's a trauma you know all too well," Craig said, reports the Mirror. Zoe then said: "Yeah absolutely. When I was talking to the producers about this yesterday, I haven't shared it publicly, but I myself have had two miscarriages as well, both very early on at ten weeks. "One was before I got pregnant with my little boy, who's now four years old, and one was after. The second one, I was sat here on this sofa bleeding, having a miscarriage. "I say that because you will know people that are going through this and people often just get on with it, they go to work. Nobody knows. So, it's just to say, I think we need to talk more, be more open." She went on: "In some countries, people share their pregnancy news as soon as they find out. The benefit of that is it normalises miscarriage, people are more open about it, they feel less alone, and they know where to go for that support." Zoe added: "I do believe we need to talk more openly about it, so that's why I agreed to share my experience." Craig then responded: "I'm so sorry, you've never spoken about it before. Oh my goodness, it's just such an awful thing you had to go through." Zoe has been a familiar face on ITV's This Morning since 2016, providing guidance to viewers on a range of medical matters. She recently featured on a special episode of Loose Women, called Loose Doctors, where she discussed health challenges she's faced.
