The benefits in achievingrecognition for Edinburgh as UNESCO’s first City of Literature are expected tobe: raised awareness and prestige of Scotland’s literature nationally andinternationally; new initiatives attracted to Scotland; Edinburgh used as amodel for other World Cities of Literature, providing partnerships with othercities with strong literary profiles and aspirations, and a focus and co-ordinationfor literary activity, encouraging greater participation at all levels ofScottish society.It is too soon to judge the fullimpact; however, some benefits already accrued are:the inaugural Mann BookerInternational Prize, one of the most valuable new international awards, washeld in Edinburgh in 2005;during the EdinburghInternational Book Festival in 2005 a high-profile delegation from UNESCO andfrom other potential cities of literature enjoyed a special programme of events;City of Refuge – inpartnership with Norwich, Liverpool and Cardiff, to inaugurate a UK network of cities of refugefor writers in exile from their home countries over issues of freedom ofspeech;Edinburgh has also beengaining profile as a centre for publishing, with a new literary agency openingin August 2005 (the Maggie McKernan literary agency), and a new cross-partygroup on publishing set up by members of the Scottish Parliament, anddevelopment of a city-widecampaign to encourage Edinburgh citizens to read one book, to be launched inthe autumn of 2006 with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped.