The Hot 100 2016: 10–3
Aidan Moffat, SQIFF, Amy Liptrot, Jackie Kay and Graeme Macrae Burnet are among our favourite cultural contributors this year
10 Aidan Moffat
It's been a busy year even by Aidan Moffat's usual grindstone-nosed standards, with his starring turn in Where You're Meant to Be, Paul Fegan's film about the music of Scotland, which gathered much acclaim and festival screenings, and the live 20th anniversary reunion of Arab Strap alongside Malcolm Middleton. (DP)
9 SQIFF
As well as boasting a delightful acronym, the Scottish Queer International Film Festival has enjoyed a successful second year with a line-up including opener Strike a Pose, a queer horror retrospective, a variety of workshops, and events focusing on different identities, including intersexuality and LGBTQ+ deafness. (KS)
8 Edinburgh International Festival
Fergus Linehan upped the ante after a stirring 2015 directorial debut, laying on dramatic spectacles such as Deep Time (pictured) and the closing fireworks, and bringing us Alan Cumming, Cecilia Bartoli, Holy Body Tattoo, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Rós, The Glass Menagerie and Richard III. To name just a few. (BD)
7 Amy Liptrot
Amy Liptrot's The Outrun blends addiction memoir and nature writing, painting a complex picture of the author's relationship with Orkney. It's a book that has resonated widely, and in the summer it became a deserved winner of the 2016 Wainwright Prize. (SS)
6 Harry Giles
2016 has been a breakthrough year for Edinburgh-based poet and activist Harry Giles. Nominated for two major awards, Giles' debut collection Tonguit approaches the themes of national identity, gender, sexuality, technology and politics with linguistic flair and formal daring. (SS)
5 Jackie Kay
Back in March, poet and novelist Jackie Kay was named as Liz Lochhead's successor as Scots Makar, becoming only the third writer to have held the honour (alongside Lochhead and original post-holder, Edwin Morgan). This wasn't her only appointment of the year, though, as she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and was a prolific and popular guest at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. There, she interviewed Nicola Sturgeon, discussed poetry with Carol Ann Duffy, and appeared with Zaffar Kunial in a talk about their work and heritage. (RM)
4 Summerhall
What The Stage described as Summerhall's 'domination' of this year's Edinburgh Fringe wasn't far wrong. The Southside multi-arts venue capped a high-quality and deservedly acclaimed theatrical programme featuring some of the best practitioners in Scotland and beyond with the capture of more than half of the Fringe First awards handed out, four Total Theatre awards and a 30% increase in ticket sales on 2015. Yet this was only part of the story, with a great Fringe art roster headlined by a Joseph Beuys retrospective from the Demarco Archive and a year-round cultural schedule topped by the quality of Nothing Ever Happens Here, arguably Edinburgh's best live music programme of the year. (DP)
3 Graeme Macrae Burnet
Graeme Macrae Burnet continues to go from strength to strength, following up his debut novel, The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, with his second book, His Bloody Project. Released last year, the latter is an ambiguous if ostensibly true story tracing the tale of Burnet's relative in the form of a memoir. It enchanted and intrigued both critics and fans alike, and was shortlisted for the prestigious 2016 Man Booker Prize. Sure, it might not have won but being the best-selling book on the shortlist and the bookies' second-favourite brought Burnet plenty of international acclaim. (KS)