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The Rev. D. Norman Maclean founded Colinton Parish Church Literary Society (the ‘Lit’) in October 1903 with three Members of the congregation.  
       They met in a wood and corrugated building in Dreghorn Loan, known as the Old Tin Hall.  For more than 100 years the Lit programmes have covered both literary topics and those of general interest across the entire community from whom our membership is drawn. 
       The name of the Society was changed to Colinton Literary Society in 2024 ​when the Parish of Colinton united with the Parish of Juniper Green.  Colinton Literary Society remains an official church organisation in the new parish of Edinburgh Pentlands Parish. 
       The Lit has hosted many eminent academics, authors, artists and musicians at its events. ​In 1911, Sir Ernest Shackleton gave a lecture entitled ‘Furthest South’ and in 2011, author Ian Rankin let us into his secrets of crime writing and now, in our 2023-2024 season, experts in the fields of history, music, politics and art will enthrall us again.

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The Committee
Honorary President
The Minister, Colinton Church
​  Secretary  
Sally Fischbacher
[email protected]
Treasurer
Katie Davidson
Programme Coordinator 
Colin Fischbacher
[email protected]
Committee Members
Kay Dalley, Vasily Demyanov, Kath Hay, Joe McGeough,
Bob Mylchreest, Gemma Roper-Caldbeck,
Lorraine Veitch-Rutherford 
Hon. Accounts Examiner
A W Murray

Dreghorn Loan Hall

An Invitation to The Lit  
 Our meetings for the 112th season of Colinton Literary Society commenced in October and are held in the
​Dreghorn Loan Hall, Colinton EH13 0DE.
Tea, coffee and wine is served from 7:30pm.
 Each talk commences at 8pm and the
evening finishes at around 9pm.
 
Membership costs just £15 for the full
programme of 16 meetings, or £3 per meeting
for visitors. New members of all ages are assured of a warm welcome.  Our programme covers both literary topics and those of general interest which should be attractive across the entire community from which our membership is drawn. Proposals for future talks may be handed in to the Programme Co-ordinator at any time.
​Talks and events taking place during our
current season​ are listed below.​

2024
16 Oct:  The Scottish Enlightenment:
              Professor David Purdie reviews the impact
              of this intellectual and philosophical movement         
23 Oct:   Phoebe Anna Traquair: 
               Professor Elizabeth Cumming looks at the life of a
               leading artist in the Scottish Arts and Crafts                             movement and her Colinton connection
30 Oct:   The Wild Swimmer of Kintail: 
               Kellan MacInnes tells the story of a journey through
               water to self-discovery
06 Nov:  Writing about Place: 
              Sir Alexander McCall Smith talks about the influence
              that location has on the writing of his books
13 Nov:  The Scottish Parliament - what next?                                    Sir Paul Grice considers the impact of devolution
20 Nov:  Edinburgh - our Storied Town: 
              Donald Smith reviews 900 years of Edinburgh’s                      literary history
27 Nov:  Edinburgh’s Theatres: 
               Reverend David Todd delves deep into the history                   of the city’s theatres
04 Dec:  Buffet Supper with musical entertainment                           provided by the Glencairn Ensemble
2025
15 Jan:  Gallipoli:  
              Brigadier Ian Gardiner explains more about this                      crucial battle
22 Jan:   Roots of the Reformation:
               Will Sanders takes a look at Protestantism in                           Scotland in the 16th century
29 Jan:   Burns in Context:
               David Dow and the Dovecot Singers explore the     
               life and times of Scotland's national poet
05 Feb    Edinburgh - the Silent City:
               Stuart Montgomery presents a portrait of Edinburgh
               in Lock-down
12 Feb    Stories of Changing Landscapes:
               Jamie Crawford uses landscapes to tell a story of
​               transformation
19 Feb    The Royal Letter Book:
                Louise Gardiner explores Royal correspondence in
                late 14th century England
26 Feb    Trial by Jury:
                Conductor David Lyle and soloists present Gilbert
                and Sulllivan's every-popular one-act opera
05 Mar    AGM followed by a talk from Hannah Dyka about 
               the work of Pavlo Tychyna, one of Ukraine's leading
​               poets