From budding young artists to those who’ve not picked up a felt tip in years, our interactive drawing sessions gave everyone an opportunity to get creative.

First, Edinburgh-based illustrator Eilidh Muldoon, showed us how to create a character from the book she illustrated, Fierce, Fearless and Free, by Lari Don. The book is full of female characters who are the heroes of their own stories. Catch up here as Eilidh tells us the story of Medea and the Metal Man and shows you how to bring the story alive with drawings.

We also enjoyed an inspiring session which with illustrator Katie Chappell, whose work makes the ordinary extraordinary. Katie told us about drawing diaries, and how even simple sketches can be a good way of marking the days each year as they pass. Why don’t you make 2021 the year you keep a drawing diary? Watch Katie’s video again to find out how.

After that, we joined the team at Edinburgh Zine Library as they explained what zines are and how to make them. In this fast-paced workshop, create your own mini-zine by responding to prompts. Our time was limited to only 90 seconds for each page, but luckily, on our catch up video, you can take as much time as you need to create your drawings.

Our daily surroundings can be a huge source of inspiration, with places and memories feeding into creative ideas. In this short film, our Communities Writer in Residence, Eleanor Thom, shows that sometimes just walking down your street can be a starting point for a new piece of writing. This exercise is a must for anyone experiencing writer’s block, or who wants to try writing but doesn’t know where to start.

Citizen is all about making the voices and ideas of people from Edinburgh, Musselburgh and beyond heard, and we’re so pleased to be able to include the work of our Writers’ Groups who have been working with Eleanor on place-based writing. Hear from these talented local writers as they reflect on the landscapes, landmarks and objects around them in poems and reflective writing.

Once you’ve tackled lots of the interactive activities above, you might simply want to curl up and listen to stories. We’ve not been able to travel much this year, but stories are a way to escape, to discover new things and people.

For family fun aimed at audiences 3+, why not catch up with the charming storytelling duo Macastory as they tell us a story about magic, mystery and being kind, followed by an upbeat singalong.

Or, you could hear Alan Bisset reading from The Incredible Adam Spark. Alan’s introduces us to Adam, Falkirk’s first superhero, and his lively reading is sure to make you smile.

Lastly, Nadine Aisha Jassat tells us a story of family and friendship from her work Daughter of Stories. Nadine explains how stories can be a beacon in the dark times, they can give us comfort and can remind us of who we are.

We hope you enjoy the Citizen Winter Warmer videos. Send your drawings, zines and poems to citizen@edbookfest.co.uk - we love seeing what you’ve come up with! Head to our bookshop website to find all the books by the authors who took part, and many more.

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Citizen is our long-term creative programme working in partnership with organisations across Edinburgh and Musselburgh, offering local people a platform to explore identity, connection and place. The project is part of Edinburgh International Book Festival On The Road, and is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and through the PLACE Programme (funded by the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council, and the Edinburgh Festivals, and supported and administered by Creative Scotland).