This archive contains literary and personal papers of George Mackay Brown, the celebrated Orcadian poet and novelist. At the heart of this collection is the vast amount of correspondence received by George Mackay Brown throughout his life from friends, fans, editors, publishers and others. These letters, postcards and greetings cards give a unique insight into the breadth of attention that his work drew, as well as the connections he made with correspondents from across the world, all from his home in Stromness.

As well as the correspondence, there are manuscript and typescript drafts of George Mackay Brown’s poetry and short stories, including many poems collected for the first time for ‘The collected poems of George Mackay Brown’ (John Murray, 2006).

A range of personal papers are also present, including diaries (1958-1996) and notebooks (1971-1996), as well as notes and course materials from his time at the University of Edinburgh (1956-1960). Printed material includes tracts, missals and other short works concerning Catholicism collected by George Mackay Brown throughout his life.