Outlander and Trainspotting in running to be named Scotland's top screen adaptation

Outlander is in the running to be named Scotland's greatest screen adaptation.

Film, TV and literary lovers are expected to vote in their thousands to decide the winner, which will be announced during Scotland’s annual week-long celebration of reading next month.

The Crow Road, Under The Skin, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are among the film and TV versions of classic novels by Iain Banks, Michel Faber and Robert Louis Stevenson respectively to make the longlist.

The 1971 TV adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song, Walt Disney’s 1953 animated version of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, and the BBC Scotland series The Vital Spark, which was based on Neil Munro’s Para Handy books, are also in contention.

Rebus, Hamish Macbeth, Case Historie and Wire in the Blood are among the modern-day TV series to stand a chance of winning.

Children’s favourites include Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Katie Morag, by Mairi Hedderwick.

The huge global fanbase for Outlander, the American TV serie partly set in Scotland and adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s mult-million selling novels, will make it a strong contender to win the poll.

A line from Gabaldon’s first novel, which was released in 1991, was last year named the nation’s favourite literary quotation.

However Trainspotting is also likely to be a contender thanks to the 20th anniversary of Danny Boyle’s iconic movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s book and the forthcoming sequel, which was filmed in Scotland earlier this year.

Meanwhile organisers of the Book Week Scotland celebration announced that actor Alan Cumming, broadcaster Tony Robinson, chef Mark Greenaway and former Scots Makar will be taking part in special events.

Authors in the line-up for the fifth annual nationwide event, which runs from 21-27 November, include Jodi Picoult, Will Self, Christopher Brookmyre, Jenni Fagan and Ian Rankin.

Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, which organises the intiative, said: “It’s a fantastically positive endorsement of Scotland’s thriving literary scene that Book Week Scotland is now entering its fifth year, bigger, better and bolder than ever before.

“Authors, booksellers, libraries, readers and partners too numerous to mention have really taken this national festival to heart and made it what it is – a joyful, democratic and inclusive celebration of reading’s unique capacity for empowerment, enrichment, education, solace, pleasure and growth.”

Scottish culture secretary Fiona Hyslop added: “The importance of reading for pleasure cannot be underestimated. It can be a force for good in so many ways, helping people realise their potential.”

FULL LIST OF CONTENDERS FOR SCOTLAND'S BEST BOOK TO SCREEN ADAPTATION

Sherlock 2010 adapted from Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Dr Finlay’s Casebook 1962-71 adapted from Country Doctor by A. J. Cronin

The Vital Spark 1959-74 adapted from Para Handy: the Complete Collected Stories by Neil Munro

Outlander 2014- adapted from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Wire in the Blood 2002-08 adapted from the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series by Val McDermid

Sunset Song 1971 adapted from Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Trainspotting 1995 adapted from Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

The Crow Road 1996 adapted from The Crow Road by Iain Banks

The Girls of Slender Means 1975 adapted from The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency 2008-09 adapted from The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 adapted from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Case Histories 2011- adapted from the Jackson Brodie novels by Kate Atkinson

The 39 Steps 1935 adapted from The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Hamish Macbeth 1995-97 adapted from the Hamish Macbeth novels by M. C. Beaton

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 1969 adapted from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 1931 adapted from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Tunes of Glory 1960 adapted from Tunes of Glory by James Kennaway

Kick-Ass 2010 adapted from Kick-Ass by Mark Millar

The Crimson Petal and the White 2011 adapted from The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Rebus 2000-04 adapted from the Inspector Rebus novels Ian Rankin

The Gruffalo 2009 adapted from The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Greyfriars Bobby 1961 adapted from Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson

Whisky Galore! 1949 adapted from Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie

Peter Pan 1953 adapted from Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie

Katie Morag 2013- adapted from the Katie Morag series Mairi Hedderwick

Ring of Bright Water 1969 adapted from Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell

A Sense of Freedom 1979 adapted from A Sense of Freedom by Jimmy Boyle

Filth 2013 adapted from Filth by Irvine Welsh

Geordie 1955 adapted from Geordie by David Walker

Regeneration 1997 adapted from Regeneration by Pat Barker

Treasure Island 1950 adapted from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Rob Roy 1995 adapted from Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott

Crowdie and Cream 2002 adapted from Crowdie and Cream by Finlay J.MacDonald

Ivanhoe 1952 adapted from Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Morven Callar 2002 adapted from Morven Callar Alan Warner

Cal 1984 adapted from Cal by Bernard MacLaverty

Another Time, Another Place 1983 adapted from Another Time, Another Place by Jessie Kesson

Young Adam 2003 adapted from Young Adam by Alexander Trocchi

Under the Skin 2013 Under the Skin Michel Faber

The Driver’s Seat 1974 adapted from The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark