OVER the centuries, Ayrshire has certainly punched above its weight when it comes to literary classics.
The county has produced centuries of much-loved work in fiction and poetry.
Here's our guide to a magnificent seven authors who left their mark on Ayrshire - and the world.
Robert Burns
Well, where else would you start than with Ayrshire's most famous son?
Born in Alloway in 1759, Rabbie would train as a flax weaver in Irvine before farming in Mauchline. His poetry left a mark on the nation after the release of his Kilmarnock Edition.
The epic Tam O'Shanter is perhaps his most famous poem, while his songs, such as Auld Lang Syne, Scots Wha Hae, A Red Red Rose, and A Man's A Man For A That' remain embedded in Scotland's national consciousness.
In the years after his death at the age of just 37, Burns Clubs were formed to celebrate his life and work. The oldest - Irvine Burns Club - is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.
James Boswell
Boswell, born in Edinburgh in 1740, is one of the world's most famous biographers and diarists.
Heir to the family's Auchinleck estate, as a young man he joined poet and essayist Samuel Johnston on a European tour. His resulting work, Life of Samuel Johnston, was groundbreaking, incorporating the often savage wit of his subject into the book.
Boswell's own diaries and essays, published after his death in 1795, elevated his standing as a literary giant in the years after his death.
John Galt
Born in 1779 in Irvine to a shipmaster father, Galt is famed as the first political novelist.
His 1822 work The Provost chronicled the life of a merchant and politician named John Pawkie, who manipulates the townspeople.
By 1824, Galt was appointed secretary of the Canada Company, formed to help populate Southern Ontario, but soon fell foul of the colonial authorities for his spending and poor bookkeeping.
He returned to Scotland, based in Greenock, a few years before his death in 1839.
William McIlvanney
Kilmarnock's William McIlvanney, born in 1938, is regarded today as the father of Tartan Noir. His tough yet poetic writing won major awards throughout his career.
A former English teacher and assistant head of Greenwood Academy, his novels, such as Docherty, portrayed hard men fighting against their environment - and their nature.
His work, The Big Man, became a hit film, starring Liam Neeson as a bare-knuckle boxer. His Laidlaw series, featuring a tough detective, made waves across Scotland and beyond. He died in 2015.
Andrew O'Hagan
Born in Glasgow in 1968, O'Hagan grew up in Kilwinning and remains one of the most admired writers in the UK to this day.
His first book, called The Missing, chronicled the disappearances of people across Britain and the families left without answers.
His debut novel was Our Fathers, landing him a Booker Prize nomination. His recent novel Mayflies, depicting young men from Ayrshire coming of age in Thatcher's Britain, was made into a powerful drama starring Martin Compston and Tony Curran.
He remains a patron - and frequent guest - of Irvine's annual Tidelines Book Festival.
Janice Galloway
Janice, born in Saltcoats in 1955 and educated at Ardrossan Academy, came to fame with her first novel, The Trick is to Keep Breathing.
Set in Irvine and released in 1989, it featured a woman suffering from loss, depression, anorexia and a drink problem. It went on to win several major awards.
Her following works, Foreign Parts and Clara, cemented her claim as one of Scotland's leading contemporary authors.
George Douglas Brown
The Ochiltree writer, born in 1869, made waves with his first work, The House With the Green Shutters.
He spent his early life in Coylton and Ayr, before publishing his story of the fictional Ayrshire town of Barbie. It depicts the life of local transporter John Gourlay, who struggles with envious villagers before falling apart with the arrival of the railways.
Sadly, it was to be his only work. Brown died from pneumonia in 1902 at the age of just 33.
Are there other Ayrshire authors you believe should have made the list? Let us know in the comments.
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