‘Oscar’ moment on way for Outlander author

The creator of Outlander is to be honoured for her contribution to Scottish tourism at the industry’s annual Oscars-style ceremony.

Diana Gabaldon will be recognised at Visitscotland’s Thistle Awards in Edinburgh – the day before she is due to give a talk for fans in the city.

The American author said she was “deeply honoured and so pleased ” after being asked to accept the award. It will be presented in tribute to the impact her eight books, which have sold more than 28 million copies to date, and a hit TV adaptation have had at castles, palaces and other historic sites.

The show, which has been based in Cumbernauld since production began in 2013, has used Scottish locations to stand in for France, the Caribbean and North America.

Visitscotland has revealed new research showing visitor numbers have soared by two thirds at locations linked to the “Outlander Effect” since then.

Doune Castle in Perthshire, Blackness Castle in West Lothian, Glasgow Cathedral, Linlithgow Palace and Culloden battlefield have been among those to benefit most.

Gabaldon said: “To be quite honest, I chose Scotland as the setting for my first novel because of a man in a kilt, but upon looking into things more deeply, was enchanted to discover a country and a people like no other, whose traditions and history are as strikingly beautiful as its landscapes.”