Harry Potter creator JK Rowling is the most influential novelist on Twitter in Scotland, above writer and comedian Limmy and Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh.
A list of the 50 most influential writers on the popular social media platform has been published by the Scottish Book Trust, in advance of Book Week Scotland.
The list ranks the writers on the list by "social authority", a metric devised by Moz, an internet consultancy, which measures the influence of tweeters using a score comprised of how many times they are retweeted, their recent activity, and other data.
JK Rowling is Scotland's most influential author on Twitter with a social authority ranking of 95 and almost six million followers.
The Harry Potter author, who is often outspoken on the platform, gains an average of 2,500 new followers every day.
In second place is comedian and writer Brian Limond, or Limmy, author of Daft Wee Stories, with a social authority ranking of 83 and 165,000 followers.
Irvine Welsh is 3rd with a ranking of 80 and Inspector Rebus creator Ian Rankin, who gives his location as Edinburgh’s Oxford Bar, is 4th.
The research was carried out by Muckle Media who used specialist online software to ascertain out the reach of Scotland’s authors on Twitter.
The researchers found that it is not the size of the following that counts but how the author engages with their followers.
Danny Scott, the social media manager at Scottish Book Trust said: "People may be surprised to see authors with huge followings ranked lower than authors with more modest numbers.
"But, as this research proves, regular engagement is everything on social media.
"The authors at the top of this list all interact with their audience and aren’t afraid to offer an opinion, or, indeed, be themselves. In many ways, the research proves that authors are becoming as much of a commodity as their novels."
Several journalists feature in the list, including political commentator Andrew Marr in 24th place - Marr only launched his Twitter account in April 2015 and has already attracted over 22,000 followers.
Kirsty Wark, author of The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle, is in 36th place.
Neil Mackay, the Sunday Herald's executive editor and author of All The Little Guns Went Bang, Bang Bang, is in 6th position.
Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, said: "The list is a real mixture of artists, children's authors, crime writers and journalists, reflecting the dynamism and diversity of the Scottish literary scene.
"It is fantastic to see well-kent names like JK Rowling and Ian Rankin alongside artists like Tom Gauld and Cameron Stewart and many of our leading journalists.
"In their own ways, they are all harnessing the power of social media to stimulate discussion and debate about books.
"This is exactly in keeping with what Book Week Scotland is all about – reaching out to a wider audience and encouraging people to discover and enjoy the benefits of reading and writing."
Over 450 activities and events will take place across the country during Book Week Scotland 2015.
Book Week Scotland is organised by Scottish Book Trust and funded by £250,000 from Creative Scotland.
1 JK Rowling https://twitter.com/jk_rowling
5,863,286 95
2 Limmy https://twitter.com/DaftLimmy
165,283 83
3 Irvine Welsh http://www.twitter.com/IrvineWelsh
195,722 80
4 Ian Rankin http://www.twitter.com/BeathHigh
91,745 76
5 Dr Brooke Magnanti http://www.twitter.com/belledejour_uk
40,926 76
6 Neil Mackay https://twitter.com/NeilMackay
11,321 76
7 Mark Millar https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
67,206 74
8 John Niven http://www.twitter.com/nivenj1
44,575 73
9 Alan Bissett https://twitter.com/alanbissett
14,474 71
10 Estelle Maskame https://twitter.com/EstelleMaskame
121,234 70
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