Today's copy of The Herald includes this year's programme for the annual Glasgow book festival, Aye Write!, so while you digest the contents of that large and eclectic line-up, it seems apt to talk about literature.

This week, I met the woman who is the new head of literature and publishing (and languages) at Creative Scotland, Jenny Niven, to gauge what she is thinking about her task, albeit while she is only six weeks into her new post. We met to talk about her views on what Creative Scotland can do for authors, publishes, literary festivals and more.

It is early days for Ms Niven in her position at the arts funding body, and she is not yet ready to lay out any funding plans, nor has she completed her tour of the literary nation, which will take in her native Dumfries as well as Inverness and elsewhere. Ms Niven, who is back in Scotland after many years working at book bodies and festivals in China and Melbourne, comes from a background of public programming of writers events and public discussions. I suspect she will back ideas enabling writers of all kinds to become engaged with the public, with debates and public forums.

"A healthy culture around books, a culture of debate and conversation: that is enormously beneficial for writers. There are 46 book festivals in Scotland, but are there enough places for people to go during the week to discuss writing and literature; have a public discussion? I am surprised there are not more writers taking part in the referendum debate, in their role as public intellectuals in society. More public programming is good for writers," she told me. "Writing is not only a solitary profession - getting on with the work is a solitary task - but you are constantly feeding off other people and ideas."

Over the coming year she will try to establish what writers and the literary world want from Creative Scotland. She has read the recent reports into literature, including the one filed for the funding body by Rosemary Goring, this newspaper's literary editor, in 2010. A literature review, in the same way theatre, dance and film have been reviewed, could also be forthcoming, although Ms Niven seemed wary that the literature world could have been over-consulted.

She is particularly enthused about whether some of Australia's literary ideas can be brought to Scotland. She is a believer in the Emerging Writers' Festival based in Melbourne's Wheeler Centre (where Ms Niven was associate director) as well as the 16-year-old National Young Writer's Festival there. She would like to see something like these festivals in Scotland. She said these festivals are "painfully hip and incredibly aspirational". Ms Niven added: "I want to speak to people who are just coming up, 19-year-olds who want to be writers - and what if they want to be editors or publishers or curators: what is there for those kids? I hesitate to use the words, but is it 'hip' or 'cool' for young people to want to get into writing and publishing?" These festivals are valuable because not only do they give a forum for young writers, but also provide a public place to "fail and experiment."

It appears Scotland has a new champion for the role of writers in the public realm.