I spent last weekend at the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW) annual conference. As with last year’s conference which I wrote about here, it was well worth the long journey to the lovely Westerwood Hotel near Glasgow where the event was held.

Not only did I meet up with fellow members of the Edinburgh Writers’ Club who I see far too rarely, (yes, I stretch the ‘country’ member definition rather far) but I also met and chatted with writers from all over Scotland.

The hotel provided a conducive setting for the weekend. Food, service and accommodation were all first class. The gala dinner on the Saturday night was superb. Not just the delicious food, but also the attention to decorative detail––huge silver candelabras on every table made for a real glamorous feel––and the outstanding young waiters and waitresses for whom nothing was too much trouble.

There were a lot of competitions run in conjunction with the weekend and most of the adjudicators went above and beyond with the quality of their adjudications and the level of written feedback given. And it was nice to win a prize for The Silver Locket.

The range of workshops was comprehensive with the only problem being not being able to be in two places at once. I particularly enjoyed the two-parter delivered by crime writer Caro Ramsay on Pen to Publication and Beyond. I certainly came away from her sessions with lots to think about. Agent, Jenny Brown, also gave a realistic and, for me, thought-provoking, talk on the place of the Literary Agent in today’s publishing world.

Caro Ramsay was also the keynote speaker at the gala dinner and her speech was highly entertaining. She certainly lives an interesting life!

What particularly struck me though, was, as with last year’s event, the level of hard work that goes into organising the weekend. The members of the SAW council are all volunteers and put a lot of time and effort into getting the competitions organised, the adjudicators on board and the workshops planned and timetabled.

This conference is always, above all, a friendly event. While the workshops, competition adjudications and the keynote speaker were interesting, inspiring and entertaining, the chance to talk with fellow writers about writing and publishing was just as enjoyable and informative. The chance presented by the conference to share experiences, tips and advice is invaluable.

All in all the SAW conference was pure magic. Thanks to everyone involved in its success.

The Scottish Association of Writers, through the work of its council members, provides year round support to affiliated writing groups from all parts of Scotland. It operates an outreach programme and two annual events in the north and south of Scotland. And this year there is also the Solstice writing competition with several categories of entry invited and it is open to all––you don’t need to be a SAW member to enter. If you’re a member of a writing group in Scotland that’s not yet affiliated to the SAW, it’s definitely something worth considering. Find out more about all of this at the SAW website .