This evening the Greenock Writers’ Club had the pleasure of hosting our own club member and SAW President, Grahame Anderson, who was telling us all about the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW). SAW has been running for fifty-four years and was, interestingly, originally founded by a member of Greenock Writers’ Club.
Why SAW?
For writers, SAW offers an invaluable opportunity for learning, networking and developing the craft of writing in what can be an incredibly insular and solitary endeavour. There’s a host of reasons to get involved and to put your writing out there.
Every member of Greenock Writers’ Club is automatically a member of SAW – why not take advantage of these fantastic creative offerings available to you?
Competitions
- SAW offers annual competitions (open to members) and summer competitions for short story writing and poetry (open to non-members).
- Generally, if you submit to a competition and place, there is a crit or opportunity for some feedback.
- Grahame highlighted poetry as the most popular of the competitions.
Competitions are a terrific way to practise the discipline of writing but Grahame emphasised how many silent writers there are out there who need to be discovered. We know firsthand how much talent there is in our own club, but sometimes we need to push ourselves and submitting to competitions can provide much needed encouragement and growth.
With nothing to lose and lots to gain, GWC members should absolutely have a look at the competitions on the SAW website and enter their genre of choice!
SAW Annual Conference
Every year, SAW hosts its annual weekend conference (usually the third week of March) with a host of opportunities available to those who attend. The weekend includes the likes of;
- Networking opportunities with industry professionals such as agents and editors
- Workshops to develop your craft, including accomplished speakers and sessions specific to different genres
- Pitching to agents (Dragon’s Pen)
- Meetings to ask questions, get a writing buddy or simply support other writers
- Open nights and performances over the weekend
- Quizzes and raffles.
The SAW conference is an incredible opportunity to surround yourself with like-minded people but it also offers invaluable support to take your writing further and hone your craft. If you need help, then Grahame has encouraged us all to ask – SAW can support and will try to help with any query from self-publishing to editing services.
The weekend conference fees cover accommodation, most meals, registration and the terrific selection of speakers and workshops. However, if you cannot make the full weekend then you can attend as a day delegate at a reduced price.
Thank you to Grahame for another inspiring session! Here’s hoping more of our members enter competitions and take advantage of SAW as the fantastic opportunity and resource it is! More information can be found through the SAW website (https://www.scottishassociationofwriters.com/) or by asking our SAW representative, Paul Kelly.