This section includes some links that we hope will
be useful to you.
Authors
This site contains information on the author as well
as workshops, writing exercises, and resources for writers.
Sally Quilford is a writer and this site contains lots of interesting
information about the author and her work. The above link takes you to the competition list on her page. This list is organised
by date and tells you how much each competition is to enter as well as giving you tips on writing for competitions.
Bookshops
A very well-known site for buying books, dvd, cds, and toys. The good thing about
Amazon is that it has so many of the books available listed - if you want to know if a book has been published yet (or DVD
released) Amazon is the place to go. You can also put a book in your "basket" and leave it there, Amazon will tell you when
it goes up or down in price, so you can get the best deal and get the book you want at a price you'll love.
This isn't actually a bookshop, it is a search engine to help you find the book
you want at the cheapest price available, a useful site, especially given the current economic climate.
Borders has a wonderful selection of books, cds and DVDs for all the family. The
offer free p+p for orders over £15 or that are ordered online and collected at one of their stores. The site also has a very
good "book suggestor" which means you only have to type in the first few letters of a title and it will apear in a drop down
menu for you, excellent for if you are unsure of the spelling or exact title.
Waterstone's is well-known for the wide variety of books it sells, everything form
the latest best seller to academic textbooks. The site is well organised and easy to search. There is also free p+p on purchases
over £15.
Communities
One Of Us is an amazing site for information on competitions, tips
and advice, and also hosts a forum to allow the members to chat to each other. If you can't make it to an actual writing group
or are shy about sharing your work face to face, then this is the place for you. It is a great resource for all writers.
The Society of Authors is open to authors and illustrators as soon as they
receive their contract. The society provides advice, holds seminars and publishes a quarterly journal for its members.
Tailcast is actually a site for writers, musicians, and artists to share
their work. It has a huge selection of writing to look through to see the style others use.
This is an online community where you can post up your writing for comment, as well as comment on
other people's work. There is also a chance to get published in the site's quarterly anthology (it depends on the rating given
to your work by others).
Competitions
This site has information and links to many of the writing competitions
currently running in the UK. The site is updated every few months
so some of the information on it may be out of date. The good thing is that its isn't just a list of competitions, next to
each competition it tells you a bit about it such as if it is for prose or poetry and how much the entry fee is. However,
the competitions aren't organised into categories so you have to search through ALL the competitions to find what you are
looking for.
The Secret Attic runs free competitions all year round with small
prizes. As wonderful as free competitions sound I would advise you to read the competition rules first - there aren't that
many. Please pay close attention to the final paragraph before entering.
Festivals
The Aye Write! Festival takes place in Glasgow and aims to celebrate
writing and encourage reading. There are events for readers and writers of all ages. Past guests include Gerry ANderson, Lin
Anderson, and Iain M. Banks. Events include workshops, open mike events and readings. Tickets can be purchased online via
their website.
According to their website, the Edinburgh International Book Festival
is the "world's biggest celebration of the written word". The festival is in August and includes authors reading their work,
workshops, and masterclasses. There are events for readers and writers of all ages. Tickets can be purchased from their website.
Alan Bennett, Andrew Marr, Ian Rankin, J. K. Rowling, and Jacqueline Wilson have all taken part in the festival as well as
many other well-known writers.
The Linlithgow Book Festival includes authors reading their work,
workshops and now an open mike section for writers. Guests have included Roderick Graham, Alex Gray, and Catherine Rayner.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or by phone (please see the website for more information).
The Wigtown Book Festival has taken place annually for a decade
now and hosts plays, workshops and readings. Guests have included Kathleen Jamie, Alastair Reid, Fay Weldon, and Sir
David Steel.
Groups
The Angus Writers' Circle is based in Lunanhead, Forfar. They were
founded in 1894 and run competitions and social activities. The group meets twice a month.
The Ayr Writers' Club was established in 1970 and meets regularly
in Ayrshire from September to May. The site has information to soe writing competitions, but not links to them. It does, however,
have links to many other useful sites.
The Bute Writers Group meets in Rothsay, on the Isle of Bute, in
the West Coast of Scotland. They publish anthologies of their work and run writing seminars.
This group is based in Aberdeenshire and meets every second Tuesday
during term time. The group appears to be very well organised with a calendar of events going all the way to June 2009!
This group was formed in 1947 and meets every second Monday from
September to May in York Place, Edinburgh.
The group runs competitions for members as well as having a wonderful
pogramme of future speakers book to appear up to May 2009.
Ths Falkirk Writers' Circle was formed in 1982 and meets weekly
in Polmont from September to June. The group runs competitions and workshops. This site also hosts a forum.
This group was founded in 1996 and meets every Wednesday at 6pm
in Dundee Street, Edinburgh. Their site also hosts a forum and contains many useful links.
The GSFWC does not seem to have a set venue for its meetings at
present. They meet fortnightly, on Tuesdays.
This group meets weekly in Spittalfield Crescent, Edinburgh. They
produce their own magazine and many of their members have had stories and novels published, extracts of which can be read
on their website.
Magazines
The Poet and Writers website hosts a forum as well as giving information
on funding, and useful information for writers. It is an excellent site to visit for information on copyright laws, agents,
and publishing your work.
This site contains a lot of information on self-publishing, editorial services, agents,
and many useful resources.
The Writing Magazine Website is full of information on competitions,
and writing courses. Back issues and book can also be bought from the site. The site is easy to navigate and is a useful resource
for people who do not subscribe to the magazine.
Publishers
Fish Publishing runs online competitions, sells books, offers a
critique service, and has many online resources for writers.
The Forward Press website runs competitions as well as information
on how to self-publish. It publishes poetry and prose but mainly seems to be interested in poetry.
Harper Collins publish academic text books, dictionaries, teen fantasy,
fantasy, general fiction and much more.
Macmillan publishes academic books, childrens books, tv tie-in books,
poetry, general fiction and non-fiction.
Orion publishes science fiction, fantasy, crime fiction, children's
books, non-fiction, biographies, and audio books.
Serpent's Tail publishes general fiction, crime fiction, gay and
lesbian fiction, non-fiction, and world literature.
Resources
The 6ft Ferret is an amazing resource for writing exercises and
suggested books to read to help with all aspects of writing.
This site contains links to many competitions, writing courses, tips on how to write many different
genres, and information on writing events.
This site is a great source of information on comeptitions, tips
on writing, as well as on writing groups, and festivals.The website is well-organised and is presented in a friendly, down-to-earth
way.
This is actually an online rhyming dictionary and thesaurus. It will also find synonyms and antonyms.
The Scottish Book Trust promotes literature in Scotland. Among other
things its site includes contact information on many writers who are willing to take workshops, and many resources on how
to get published. It also gives funding to writing groups to allow them to run workshops and carry out other events.
Although designed for use by its own students, the University
of Carolina's website does have many handouts on redrafting, sentence patterns, style, and voice. Although aimed at university
papers, I think there is still information there for fiction writers too.
