I subscribe to the Writer’s Compass E-Bulletin (a very handy events listing of writerly goings on in the UK) and often mentally bemoan the fact that there are not enough events Up Here (by which I mean Scotland) so I was delighted to find out that a writing conference was taking place ‘next door’, in Glasgow.
A whole day of conferencing can sometimes be a bit hardgoing but the line-up was excellent. The organisation was extremely efficient by any standards, but particularly impressive as it was organised by students on the Strathclyde’s Masters programme who I guess have got quite a lot of other things on just now, like writing. It was also featured top-notch home-baking. Yes, you read that correctly. I don’t go to many conferences these days, but I have been to enough to know that this is something to get quite excited about. I did my best to make a wide-ranging sample; whoever made the cheese scones and the bakewell tart deserves a knighthood. Oh and the tablet!
There was more to the day than the ridiculously good home-baking; highlights included Louise Welsh’s keynote opening, in which she gave her answer to THAT question: ‘Can creative writing be taught?’, Jamie Jauncey’s inspiring talk about using creativity in business writing and Jac Cattaneo on psychogeography and fiction.
Was is worth travelling all the way from Edinburgh for and would I go next year? Oh yes indeed to both.
