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EDINBURGH WRITERS’ CLUB meets in the Osbourne Hotel in York Place. The club was formed in 1947 and celebrated its 60^th anniversary in 2007. The club’s term runs usually from late September to late May with meetings every two weeks on Mondays, starting at 7.30pm. Membership costs £30 each year, with a reduction for ‘country’ or disabled members. Country members who do not live close enough to attend meetings can enter competitions and are kept up to date with newsletters. Many of past and present members are published authors, poets and journalists but generally those attending are of mixed ability and age. Most have experiences that they can share with other members for research purposes while those who have achieved publication help those who are still striving to get into print. New members are welcome and will find that the club has a friendly atmosphere.

Each year a new syllabus is drawn up to provide a programme of activities to suit the many interests of the members. There are competitions in all genres with a deadline for entries being shown in the syllabus. The entries are then sent off to a professional writer/poet/playwright for adjudication: he/she then writes a constructive criticism of the work. Around a month later, the adjudicator comes to the club to give a talk and discuss the entries. The advice given by these visiting speakers is valuable to all aspiring writers.

There are also work nights during the year when members can come along to discuss any problems they have, or to read a section of their work for discussion. The social side of the club is catered for by a party at Christmas and an annual dinner in May, before the club closes for the summer.

Anyone wishing to join the club can turn up on the night or contact Kate Blackadder by email or on 0131 228 4237, who will post out club details.