PIG UPDATE #19
26th of October 2025
This Sunday keeps on giving. Not only were you blessed with an additional hour, but you are also getting the latest hot poetry news. Read on to find out about current opportunities and upcoming events including the Second Chance Fringe, Aye Write and some brilliant paid (!) calls for submissions.
Events (27 October to 9 November 2025)
Glasgow may not offer any poetry events on Monday (27 October) but that doesn't mean you have to go without. For £20 you can join a 1.5h online writing workshop by poet and editor Jennifer Wong, all about found poems and metaphors.
On Tuesday, 28 October, the Alchemy Experiment on Byres Road beckons for a double-feature book launch. Tapsalteerie Press are celebrating the publication of Weathershaker by Stewart Sanderson and Dwell Time by Taylor Strickland. Entry is free, but do make sure to book ahead of time, spaces are limited. If you'd rather get creative yourself, there is also an online writing workshop by Poetry Society. The session, run by poet, writer and artist Victoria Adukwei Bulley is all about creating a poetry collection. So if you are a poet currently working on putting together your first pamphlet or collection, this one may be worth the £27 fee.
More poetic fun at the Alchemy Experiment is available the very next day! On Wednesday (29 October), the Poetry Experiment is back with its warm and inclusive open mic event for writers and performers of all levels. Make sure to book your ticket in advance - it sells out pretty quickly, particularly if you want to perform. Missed out on your ticket? No worries, there are alternatives! Why not swing by Hillhead Bookclub just a few blocks away for the weekly open mic night. The night's theme is still tbc - so make sure to check the organiser's Instagram if you want to read. If you'd rather stay in, you can also join the latest online book launch event by Carcanet Press. The publisher celebrates the publication of Stav Poleg's new collection The Banquet with an online reading and discussion event.
A fabulous poetic extravaganza is coming to Mount Florida Books on Thursday, 30 October. Poet Len Lukowski has invited a bunch of his friends to celebrate the publication of Bodily Fluids, his new book which deals with themes like desire, transgression and selfhood. On the night, he is joined by Ciara Maguire, Belladonna Paloma and Stuart Rawlinson. Tickets are free - so make sure to book before it's all sold out.
Another reason to head to Mount Florida Books presents itself the very next day. Spam Press are taking over the little space on Saturday, 1 November to celebrate the launch of Maria Hardin's new pamphlet Sick Story. The book explores chronic illness and innovative storytelling. Alongside Maria Hardin, there will also be readings by Jane Hartshorn and Kate Paul. Not your cup of tea? Fear not, there is more! Ross Wilcock is bringing the Second Chance Fringe back to Glasgow, and the first of the three nights is happening on 1 November at Theatre 119 in Merchant City. Ross has assembled an outstanding line-up of spoken word performances from this year's Free Fringe. So if you missed them in August, here's your chance!
The Big Gay Cabaret is back! On Monday, 3 November, Ross Wilcock is throwing a big queer party with a superb line-up of poetry, comedy and prose including Beth Macdonald, Lyric Rudy, Willow Heath, Avery Selena, TJ and Sarah Heitler. This is a fundraising event in support of the trans and non-binary community. It will be hosted by Tia Ray and takes place at the Dram on Woodlands Road. Since it's the first Monday of the month, the Old Toll Bar on the Southside is also opening its doors for poetry. Join Ross McFarlane and his team for the monthly Candlelight Poetry Open Mic just a stone's through away from Shields Road station. If you've ever thought about putting on a show at the Edinburgh Fringe, or you might want to some time in the future, you might want to head to Old Toll Bar a bit earlier. From 6:30pm, Ross McFarlane, the artistic director for Spoken Word at PBH Free Fringe will run a free, drop-in information session all about the experience of the Fringe and what you need to know.
Katherine Sowerby is presenting her regular Open Book Creative Writing session at Glasgow Women's Library on Tuesday (4 November). The session starts at 10:30 and attendance is free of charge. In the evening, you are invited to an online reading group by the team behind Edinburgh's poetry festival Push the Boat Out. The festival kicks off on 20 November but to help you get into the festival spirit, poet and Open Book co-founder Marjorie Lotfi takes you on a little guided tour of some of the poets appearing at the festival. Tickets are on a sliding scale between £0-20.
Wednesday (5 November) is Poet's Corner day. Come to Hillhead Bookclub for your weekly open mic poetry session. Sign up starts at 7:30pm and slots are 5-10 minutes.
Thursday (6 November) marks the start of this year's Aye Write Festival and you don't have to wait long for the first poetry event. The Gaelic Showcase by St Mungo's Mirrorball offers performances by Peter MacKay, Shane Johnstone, Petra Poncarova, Babs Nicgriogair, Robbie Anndra Macleòid and Martin MacIntyre - highly recommended for anyone interested in Gaelic poetry. The event takes place at the Mitchell Library and tickets are £6.72 (or free, if you are a Mirrorball member). Not quite as grand and definitely more intimate is the reading event at Good Press in Merchant City the same night. Polish-Scottish poet Agata Masłowska is celebrating the release of her first poetry collection Woman : Plant : Language. For the reading, she will be joined by Sophie Collins and Vik Shirley.
Friday's (7 November) Aye Write poetry event at Mitchell Library is a reading to celebrate two new collections from Dundee's small press Whaleback City Press: Sonnet Chains and Selling the Light. The event will include readings by W. N. Herbert and Andy Jackson plus visuals from Catia Montagna. The same evening at Glasgow Zine Library on the Southside, Dissent Rover is inviting to a writing workshop reflecting on the creation of a poetics of dissent. Tickets are pay-what-you-can.
On Saturday (8 November), Aye Write is presenting Len Pennie at the Royal Concert Hall. Len will read from her second collection Poyums Annaw. The event is chaired by Lindsay Johnstone and tickets are £12.70.
Opportunities
Today's pick from among the long list of opportunities currently on the PIG website:
The Turning Leaf Journal is a US-based publication with a focus on writing that explores life's entrances and exits, formations and destructions. Does your work deal with themes around change and renewal? This might be a good fit for you. Submissions are still open until 1 November.
Leven Street Press is a small press that distributes poetry, visual art and learning resources in Glasgow. The publisher is currently seeking poetry which will be published on postcards and distributed at local libraries in Glasgow. Featured poets will receive £50 per published poem. The call is still open until 3 November.
Paisley Book Festival is currently seeking proposals for next year's programme which will be dedicated to the theme 'everyday heroes, everlasting icons'. Got an idea for a workshop, reading or some other poetic event? You have until 7 November to get your proposal in. Contributors receive a fee of £200 in addition to a budget of up to £300 to make their idea reality.
Another exciting opportunity for poets is available via the Edwin Morgan Trust. The charity's Open the Doors Fund offers grants of up to £1,000 to poets and translators looking to develop their practice or requiring time and/or resources to bring a project to life. The fund is designed to cover the costs of activities that contribute to professional or creative development. The current application window is open until 10 November. But applications are expected to reopen in the spring.
Happiful Poetry Prize is an annual competition celebrating the best in mental health and wellbeing writing. Submissions are invited for poetry that explores the topic of mental health and wellbeing in unique, engaging, and empowering ways. Submissions are free and winners can receive up to £100. The deadline is 14 November.
Also, just a quick reminder that New Writing Scotland is still accepting applications until 31 October. Why not throw your hat into the ring?
PIG Spotlight
This section is designed to shine a spotlight on a particular website, organisation or feature. For each Update, I'll pick something new - either because it is plain awesome or because it's new or really topical.
Naturally, this week's spotlight is on Aye Write, Glasgow's book festival which kicks off in just a few days' time. The festival takes place ahead of Book Week Scotland and features over 180 authors from Glasgow, Scotland and beyond. The festival might not be as big or glamourous as its counterpart in Edinburgh, but it is arguably a lot more affordable. Tickets are generally around £6-13 and most events take place either at the Mitchell Library, Waterstone's on Sauchiehall Street or the Royal Concert Hall. The full programme is now available on the Aye Write website. PIG is (of course) covering all poetry-related events, but if you want a handy overview I recommend searching for the term 'poetry' on the festival site.
PIG's Poetry Pick
I couldn't resist the temptation and pick a little Halloween-related poem. This one struck a nerve with me but you can also explore a dedicated Halloween poetry collection on the Poetry Foundation's website which includes Louise Gluck and Rae Armantrout as well as Yeats, Keats, Poe and Shakespeare.
Halloween in the Anthropocene
By Karyna McGlynn
& Memphis is out in Full Fang!
Skeletons skip down our pitted streets.
Whole families with matching hobo stipple
roam tragicomically through the sprawling
candy deserts: polka-dot bandanas
on sticks, flapping Chaplinesque shoes.
Unclaimed pumpkins pile high
behind razor wire. The air's thick
with caw & trouble. Our porch light's out
but we stay in, listening to the festive cackle
of semiautomatics in the autumn night.
Some faceless Handmaids do a spooky
hopscotch in a Walgreens parking lot.
Two drunk men in tiger masks loll from
the window of a passing truck to tell some
Handmaid she's "thicc as shit." Anyway,
Witches are back! They straddle plastic
brooms—streaming
across the moon's bright knuckle: hedge
witches & wicked witches. Waves
of Sabrinas: blonde bobs, black
headbands, whole hexes of freckles!
Here come the Elphabas & Endoras,
the Elviras & Elsas. Even a couple
of Baba Yagas—bewitched huts
strutting forth on sexy chicken legs!
So what if it's a bit
more wink than Wand.
We've stopped scaring ourselves
on purpose, stopped wearing our Weirds
on our Outsides. My sweetie's spilled on
the couch as Melted Clock. I park myself
on the dark stoop as Empty Pyrex Bowl.
According to the Post-it Note on my face,
my nickname is No-Treats-for-the-Wicked.
I'm a weird white lady on an unlit porch.
No one dare approach this childless abode—
not for phantom candy. Certainly
not for clarification.
via the Poetry Foundation
That's it from me today. See you in two weeks!
Love,
Annie