PIG UPDATE #44
25th of October 2026
We have a record-breaking 30 (!!!) events coming up in the next two weeks. This spooky season is definitely feeding everyone's fear of missing out. Thankfully, you have PIG to keep you in the loop and plan ahead. So get your diary out and read on!
Events (26 October to 8 November 2026)
The new week is hitting the ground running with some absolute highlights straight off the bat. First up on Monday (26 October), Ross Wilcock's much-anticipated Second Chance Fringe kicks off its three-day run at Dram on Woodlands Road from 7pm. This year's programme spans ten shows across two venues over consecutive nights, so there is plenty of time to catch everything you want to see. On the bill are James Andrews with "Who Do Glum Dum", India De Bono's "My Lore is Wild" and Lloyd Robinson's "The Patron Saint of the Scratch Night". Tickets are £8. Also on Monday evening, SPAM Press is back with the twelfth instalment of its brilliant reading series: AFK#12 at The Doublet. This one has a special Californian flavour, with readers including Andrew Kenower and Steve Orth flying in from the Bay Area alongside Roshni Gallagher, Poppy Cockburn and Lindsey Boldt, plus music from Scottish-Filipino sound artist Kevin Leomo. There will also be a limited edition zine available on the night, with donations going to Target Ovarian Cancer. Entry to the reading is free - but grab your ticket on Eventbrite ahead of time as capacity is limited. If you'd rather settle in for a quiet evening at home, Wordsworth Grasmere's online reading group Discover Poetry is on Zoom from 7:30pm. Hosted by poet Polly Atkin, it's a relaxed and friendly space to think and chat about a selection of classic and contemporary poems. It's free to attend.
Ross Wilcock's Second Chance Fringe moves across to the Poetry Club at SWG3 for its second night on Tuesday, 27 October. For £10, you get to enjoy "Afternoon T" by TJ Poetry, Panagiotis Skoutelis' "Tales from the Shoulders of Giants", Sarah Heitler's "Conversations with My Ghost" and Ben Macpherson's show "Ben Macpherson does Poems at Adults". If this fabulous line-up can't get you out of the house, you may want to consider joining the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival for a free online workshop that same evening: Through the Looking Glass: Poetry as a Mirror with writer and editor Molly Murray from 7pm. The hour-long session uses poetry as a route into self-reflection - perfect if you are looking for a gentle but generative way to spend the evening. Meanwhile, the weekly Poet's Corner open mic is back at Hillhead Bookclub from 8pm. This week's theme is 'Spit!' - we're all a bit feral sometimes. Slots are 5-10 minutes and you just show up to sign up. The Midnight Verse is also on that night at The Drake. This month's featured artist is Karen Sharply. If you are thinking of reading at the event, consider signing up in advance as recent editions have been busy. To round off a very busy Tuesday, City of Poets and SP SQUARE CIC bring their October Poetry Tutorials series to a close with the final instalment: Ghost Writing with Anne Sikking online from 7pm. The session explores what happens when we give up control of the pen - inhabiting other voices, trance writing, and meditation. Tickets are £15.
Wednesday, 28 October might have fewer events - but the ones on offer a fantastic! The Poetry Club at SWG3 is hosting Very Kevin: A Celebration of Kevin Killian from 7pm - a free evening of poetry and poets theatre in honour of the late American writer Kevin Killian (1952-2019), who made his final Glasgow appearance at the Poetry Club in 2018. Three Scottish poets - Colin Herd, Nicky Melville and Maria Sledmere - team up with visiting Bay Area poets Lindsey Boldt, Andrew Kenower and Steve Orth for a star-studded evening of readings from Killian's poetry alongside an exclusive performance of one of his plays, with additional readers including Leo Bussi, Rosa Campbell, Kirsty Dunlop, Jane Goldman and many more. There will also be an opportunity to browse Killian's publications, courtesy of Burning House Books. Also on Wednesday evening, City of Poets and SP SQUARE CIC are offering an in-person version of the Ghost Writing workshop with Anne Sikking at Swamp in Pollok from 6pm.
On Thursday, 29 October, St Mungo's Mirrorball is back at Waterstones on Sauchiehall Street from 7pm. The October Showcase features a particularly exciting headline poet: Australian multi-award-winner Todd Turner, whose third collection Breathwork is forthcoming this year, reading alongside Ryan Van Winkle, Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana and Carol McKay. Meanwhile, a few streets over, Not A Salon! is in the backroom of Rufus T Firefly, with a special Halloween edition featuring Steve A Poet and all his best spooky-season material. The usual open mic slots are also available and entry is free. The Common Guild in Gorbals is hosting the launch of another evolution by Rosie's Disobedient Press from 6pm. The new collection, designed by Rosen Eveleigh, features work by JJJJJerome Ellis, Mira Mattar, Robert Glück, Daisy Lafarge, Sue Tompkins and Charlie Prodger. Entry is free. Finally, Good Press is hosting the book launch of 'Spoken Song' by David John. The night is promising spoken word, hospitality and some Glaswegian sprechgesang with performances by Donna Campbell, Cat Cochrane and David Stakes and soundscapes from Hunter. That's on top of a reading by David John, obv.
The Second Chance Fringe returns on Saturday, 31 October for its third and final night back at Dram on Woodlands Road from 7pm. This time, you get to enjoy Alana Stewart and Reid Wrights' "The Last 7 Years", Jonathan Kinsman with "Gawain and the Green Knight" and Beth Rose's "Someone Will Remember Us", plus a secret bonus show - all for £8, so grab your ticket asap!
On Sunday, 1 November Keeks Mc is celebrating the launch of her debut collection At That Jaud at Rufus T Firefly from 4pm. There will be performances from Laurie Goldie, Ross McWhinnie and Peilin Shi alongside Keeks herself (naturally). Entry is free. On Sunday evening, Ross McFarlane is staging this year's Lock-In Poetry Pentathlon at The Old Toll Bar. Five poets will be challenged to bring their best poems across five categories - humour, passion, experimental, emotional and narrative - in this special slam edition. Entry is free and you are guaranteed to see some brilliant performances!
We are easing back into the new week on Monday, 2 November, with the UofG's Creative Conversations lunchtime reading series. Poet Art Allen is this week's guest. Allen is the author of Some Things I Do Not Know, recently published by Shearsman Books, as well as several prize-winning previous works. As always, the event is free and you can join either in person at the University Chapel or online via Microsoft Teams. In the evening, the British Psychoanalytic Association is hosting an online seminar from their Poetic Mind series: Poetry and AI from 8pm. Poet and psychoanalyst Maurice Whelan explores how poetry can challenge and diffuse the dehumanising effects of artificial intelligence. Tickets are £20.
Tuesday, 3 November offers a deliciously rich spread of events. In the morning, the free Open Book Creative Writing Session is on at Glasgow Women's Library from 10:30am. As always, poet Kathrine Sowerby will run a warm and welcoming creative writing session targeted at women. In the evening, the weekly Poet's Corner open mic is back at Hillhead Bookclub from 8pm. Not sure what this week's theme will be, so check the organiser's socials before you go. Also on Tuesday evening, the Mitchell Library is hosting Poetry, Memory and Loss from 5:30pm. The event is part of the 'To Absent Friends Week' - a festival of storytelling and remembrance dedicated to ordinary people. Poet and writer Kathrine Sowerby joins the facilitator of the monthly Death Café to explore how poetry and stories can help us remember, celebrate and keep alive the lives of those we have lost. There will also be an opportunity to share a poem or memory of your own if you wish. The event is free to attend and open to all. If you'd rather stay at home, consider joining the online writing workshop, The Sky (& the Moon & the Stars) with Laurie Bolger. The event promises a warm and immersive space to explore landscapes, weather and wild imagery - all from the comfort of your own notebook. Tickets are £22.
The flurry of poetic events doesn't abate yet: on Wednesday, 4 November, you have three to choose from. Cutwife Magazine is launching their second issue, Yolk, at The Alchemy Experiment on Byres Road from 6:30pm. Expect readings from contributors alongside an acoustic set from Glasgow-based music project Teose. Tickets are £5 and copies of the magazine will be available on the night. The monthly Poetry at Sweeney's open mic is also on from 7:30pm. The night is free, unticketed and very welcoming - beginners and first-timers are especially encouraged. Just sign up on the door. Finally, over at The House Arts Collective, Shed Open Mic is back from 6pm. It is designed to be an open, chill reading event for sharing what you've been reading or writing recently. Get in touch with the organiser via Instagram if you'd like a reading slot.
On Thursday, 5 November, Anamot Press is hosting an online workshop with heidi andrea restrepo rhodes on Ampersanding Poetics from 6pm. Drawing on their collection Ampersand Organ: a more-than-human lyric, the session embraces excess and eros, surrealism and spillage, and the 'more-than' of language and collective existence. Tickets are on a sliding scale. This sounds like a super exciting workshop - particularly if you are drawn to expansive, experimental poetics.
On Saturday, 7 November, Pillow Talk Scotland is running Healing through Poetry: A Workshop for Beginners with Ross Wilcock at Project Ability on Trongate from 12:30pm. The relaxed, creative session uses poems, conversation and writing prompts to explore healing, consent and self-expression. The workshop is particularly welcoming to disabled and neurodivergent people. Tickets are £11.55. That same afternoon, the Being Human Festival is offering a free online workshop: Poetry Writing at the Mythological Crossroads from 2pm. Centred on the stories of Oedipus and Antigone, the session invites writers of all levels to explore crossroads - geographical, moral and personal - through poetry. In the evening, thi wurd is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with a Live Literary Event at Glasgow University Union from 7pm. The night promises readings, music, film and art. Tickets are £10, with a discounted rate of £5 for students.
Opportunities
Today's pick from among the long list of opportunities currently on the PIG website:
You still have until 30 October to submit to the annual Happiful Poetry Prize. The national competition celebrates writing about mental health and wellbeing with the happy winner receiving £100. Entry is free.
Closing the same day is the call out for contributions and event ideas for next year's Paisley Book Festival. The festival's theme will be 'Stories on the Move' and the organisers are seeking suggestions for events from Scottish writers, artists, creatives and organisations.
A very exciting, new venture by Faber 'PLATFORM' is open for submissions until 31 October.
PLATFORM is an online publication set to launch in the new year. It will showcase new voices in poetry, with featured poets receiving £300 for a set of poems and accompanying contextual material. Submissions are open to English-language poetry from poets based anywhere in the world who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection.
Something a little more spicy is currently on the books for Broken Sleep Press. The editors are putting together a Smutty Poetry Anthology and are still accepting submissions until 31 October. The book will celebrate the breadth, brilliance, and multiplicity of smutty poetry with a focus on desire, sex and the body. I personally love the idea.
Closing on 2 November is the Scottish Book Trust's annual Scotland's Story competition. This year, the event is dedicated to the topic 'wonder'. Entries can take any form, including poems, videos and audio recordings, and may be in English, Gaelic or Scots. Every submission is featured on the Book Trust's website and a selection will be published in a free book distributed around the country during Book Week Scotland.
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.
It is award season in the world of literature. We only recently had the Shortlist for the Saltire's confirmed and the jury for the T.S. Eliot Prize has also published this year's shortlist. Sadly, most of us probably don't have the time (or money) to buy and read all of the brilliant books selected. But to celebrate the fantastic accomplishments of current and past selections, I wanted to use this PIG Spotlight to highlight the archive of the T.S. Eliot Prize website. Going back as far as the 2010s, you will find video recordings of readings by winners and nominees as well as background information and reviews. It's a treasure trove, really. So if you are stuck indoors on another rainy Glasgow afternoon, why not have a look?
PIG's Poetry Pick
I was super excited to hear that local legend Biff Smith received this year's Forward Poetry Prize for Single Best Performed Poem with his fantastic "Dumbarton East". You can watch the winning entry via YouTube. Naturally, the other three winners for Best Collection (Sarah Howe), Best First Collection (Nur Turkmani) and Best Written Poem (Tara Bergin) are equally brilliant picks. I personally adore Sarah Howe's Foretokens and have added Nur Turkmani's October to my wish list. But today's Poetry Pick obviously has to be Tara Bergin's winning entry...
The Fear
by Tara Bergin
I assumed the fear belonged to the woman in front of me.
It was the sort of fear someone like her might have.
But then she turned around to me and said,
Is that your fear?
No, I said, I thought it was yours.
It's not mine, said the woman. I don't know whose it is.
Next! said the cashier.
Hi, said the woman,
I think someone's left their fear behind.
The cashier looked at me.
It's not mine, I said.
I don't know whose it is.
The three of us considered the fear.
It doesn't look like the sort of fear you would forget about,
the cashier said.
You'd be missing it straight away,
I said.
Or maybe if you're busy, said the woman,
it would only come back to you in the middle of the night.
I suppose we were all thinking of our own fears.
Right, said the cashier.
I'll put it in the back until the end of the day.
If no one claims it, I'll give it to one of the girls.
Via the Forward Arts Foundation, originally published in The Stinging Fly.
That's it from me today. See you in two weeks!
Love,
Annie