PublishED

By Doe Charles Too often illustrators and designers are neglected in the publishing world. How often do you hear about the author of a novel, or even the house? It’s pretty often; now compare this to how often you hear about the illustrators - it’s vastly different. In an attempt to quash this difference (albeit on a small scale because we are but one society) PublishED decided to host a panel event on illustration in publishing, an event affectionately now titled: No Unicorn Books… Please. Some pretty amazing speakers came to talk to us, from a range of different backgrounds, and they shed light on various aspects of the industry. What’s that? You couldn’t make it, I hear? Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. Phewph, that was a close call.

By Chiara Hampton Walking into the world of a novel blind has a quality of excitement. You’ve not yet been influenced by reviews, academic contexts, the particularities of the author’s biography. Perhaps it was the cover that drew you in or the recommendation of a friend. In any case, nothing exists in your mind but the text itself. You note the writing style before beginning to untangle the first threads of an unfamiliar story. By the time that story concludes, you’ve created an impression both personal and isolated.

By Doe Charles All too often we get to this point in the semester and have a strange, and sudden desire to combust from everything that we've managed to take on, with only the thought of Flexible Learning week to get us through. As I write I'm sat here dreaming of the blissful week off... except, if you're well seasoned at the university, you'll know this isn't to be the case, and you'll be rushed off your feet regardless. The point is, university keeps on going, and before you know it you'll be deep in coursework, sipping coffee, claiming you rightful desk at the library, and pretending that you're actually getting work done. Again, speaking from experience here. Problem with this is that it leaves little time to think about what we're going to be doing with our summers, our careers, and frankly our lives. This is terrifying, much like a deep cavernous abyss, that we sort of dive head first into after university, or in my case, i...

By Chiara Hampton The new semester is upon us, bringing with it fresh aspirations and anxieties. Uni calendar dates may be arbitrary divisions of time, but these artificial beginnings provide excellent opportunities to seek out new experiences. Last September marked the start of my first year of university: an ideal moment to put down roots. As an English student, I was naturally drawn to literary organizations, among them PublishED. After their annual bookshop crawl, I joined the society and have attended every event since. You’ll have likely ascertained that my goal here is to encourage you to capitalize on this period of uni recalibration and give the society a try. Information about our events and the literary magazine we produce are readily available on this very site, yet they do not fully encapsulate the personal and atmospheric aspects of the society. Instead, this post is dedicated to (and here I accept the risk of drawing on the vacuous vocabulary of school boards and ur...

By Doe Charles It's that time of year again, the one where we pretend to do our revision whilst doing anything but. I, myself, am a master of this, my friends and family frequently hearing things like: what do you mean I don't have time to make an entire ballgown from scratch? You mean to tell me that now isn't the time to learn a whole new language? Guys, I don't think you understand how big a plot hole this is in Outlander, I mean, yes, I only know this because I've read five of the 1000 page books, but, still, don't you get it! 

By Chiara Hampton and Karolina Zentrichova There is much to look forward to during the holiday season: family gatherings, carols, the consumption of spiced desserts, and (gloriously) time to read. If you are struggling to create a reading list for the upcoming break, avail yourself of the suggestions compiled below. Although some relate more explicitly to Christmas than others (see #1), each book should hopefully prove a worthy companion on those cold winter days when venturing outside becomes a near impossibility.  

By Chiara Hampton Dear readers, the moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. December 2nd marked the launch of the winter edition of our literary publication The Inkwell . While fawning over lovely submissions from our student body at Sofi’s Southside last night, we took a moment to reflect on the work which went into this semester’s issue. If you’re curious about what happens behind the scenes of our micro-publishing operation (this is the publishing society, after all), here is a glimpse into the creation of Rot.

By Karolina Zentrichova Crazy deadlines, friend group drama and other life-related nuisances can leave a self-proclaimed passionate reader feeling guilty, as they realise they haven’t read anything in months. After a long day of uni-related reading, it’s completely natural to reach for your laptop and a few sneaky episodes of Brooklyn 99 rather than the 500+ page novel that has been recommended to you by multiple people... that just screams commitment. So what do you do if you miss reading but find it hard to make time for it? Here are some solutions that will provide you with your literary fix, but also leave enough time for your life and Netflix commitments.

By Karolina Zentrichova Many people will look at their past and remember formative events, important people or strong emotions.  For some of us (and if you are reading this blog there is a fair chance you are a part of this select group) these formative events and people are not only real but also imagined.

By Chiara Hampton You need only to walk into a library to know that literature is vast. Similarly, for every copy you recognize in a used bookshop, there will be twenty cracked tomes you’ve never heard of. For lovers of language and literature, this expanse may feel both exciting and tragic – so many books, so few hours in a day (or even in a lifetime). Every novel we read is a choice. Some might approach the creation of their life’s library by curating a list of classics or must-reads to choose from. Others will whimsically pick up whatever catches their eye, whether this be a new release or a gorgeous 19th century cover. In both cases, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of reading within a restricted pool of tastes or genres. There’s nothing inherently wrong with becoming a master of science fiction or modern feminist literature; in fact, understanding the ins and outs of a particular area will undoubtedly lead to greater appreciation (plus you can stand in front of t...

Bookish People Talking About Bookish Things By Chiara Hampton and Karolina Zentrichova “How do I get into publishing?”: if you are an aspiring editor, illustrator, or simply an English student desperately hoping that your humanities degree will pay off, this question has likely crossed your mind. In order to shed some light on the topic, PublishED and Society of Young Publishers Scotland invited six professionals to speak about what happens behind the mysterious walls of the publishing house. If you couldn’t attend, fear not, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what you missed:

By Doe Charles Picture the scene: you're an aspiring writer; you've done the hard work, you've written your piece and you're ready to share it with the world. You sit down at your laptop ready to send it off to anyone you can think of, then you realise: "Damn I don't even know where to begin looking".

PublishED's Annual General Meeting is here once again! More info on the event here . Join us to elect your new committee members for the 2018/2019 academic year. All 14 positions will once again be available. For each position, you will be asked to present a max. 1 minute speech on why you best fit the position, after which all attending members will cast a vote.  Here is a short summary of what each role entails: President: will be required to organise where and when the committee meetings, events, and collaborations will take place, and is responsible as a whole for the society's image and EUSA compliance. Vice-President: will support the President in the organisation of the society and events. Treasurer: will be in charge of accounting for membership fees. Secretary: will be responsible for sending out (weekly) emails to the society's members to inform them of information such as the publication's theme, when and where gene...

Page Turners is a book club run by Edinburgh University's publishing and creative writing society, PublishED. We run on the basis of a monthly theme with a few suggested titles, but really you're free to read whatever you want! We'll be meeting weekly, aiming to discover a different café around the city each time. If you can't make it to the meetings, no worries! Feel free to post any bookish musings right here in the group, or just read along with us  As it's LGBT+ History month, we thought this would be a great opportunity to explore LGBT+ representation in literature. Our previous theme in January was Coming of Age. Check our Facebook or email list for more details and upcoming meetings!

PublishED will be on FreshAir.org.uk , Edinburgh’s student radio station! Tune in on Wednesday February 14th at 15:00 - 17:00 to catch us on the Arts Team HUB Show! Kirsten, our drama editor and treasurer, will be having a chat about current open submissions, the (R)evolution issue and launch, and our Page Turners reading club hosting an LGBT+ reading list this month.

If you have not been able to pick up a physical copy of the winter 2017 (R)evolution issue of the Inkwell, then fear not! Our online version is now available for your perusal here !

'(R)evolution' is finally here! Join PublishED for the launch of our Winter 2017 Inkwell publication, with the theme '(R)evolution'. We will be hearing from some of the brilliant writers featured in this art and literary journal, and about their thoughts on the thought-provoking dual theme. The event will be January 28th from 7- 9 PM at The Cuckoo's Nest in Edinburgh. You'll also be able to hear all about our upcoming issue 'Akrasia', for which submissions are now open! Naturally, you will be able to pick up a copy.

The striking cover photography of Inkwell (R)evolution features the work of Nadia Ahmed. In the photo a crowd of protestors and on-lookers are framed by stretching city buildings. The photo is meant to capture the themes of the issue, the immediacy of these "contradictory times," and evoke the literary and artistic sentiments within the journal that reflect on the "joys and tribulations of living in the 21st century," as editor-in-chief Saskia Solomon put it. Nadia shared her thoughts on the photo, saying: "I took this photo at an anti-Trump rally in New York last year and submitted it for this issue's (R)evolution theme not only because it captures protesters, but also because of the young girl on her father's shoulders and the middle-aged man taking a photo of the crowd with his phone, just like I was doing. In the centre are two people taking selfies right in the middle of the crowd of people. I wanted to capture the variety of ages in atten...

On  Tuesday 23rd of January PublishED will be hosting our collaboration with The Society of Authors . We have decided to kick off the year with a presentation on the work of the SoA given by its chief executive Nicola Solomon , and Linda Strachan , acclaimed children's author and chair of the SoA in Scotland. The event will take place from 7.30-9 pm in the 50 George Square, Room G.04. You can find more information about the event the Published Facebook page. There will be an opportunity at the end of the presentation to ask questions. If you're curious about the world of publishing this is a great event to come to!  

The 2018 Spring issue of The Inkwell is open for submissions! 'Akrasia' - 'the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgement through weakness of will'. The submission deadline is February 25th, 2018 - please find the email addresses on our poster, and don't forget that we take not only prose and poetry, but also drama and artwork!

Sam Riviere R e A d s [his] Poetry Sam Riviere poetry reading @ The  Loft  Bar,  Teviot   + special guests DONT COME  COME 23rd November; 7pm https://www.facebook.com/events/1675685136043981/

  The Book From the Inside Out Thursday 26th February 2015 18:30 Old College Lecture Theatre 183, South Bridge, EH8 9YL 'The Book - From the Inside Out' will see the cream of the crop take to the stage in rather a dramatic fashion as they strive to tell you exactly what goes on in their field – all in a 6 minute presentation! That’s only 40 seconds per slide for our industry experts to get you revved up and informed about the work they do! You can get your tickets through our Eventbrite page, and as always this will be a free event for our members and for PublishED members, £3 for non-members. 6.30pm at the Old College Lecture Theatre 183 7.30pm at Biblos for buffet & networking. Find the event on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/636886143107702

Wednesday 4th February      16:30-18:30        Teviot Balcony Room As we are getting into the Valentine's mood, we invite you to join us on a blind date with a difference... Come along to Teviot Balcony Room on Wednesday 4th February from 4.30pm until 6.30pm to choose your perfect literary match from our excellent selection of books. All of the books we have to give away will be wrapped up with a 3 word description written on top so you have to select one based on this very limited profile. The event will be free for members and £3 for non-members (which is the price of a membership fee so be smart, think ahead and join PublishED!). Find the event on facebook:https://www.facebook.com/events/720868078026465

Launch Party for Issue 10 of  THE INKWELL MAGAZINE Friday 5th December 2014   19:00 start Forrest Cafe (141 Lauriston Place) Take a break from revision and come down to The Forest cafe, where we will provide (free!) wine of different kind and nibbles. There will also be different readings happening, maybe even from the latest issue, as well as an art exhibition compiled in collaboration with The International Union of Mail Artists. It promises to be a great event and we look forward to seeing all of you there! Oh and did we mention there's free wine...? Yes!  Check out the event on Facebook to share with friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/800812206644574/