Blog Feed - Scottish BPOC Writers Network

June 25, 2024August 5, 2024Past Events, Past Opportunities

Call for Blog Pitches! – for August – October 2024

Image: a group of people of colour with different skin tones, hairstyles, and clothing reading against a yellow background. Text: Open Call: Blog Pitches. Deadline: 16 July 2024. For Black writers and writers of colour based in Scotland.

Upcoming paid opportunities for writers of colour in Scotland to contribute to our blog!

December 11, 2023December 10, 2023News

Change is coming to SBWN!

The way we run the Scottish BPOC Writers Network is undergoing some significant – and positive! – changes.

May 9, 2023May 8, 2023Blog

Night Diver’s Ritual

I have to endure great pressure, going deep beneath the surface of my mind, into murky, night-black waters, in order to uncover my truest thoughts.

April 18, 2023April 17, 2023Blog

Yes, you can be a Black, female, funny writer!

From romance to memoir to deep-dive essays, these three Black women writers can’t resist the pull of comedy.

April 11, 2023April 17, 2023Blog

Moniack Mhor diary: my first writing retreat

This space to think and follow my creativity feels natural and strange at the same time.

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023Blog

Writing in an age of collective Islamophobic trauma

an image of a mosque at dusk reflected in water. Text reads Writing in an age of Islamophobic trauma Adil Iqbal

There’s a persistent yearning within me that longs for a place I have yet to experience. This liminal space offers me one of many reasons to write. I write to be disobedient, to protest and resist.

March 21, 2023March 20, 2023Blog

The ghosts of bilingual writing

Fear, like writing, is different in every language.

March 14, 2023March 13, 2023Blog

AI and the Future of Freelancing

Computer programming code in blue at the top of the image and a keyboard illuminated in red at the bottom of the image, against a black background. White and light green text reads: AI and the Future of Freelancing. Josephine Jay.

AI generators have been making headlines splitting hairs over whether software is more help than hindrance in creative fields.

February 28, 2023February 28, 2023Blog

We Can Be Heroes

So few stories feature black and brown children. Why are their stories, experiences and realities not included in the curriculum?

February 14, 2023February 13, 2023Blog

Right Place, Right Time: Reading bell hooks

Caring for someone’s life work means more than sharing a bibliography.

February 7, 2023February 6, 2023Blog

a beech in Scotland does not sleep

I am trying my best to move or stay or survive and each rainy day feel the burning washed deeper, deeper, down me, till gone away for good.

January 10, 2023January 13, 2023Blog

On belonging, hidden gardens and the Patron Saint of airports

Image of part of a globe in the upper left hand side of the banner, against a dark brown background. White and green text reads: On belonging, hidden gardens and the Patron Saint of airports. Valeria Gascón,

Absence has become my currency, and only celebrations of love or death can be a reason big enough to cross the ocean.

December 13, 2022December 13, 2022Blog

Finding Community and Empowerment Through the Readers of Colour Group

Image of open books stacked on top of each other. Green text on a dark red background. Text: Finding community through the Readers of Colour group. Lesa Ng.

It is not a hyperbole to say that Readers of Colour has been life changing.

November 15, 2022November 14, 2022Blog

“Why Do You Fear My Way So Much?”: A moment of crisis in publishing

Black and white photo of a prison cell window, taken from inside the cell looking out. Text: “Why Do You Fear My Way So Much?" - A moment of crisis in publishing. Mridula Sharma.

To publish poetry that speaks to and acknowledges the realities of those marginalized, violated and often demonized by the state is not easy.

November 7, 2022November 14, 2022Blog

A Space to Breathe: reflections on First Breath

Breathing is not just a process, but is an act of expression in the lives that we live individually as people, and collectively as a society.

October 28, 2022October 28, 2022Blog

My heart attack came out of the blue. Adjusting to having a stent put in my heart — a foreign piece of metal acting like a bridge keeping my blood vessel open — was difficult to accept for me and my body. All of a sudden, overnight I became a person with a disability but one that no one could see.

June 29, 2022August 8, 2022Past Opportunities

Join SBWN Team – Admin and Media Support Part-Time Job

Purple and black text on yellow background: 'We're hiring! Admin and Media Support. 30hrs/month. Freelance, mainly remote and flexible role. Deadline 24th July'

Join the SBWN team as Admin and Media Support! From managing our inbox, maintaining the network’s partnerships or looking after our social […]

May 27, 2021June 11, 2021Past Events

Ledbury Poetry Critics x SBWN: Poetry in Translation Q+A Panel – 10th June 2021

Poetry in Translation: Q&A Panel Event. Jay G Ying, Sophie Collins, Tiffany Tsao and Yvette Siegert lift the veil on what it takes to get into poetry criticism, with a focus on poetry in translation. 10th June, 7-8pm. Online.

This Q+A Panel Event is a must-see for those interested in poetry criticism and poetry in translation.

May 26, 2021May 25, 2021Blog, News

SBWN and EDI Scotland Publish Literary Sector Survey Results

Scottish BAME Writers Network Survey Report. Perceptions and experiences of writers of colour in Scotland's literary sector. "What are we, as a sector, doing to support and inspire current and future generations of Scottish and Scotland-based Black and POC writers?"

Scottish BAME Writers Network and EDI Scotland publish literary sector survey results on the perceptions and experiences of Black and PoC writers in and from Scotland.

May 25, 2021May 25, 2021Blog

Memories and Dreams: Wandering Between Aotearoa’s Volcanic Mountains and Scotland’s Munros

Text: Memories and Dreams: Wandering Between Aotearoa’s Volcanic Mountains and Scotland’s Munro - Nichelle Santagata. Image: a volcano (Mount Ngāuruhoe) in Aotearoa behind clouds at sunset.

Sometimes when climbing mountains, there is no clear path and I have to make my own through treacherous terrains, but I know leveled-out lands are on the horizon.

May 15, 2021May 13, 2021Blog, News

‘the cold’ curated by Camara Taylor, in partnership with MAP

white text on strong blue background over a photo of waves pouring over a rocky seashore. Text reads: 'the cold. Curated by Camara Taylor. SBWN partnership with MAP.'

We’re delighted to present our recent partnership with MAP: ‘the cold,’ a series curated by Camara Taylor! <<It’s a shame about the […]

April 25, 2021May 13, 2021Past Events

Writing Workshop: Writing the Body of Colour with Mae Diansangu – 6th May 2021

Writing the Body of Colour. 6th May 2021, 7pm-8:30pm. Online. Writing Workshop with Mae Diansangu.

This workshop provides a space for writers of colour to reconnect with and write about their bodies in a loving way.

April 1, 2021May 13, 2021Past Events

Intermediate Craft Seminar: Decolonial [eco]-poetics and poetic cartography with Murid Laly – 17th April 2021

Intermediate Craft Seminar with Murid Laly: Decolonial [eco]-poetics and poetic cartography. 17th April 2021, 10am-11:30am. Online.

This craft seminar seeks to help develop our ability to reflect and develop decolonial cosmologies in our work.

January 29, 2021March 10, 2022Past Opportunities

HarperCollins x SBWN Collaboration – Submissions (now closed)

Open book and white text on a dark brown background.

We are thrilled to announce our new collaboration with Nancy Adimora and HarperCollins UK! Nancy is the Talent & Audience Development Manager at HarperCollins Publishers and submissions of fiction and non-fiction books are now open to Scottish BAME Writers Network members! Find out more about Nancy, why she got into publishing and what the submission process is.

January 25, 2021April 19, 2021News, Past Opportunities

We’re hiring Administration & Media Support!

Scottish BAME Writers Network is looking to hire someone to cover Administration & Media Support for our non-profit organisation. This position will specifically assist with general administrative duties, such as invoicing, managing our inbox and calendar, and updating our website and social media with various opportunities.

December 23, 2020July 20, 2021Past Events

Scottish Black Writers Group January – June 2021

Scottish Black Writers Group is a new, free writers group facilitated by our Co-Director Dean Atta and in association with Scottish PEN. It is a monthly meetup open to writers across the UK and Ireland who are Black/from the African diaspora, including people of mixed heritage.

September 7, 2020April 19, 2021Past Events, Past Opportunities

Q&A Session: ‘Demystifying the Publishing Process’ with Nancy Adimora from HarperCollins

We’re delighted to offer a free Q&A session on ‘Demystifying the Publishing Process’ with Nancy Adimora from HarperCollins on 17th, September 2020, 6pm. This session is for Black writers and writers of colour based in Scotland who are working on a fiction or nonfiction manuscript.

June 6, 2020June 7, 2020News