Edinburgh Literary Salon – The place for Scotland’s Quirky Book Lovers – MSc Publishing

Edinburgh, Scotland’s beautiful capital city, captures the hearts of many with its Gothic spires, neoclassical buildings, and narrow closes. A city built on top of itself, steeped in ghost stories and bloody histories of witch burnings, grave robbing, and the odd bit of murder, is there any wonder that it has become the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature?

For more information about UNESCO City of Literature! https://cityofliterature.com/

With this in mind, you might find yourself on the last Tuesday of the month, wandering down Broughton Street Lane towards a rather kooky little bar, The Outhouse. There, gathered upstairs under the guise of fairy lights and an old screen projector, you should find a group of Edinburgh’s rather quirky literary lovers, otherwise known as the Edinburgh Literary Salon. Does life really imitate art? And has the idiosyncratic Scottish capital imparted some of its delightful eccentricity to its inhabitants? Or are all literature lovers just a little bit mad?

Well, last month, on the 29^th of September 2026, I found myself asking the same question as I climbed the twisting staircase, a cold glass of white wine in hand, to meet my fellow university publishing students as we partook in our first Literary Salon.

Edinburgh’s Literary Salon is a “free and inclusive monthly event that is dedicated to supporting the literary community”(Edinburgh Literary Salon). The salon is a completely voluntary organisation that encourages “discussion, connection, and collaboration between creative people”(Edinburgh Literary Salon). It was a very cosy event, with dim lighting and round tables littered with free bookmarks and leaflets containing information about other bookish events occurring within the city. A recent article by The Bookseller was read aloud, followed by two guest speakers. Annie Rutherford discussed the upcoming poetry festival, Push the Boat Out. While, Mairi Oliver introduced the Radical Book Fair. Both festivals will occur in early to mid-November, so definitely give them a look! After the festival introductions, we were left to mingle within the crowd and ask questions to any of the speakers.

For more information about Push the Boat Out, click here! https://pushtheboatout.org/programme/

For more information about the Radical Book Fair, click here! https://lighthousebookshop.com

It was a lovely evening, but I was left wondering: how does the networking side of the event usually work? I believe, due to my cohort’s arrival, a large chunk of the hour-long session was reserved for networking, between ourselves and the other members. And while everyone in attendance was incredibly sweet, if I arrived as a lone student who simply loved books, would it be as easy to socialise amongst the slightly older, steadfast crowd? I’m not so sure, as upon my arrival I bumped into two students, not from my course, who were also at their first Literary Salon. They were excited to see what it was all about, but left rather quickly once the final talks were over and the mingling began.

I myself would have felt rather intimidated by the crowd if I had gone without my large group of university friends, and I wonder how successful the salon is at gaining new members. Perhaps for future events, more emphasis should be placed on advertising the salon to a more diverse age range? However, September’s event was a special occasion, as it was to promote the upcoming festivals in the city. So, take what I say with a pinch of salt.

All in all, the Edinburgh Literary Salon held a rather enjoyable, cosy evening, and one that in the future I hope to attend alongside my fellow literary lovers. Quirks and all!