The Edinburgh Literary Salon meets on the last Tuesday of each month, inviting literary folks across the city and beyond to meet, discuss, and feel inspired. Every month, they choose a different theme as the focus of their conversation.

So, as I walked across the festival city, my feet wandering slightly lost on the cobbles, I had September’s theme in mind: Students.

As a new student in Edinburgh, I felt especially excited approaching my first literary event as a prospective publisher. Walking into the room with its beamed ceiling, fairy lights, and overall cosiness, I was overwhelmed by how much of the space was taken up by my university cohort. We amassed across one side of the room, exchanging excited looks across the room with the regular Salon members over our drinks.

The evening kicked off with laughs over tech issues as the hosts ensured that members over Zoom could see them clearly. This felt like a nice touch and spoke to one of the key principles of the salon: everyone is welcome.

Then began the night’s festivities. The hosts passionately discussed the importance of bookshops, something that Edinburgh is not short of, and reminded us of the small events and projects happening all across the city.

Then we were passed over to Annie Rutherford, who explained all the wonderful talks and voices highlighted throughout Push the Boat Out poetry festival. Their sense of pride towards such a local project was palpable as I scribbled it down in my notebook, eager to do some further research.

Lastly, Mairi, owner of Edinburgh bookshop, Lighthouse Books, discussed all things Radical Book Fair.

These festivals are small and therefore centre around helping the community, providing writing workshops and poetry readings at low costs.

Image: Radical Book Fair Poster

Image: Push the Boat Out Festival Poster

By the end of the short procession of speakers, I was amazed by the variety of events, talks, workshops, and readings taking place across the city right under my nose.

As the lights went up, it was time for the real purpose of tonight’s salon: joining the conversation.

However, as I looked around the room, I realised that for every stranger there were at least three people from the MSc publishing course whom I was already acquainted with. The regular members of the salon made an effort to break through the wall of students, but it unfortunately led to the conversations being slightly one-sided, no matter how hard we tried to hear each other in the loud room.

I knew this night was important to the Salon; first impressions make an impact, and impassioned new members keep communities like this one alive for the years to come. I wondered what would happen to the salon’s mingling portion if none of my classmates decided to return.

However, even though the night fell flat for some, and we all felt like we didn’t quite get a grasp on what the literary salon truly is, it seemed that the general consensus was that we needed more to make an informed decision.

The literary salon managed to capture our interest by being slightly less impactful than we expected. Though this might not have been intended, it certainly worked!

So, as we approach the last Tuesday of the month, I know where I’ll be; I hope to see you there too.

Image Credit:

“Edinburgh Literary Salon Logo”, Edinburghliterarysalon.org, Home | Edinburgh Literary Salon

“Push the Boat Out Festival Poster”, Pushtheboatout.org, 2026 Festival – 2026 Push The Boat Out Festival

“Radical Book Festival Poster”, Lighthousebookshop.com, 2026, Lighthouse | Edinburgh’s Radical Book Fair 2026: Building A Better Now