Society of Young Publishers Scotland

Home
United Kingdom
Edinburgh, Scotland
Society of Young Publishers Scotland

Directions Website Contact the organisation

Whether you're an editor, designer, illustrator, writer, proofreader, bookseller or marketeer, we want you to get involved!

The Society of Young Publishers Scotland is a non-profit organisation providing information and events for those interested in joining, or advancing within, the publishing industry in Scotland. General information

Membership includes:

- free entry to our monthly events, including panel events discussing the latest publishing news and issues and socials, allowing you to get to know more about publishing from the people working within it
- discounted entry to the annual SYP conference, which is a day of seminars and workshops
- a subscription to InPrint, the SYP magazine
- access to all the articles on our blog, InDigital
- access to all the latest jobs and work experience vacancies on our website and in a weekly email bulletin

You can join or renew your SYP membership online. Just follow the link below and follow the instructions on our membership page: http://www.thesyp.org.uk/join.php

Please bear in mind that it may take up to a week for your membership to become fully activated. If you're interested in writing for InPrint, contact [email protected]

06/10/2026

Do you love reading and want to get involved with one of the biggest book awards in Scotland? Then apply to take part in The Saltires Shadow Panel! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We are looking for people with a passion for literature, a strong love of reading and the ability to meet a deadline to take part in this year’s shadow judging panel for Scotland’s National Book Awards, The Saltires.

What’s involved?

Read! 📚 We typically ask shadow panellists to read around 5-6 books, which you will need to be able to read within a month. We will provide copies of the books.

Meet! 🗣️ The panel will meet with our Shadow Panel Officer to discuss the books, and select a winner.

Write! 📝 We ask that each judge writes a short blog about their experience in the award, that can be used by us or The Saltire Society.

📅 Applications are open until midnight on October 16th, with judging taking place between October–November 2026.

Find the link to the application form in our bio. If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]

10/09/2026

Thanks to everyone who made it to our events over the last year, especially to our conference, which we had so much fun putting together! Thank you also to our 2025/26 committee for all your hard work. We’ll be welcoming some new faces to our committee soon 📚

24/04/2026

A huge thank you to our incredible sponsors! We’re so grateful for their backing in making this event possible and proud to partner with organisations that support publishing, creativity, and the next generation of industry professionals. For more information on our sponsors, visit the SYP Scotland website below!

📚 Canongate – An award-winning independent publisher known for bold, innovative, and internationally acclaimed books.

📚 Edinburgh University Press – A leading academic publisher producing cutting-edge research across a wide range of subjects.

📚 hive.co.uk – An online bookshop that helps support local independent bookstores with every order.

📚 Independent Publishers Guild – Advocating for and empowering independent publishers across the UK and beyond.

📚 Libro.fm – An audiobook platform that supports independent bookshops with every purchase.

📚 The Publishing Training Centre – Delivering industry-leading training and professional development for publishing professionals.

📚 Publishing Scotland – Supporting and promoting Scotland’s vibrant publishing sector at home and abroad.

Our 2026 conference, Publishing to the People, is taking place tomorrow at Dovecote Studios in Edinburgh. We can’t wait to see you all there - tickets available from the SYP website!

https://thesyp.org.uk/events/syp-scotland-conference-2026/

23/04/2026

Only two days to go until our 2026 conference! Join us on the 25th to listen to panel session ‘Pitching yourself and your books’: in this session, our panel will share practical insights on getting a book pitch noticed, developing standout skills, and making the most of networking opportunities as an early-career publisher or writer.

📚 Chair: Jess Orr is Co-Director of Open Book and Associate Programmer for Paisley Book Festival, with 13 years’ experience across the Scottish literature sector. She has worked with organisations including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish Book Trust and Glasgow Women’s Library, and holds a PhD in contemporary literature from the University of St Andrews.

📚 Yolanda Pupo-Thompson is a partner in London Literary Scouting, where she has worked for over 30 years. Her expertise comes from a lifetime of reading and bookselling: originally from the USA, she worked as a bookseller, and then in publishing, before becoming a reader for the then scouting agency of Koukla Maclehose.

📚 Ruby Allen-Cadman is an editor and creative consultant, who has worked at Oxford University Press, Bloomsbury and Walker Books. Now freelance, she is also the founder of To Be Read, a social enterprise focused on tackling unconscious bias and supporting underrepresented voices in publishing.

📚 Laura Jones-Rivera is the co-founder and co-publisher of the award-winning 404ink , and a PhD Researcher in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling. She is also currently Charco Press’ Operations Manager and works for numerous other publishers, such as Bloomsbury and Cipher Press, as a freelance typesetter. She was named a Rising Star by the Bookseller in 2022.

22/04/2026

Our annual conference is just around the corner, and we’re so excited to welcome our keynote speakers:

📚 Duncan Lockerbie, founder and director of Tapsalteerie, will open with a keynote on human connections and how we build professional communities as well as communities of writers and readers, with reflections on how things have shifted during his time in the industry and the current challenges that small presses face.

📚 Publisher and programmer Emma Barnes (founder of Consonance.app) will deliver a thought-provoking keynote on the challenges and opportunities of technology within publishing and how upskilling is a superpower that can help you overcome adversity and make yourself indispensable in our increasingly competitive industry.

It’s shaping up to be a brilliant day of ideas, conversation, and connection. If you’ve been thinking about coming along, make sure to get your tickets soon! Publishing to the People takes place April 25th - this Saturday! - at Dovecot Studios Edinburgh.

21/04/2026

In this interactive workshop, Francesca Barbini, founder and director of Luna Press Publishing, will share expert insights into what makes a successful campaign, before guiding attendees through creating their own.

With opportunities for feedback, discussion and questions throughout, this session is designed to give you tools you can apply straight away.

Join us on Saturday for some hands-on experience and insights from an industry expert - tickets for Publishing to the People are available from the SYP website. We can’t wait to see you all there!

20/04/2026

We are delighted to be joined by Sunday Times bestseller Len Pennie (), poet and author of poyums and poyums annaw, who will close the day with a performance of her poetry. Len writes passionately, in both Scots and English, about the promotion of minoritised languages, survivors of domestic abuse and the destigmatisation of mental illness.

Our 2026 conference, Publishing to the People, is taking place this Saturday at Dovecote Studios in Edinburgh. We can’t wait to see you all there - tickets are available from the SYP website!
https://thesyp.org.uk/events/syp-scotland-conference-2026/

19/04/2026

Listen to our panel of industry professionals as they share their insights on the lesser-known roles in publishing, and how you can break into them. With experience across book design, academic publishing, business intelligence and audiobook production, this session might just make you think twice about your career options!

Tickets for Publishing to the People (April 25th, Dovecot Studios Edinburgh) are available from the SYP website - link in bio!

📚 Chair: Leah McDowell is the award-winning Art & Production Director at Floris Books (). For over 13 years, she has designed beautiful, reader-focused and innovative books that are loved by audiences worldwide. Leah is a Creative Edinburgh Community Advisor, former SYP Scotland Co-Chair, and winner of the Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year award.

📚 Elizabeth Fraser is Assistant Commissioning Editor for Literary Studies at Edinburgh University Press (), with a background in Social Anthropology (University of Edinburgh) and Postcolonial Studies (University of Kent).

📚 David McTeague is Head of Business Intelligence at Hachette (), leading reporting, analytics and data engineering across publishing and distribution. He has been with Hachette for 15 years, and has a background in commercial management and business analysis.

📚 Olivia Caw is a working class actor and audiobook director based in Cumbernauld, working with Offbeat Recording Studios. Passionate about the creative potential of audiobooks, she draws on her performance expertise to guide narrators towards the best possible version of the piece.

17/04/2026

Thinking of attending our 2026 conference, Publishing to the People? Then make sure to grab your tickets this weekend during our flash sale! Until Sunday 19th April at midnight, tickets are available from the SYP website at a reduced cost:

📚 Members: £18 (RRP £23)
📚 Non-Members: £23 (RRP £28)
📚 Students/Under 25s: £20 (RRP £25)
📚 Digital/Catch-up: £16 (RRP £21)

From getting ideas off the ground to platforms and events making books more widely accessible, this conference will equip aspiring and early-career publishers with people skills that help them network and gems of wisdom covering market insights and technological developments.

Join us at Dovecot Studios’ Ladies Baths in Edinburgh next Saturday - we'd love to see you there!

16/04/2026

How do we bring books to wider audiences and ensure literature is accessible to all? This is a question our panel will be trying to answer in ‘Reaching wider audiences’, part of SYP Scotland’s upcoming conference Publishing to the People. This session will explore how partnerships, platforms and programmes can expand the reach of books through alternative formats, festivals, industry events and public outreach.

Our speakers are:
📚 Chair: Vikki Reilly is Marketing & Trade Development Manager at Publishing Scotland, and has over 20 years of experience in the book industry. She worked first as a bookseller, then in the sales and marketing departments of Mainstream Publishing, Mercat Press and Birlinn Ltd, where she was also on the editorial board.

📚 Ann Landmann is the founder of Cymera Festival, and has a long-standing passion for connecting audiences through books. When not planning events or popping up at other people’s events, she travels around Scotland as a sales representative for independent publisher Birlinn Ltd.

📚 Claire Allan is an experienced cultural engagement leader, with over two decades’ experience in events programming around culture, heritage and history. She is currently the Centenary Producer at the National Library of Scotland, where she leads major national initiatives and exhibitions.

📚 Dr Harriet MacMillan is the Director of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature. She holds three degrees in English and Creative Writing from the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford, with a PhD focused on contemporary feminist rewritings of mythology. She has worked with Creative Scotland, the Forward Prizes and the University of Edinburgh, and is also a writer.

Be part of the conversation at Publishing to the People. Tickets available via the SYP website.

Address

Edinburgh

Website

http://www.thesyp.org.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Society of Young Publishers Scotland posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Society of Young Publishers Scotland:

Want your organisation to be the top-listed non profit organisation in Edinburgh?