The Good Egg Project events and opportunities round-up đŁ June 22-July 31
Sign up for the next Chicken Coop Open Mic special, submit your Ed Fringe 2026 listings, plus events & open calls for writers and writing
Hi! Hello, and welcome to The Good Egg Project newsletter!
No top links this time folks, itâs that time of year where I need your help to create our Fringe 2026 Guide, our where to write this August guide, and our 2026/27 festival guide for writers.
As always, I want to hear from you if youâre a Scotland-based artist or organisation taking a show to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. This year, we have a dedicated Fringe Show Google Form, the deadline for Fringe Show listings is Friday, July 24 at midnight.
If youâre an event organiser, host, or community member with something to shout about over July and in August, you can still submit your Community Events listings with this Google Form and Iâll add them to the newsletter and our where to write guide!
Open Call for The Chicken Coop Open Mic Special
Thatâs right, weâre hosting our next Chicken Coop Open Mic Special on Tuesday, July 28, at Lost in Leith!
Iâll be handing the mic over to our community of hilarious, curious, and creative writers. Whether youâve been to one Chicken Coop or all of them, we want to hear your words.
This opportunity is open to fiction, poetry, spoken word, improv, music, comedy, and whatever you would like to share! Slots are yet to be decided, but generally we keep them between 5-7 minutes. The deadline to sign up is Friday, July 17. You can read our full guidelines and sign up for a slot with this Google Form.
If you have any questions, please get in touch!
Community events
Fence: Multimedia poetry reading and open mic
Tuesday, June 23, 7.30 pm, The Open Door, Morningside Road, Edinburgh
Join The Open Door Edinburgh team for Fence, a visually stunning multimedia poetry reading by Tim Cresswell. Fence is an epic of fragments that is at once beautiful and beautifully strange. In his exploration of the vast, frozen Svalbard islands, poet and geographer Tim Cresswell has created a kind of exploratory poetry whose taut, minimalist lyric synthesises subjects as diverse as history, politics and Arctic ecology. Echoing the mournful atmospherics of the great Anglo-Saxon elegies, this book-length poem is a powerful meditation on places that are slipping away. The reading will be followed by an Open Mic poetry session, hosted by Catherine Wilson Garry of Push the Boat Outâs monthly Rock the Boat poetry open mic.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Clash Of The Comedy Poets-A Drafted! Death Match
Wednesday, June 24, 6.30 pm, The Canonsâ Gait, Canongate, Edinburgh
Go see ten poets battle it out to get the biggest laugh and win Drafted! Open Micâs Clash of the Comedy Poets. This month, theyâre featuring author of Serious Nonsense For Terribly Grown Up People and Serious Nonsense for the Unbearably Festive, Ben Macpherson. Thank you Team Drafted! for sharing your event with us!
Follow Drafted! on Instagram to stay up to date with their events
Sad Song Club
Wednesday, June 24, 7 pm, Sketchy Beats, Great Junction Street, Leith, Edinburgh
Join Sad Song Club for an Open Mic that celebrates sadness. You can join host Dan Collins to share your songs, poems and other miserable art, or just hang out. Sign ups for open mic slots are open on the door, so head down early to secure a spot.
Find out more on Eventbrite
Haunted Happenings with Heba Al-Wasity and MK Hardy
Wednesday, June 24, 7 pm, Waterstones, Princes Street, Edinburgh
Join Heba Al-Wasity and MK Hardy Wednesday 24th June as we celebrate the publication of their sumptuously haunting debut mystery novels. Go along to celebrate the publication of their sumptuously haunting debut mystery novels, Weavingshaw and The Needfire.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Self-portrait As A Poet- A Writing Masterclass from Ben Macpherson
Thursday, June 25, 1 pm, Leith Depot, Leith Walk, Edinburgh
Nottingham based writer and performer Ben Macpherson leads this workshop exploring how we portray ourselves in poems, how we can highlight our better or worse features and let those bits of ourselves that donât feel that poetic inform our writing practice.
Benâs writing explores community, narrative and otherness with a wry playfulness that is highly adaptable for all ages. His live performances have seen him play around the country including multiple Fringe Festivals, Latitude Festival and many more. Thanks to Team Drafted! for sharing this event with us!
Book your tickets on Eventbrite
Poetry by the River
Friday, June 26, 10 am, St. Bernardâs Well on the Water of Leith, Clarendon Crescent, Edinburgh
Join organiser and poet Lynn Davidson as you sit by the river, listen to a poem, enjoy a small meditation, and write your own poem on the Water of Leith.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Gentle yoga and therapeutic writing workshop
Friday, June 26, 10 am, Duncan Place Community Hub, Duncan Place, Leith, Edinburgh
This workshop offers time to nurture yourself as we move through spring. Youâll begin with intentions and move into a full gentle Hatha-style yoga class, ending with therapeutic journalling. Followed with a full gentle Hatha-style yoga class, a therapeutic journalling session using a variety of writing prompts (you donât have to share any of your writing) and finish with a guided relaxation session.
Suitable for beginners and those new to yoga. There are also options for using a chair. Please bring a notebook and pen and any extra layers to feel comfortable. Please note: this event is only open to unpaid carers living in or caring for someone in Edinburgh and Midlothian.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
Wild Lines Nature Open Mic
Friday, June 26, 6.30 pm, Tribe Porty, Windsor Place, Portobello, Edinburgh
Join organiser Lizzie Whitlock for an evening of nature poetry and storytelling in Portobello. If youâd like to read your own wild lines, please fill out this form and get a ticket on Eventbrite. Whether this is your first time or hundredth time sharing your work, theyâd love to have you there! Thanks Lizzie for sharing your event with us!
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
The Mirror is Lying to You, Online Workshop with Deborah de Oliveira Xavier
Saturday, June 27, 11 am, Online
Blending reflection, discussion, and guided writing, this session invites participants to question the narratives shaping how they see themselves, understand the structural roots of self-doubt, and practise approaching their work with greater self-compassion and clarity. Rather than positioning impostor syndrome as something to âovercome,â the session reframes it as a meaningful and understandable response to environments where many BPOC voices remain underrepresented or undervalued.
Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how impostor syndrome operates, alongside strategies to respond to self-doubt with greater clarity, self-awareness, and compassion. Please note this is a session for Black writers & writers of colour based in Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who experience imposter syndrome and self doubt, including emerging writers, students, and people with a writing practice, over 18 years old. Thanks to Scottish BPOC Writers Networkâs Naliah King for sharing this workshop with our community!
Book tickets on the Scottish BPOC Writers Network website
Scots Songs of Aberdeenshire
Saturday, June 27, 11 am, Scottish Storytelling Centre, High Street, Edinburgh
Join North-East folk singer Ellie Beaton for an engaging exploration of traditional Aberdeenshire ballads from the GreigâDuncan Folk Song Collection. Through these rich resources, participants will delve into the art of folk song collecting, while exploring the distinctive ornamentation and style of the region.
Book tickets on the Scottish Storytelling Centre website
Creative Walks (for tenderhearted humans)
Saturday, June 27, 11 am, Holyrood Park Education Centre, Queenâs Drive, Edinburgh
Nurture the creative part of you with a monthly walk around Holyrood Park where you can share about your creative projects, works in progress, and dreams while you walk, talk and get inspired by others.
Book donation tickets on Eventbrite
Write Club
Saturday, June 27, 2 pm, Leith Library, Ferry Road, Leith, Edinburgh
Do you write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, academic work or ANYTHING ELSE? Then go along to Write Club, share it and get feedback! Write Club is a relaxed space for writers to share work and get feedback on whatever it is that youâve been working on. If you have any questions about the space or the event, you can contact Samuel at writeclubleith@gmail.com
Participants will have the opportunity to be a part of the write club showcase during the edinburgh fringe, so if that sounds like your kind of thing, come along!
Book donation tickets on Eventbrite
Creative Writing Club
Saturday, June 27, 4 pm, The Boardwalk, Brunswick Street, Edinburgh
Join the Caledonian Starlight Guild, a small community of writers helping each other reach their goals and peer review, for this writing club where everyone is welcome! The Starlight Guild is a fantasy based event organiser, so fantasy will play a big part in this, however any genre is welcome from cutesy romance to sci-fi cowboys. This is semi structured to allow some time for writing, some time for chat and some time for feedback. Feel free to bring along your favourite writing tool from paper and pen to laptops!
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Mini-Zine Fair Salon
Tuesday, June 30, 6 pm, The Outhouse, Broughton Street Lane, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Literary Salon is hosting a mini-zine fair incorporating its usual Salon Gathering at the mid-point, where a flurry of literary folk will come to chat and drink, share ideas, discussion and disputation. Theyâll have a short presentation on the mini-zine theme, and you can stick around to buy a zine or two.
Find out more on Eventbrite
The Chicken Coop Writing Group
Tuesday, June 30, 6 pm, Lost in Leith, Commercial Street, Leith, Edinburgh
Join me and the Good Eggs for another evening of getting words on paper and hatching new ideas. Weâll have our usual book swap, prompts if you need inspiration, and optional sharing time where you can practice reading your work with our supportive, hilarious, and creative community of writers.
Book pay-what-you-can tickets on Eventbrite
Loud Poets Showcases
Various dates starting Thursday, July 2, various venues across Scotland
The Loud Poets Showcases return to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow in July. This time, theyâre joined by touring poet Diz Undone whoâll kick off the tour in Edinburgh at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Thursday, July 2. Diz is joined by Kareem Parkins-Brown, Spencer Mason, and Emma Atkin. Then the Loud Poets head to Aberdeen on Friday, July 3, where theyâll be at the Lemon Tree with Diz, Abi Underwood, and Georgia Bartlett-McNeil. This showcase tour wraps up in Glasgow on Saturday, July 4, at Civic House where Diz shares the mic with Dean Tsang and Kate Bradley. The Aberdeen and Glasgow events also include an open mic with sign ups open on the door.
Book Loud Poets showcase tickets through their website
Loud Poets Masterclass with Diz Undone
Saturday, July 4, 3 pm, Civic House, Civic Street, Glasgow
As part of the Loud Poetsâ July tour, genre-defying and internationally acclaimed poet Diz Undone is offering a masterclass in Glasgow looking at poetic form in rap lyricism. Taking rap seriously as an oral poetic form can teach writers so much, wherever you land on the spectrum of wordcraft. This masterclass will be a journey through the rich musicality, understanding of cadence, complex rhyme and songwriting technique in hiphop and rap traditions that the âpoetry worldâ often ignores.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Excavating Queer Utopias: Gays Against the Machine
Monday, July 6, 10 am, Edinburgh Futures Institute, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh
This pilot workshop day is for LGBTQ+ community members to come together and imagine diverse and collaborative worlds beyond gen AI and the algorithm. MSc Narrative Futures student and researcher Sophie Burnham is building a workshop that lets people analyze, interrogate, and imagine their way into the worlds they want to see. Sophie will guide you through a step-by-step process for envisioning how different challenge areas could be transformed into realities that better suit our diverse communities. This workshop will focus mainly on digital algorithms and generative AI, which currently present significant threats to queer and other minoritized communities.
The workshop day (10am-4pm) will involve group discussions, a smidge of group research, and various methods of creative outputâcollage, drawing, creative writing, etc. You do not need to consider yourself an artist, researcher, or expert on anything at all to participate! The more diverse, the better.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
Pitch Yourself: Personal Branding for Creatives
Tuesday, July 7, 8.30 am, CodeBase, Argyle House, Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh
Join Creative Edinburgh for Creative Circles - a monthly meetup of creative conversations, socialising and community updates! This workshop helps creatives overcome âthe ickâ in self-promotion, to get noticed, book the work they want, and get paid their worth.After this 45 minute workshop, youâll come away with: More confidence putting yourself out there; a better understanding of how to promote your work and yourself across different platforms; content ideas to help you get started (what to say, how to say it, how to get noticed in the noise); tips for overcoming the âcringe factorâ; strategies for getting noticed by the clients you want; and some simple outreach / pitching tactics. The workshop is hosted by Emma Jamieson.
Book donation tickets on Eventbrite
Pluriversal Writing Group
Wednesday, July 8, 6.30 pm, The Loreto Club, Houston Street, Greenock
The Pluriversal Writing Group welcomes multilingual, English, and Scots speakers, novice and practising writers to join our free monthly sessions. Their relaxed, informal sessions provide dedicated time for writing, sharing ideas, receiving feedback, and community building.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
A Way with Words: Rocks, Rivers, and Rhymes
Thursday, July 9, 11 am, Roslin Glen Country Park, Crusader Drive, Roslin
Join Ranger Jo, and Juliet the Midlothian Council Library Bibliotherapy Serviceâs Words for Wellbeing enthusiast to walk and write in the majestic Roslin Glen. Youâll walk along the river and cliffs, exploring the great depths of geological time and think about the connection between natureâs ancient landscapes and the art of words, and write something of our own. Experience Roslin Glen as you reflect on the enduring forces that shape our world, inspiring creativity through poetry and language.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
The Raven Writing Group
Thursday, July 9, 6 pm, 226 Gallowgate, Gallowgate, Glasgow
Join poets Kaci OâMeara and Sarah Heitler at the brand new The Raven Writing Group! Bring your writing projects, friends & creativity to one of Glasgows best bars, 226 Gallowgate, and get involved with the local writing community. The Raven Writing Group is an alternative & queer run writers event based in Glasgow. They meet up month a month for a few hours on the second Thursday of every month to write, talk and enjoy the company of fellow writers.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
Guava Turns One!
Thursday, July 9, 7 pm, Lighthouse Books, West Nicholson Street, Edinburgh
guava is officially one year old this month! Go celebrate their birthday and the launch of issue three, with readings from Philippa Ramsden, Nazaret Ranea, Megan Booth and more! It will be one of the fruitiest parties of the summer, so you donât want to miss it.
Book tickets on the Lighthouse website
The Writing Clique
Saturday, July 11, 2 pm, Shettleston Library, Wellshot Road, Glasgow
Join The Writing Clique, the ultimate pit crew for your prose, for a critique session in Glasgow. Youâll get sharp-eyed feedback, genius-level editing tips, and the kind of support that transforms decent writing into unforgettable storytelling. From trimming the fluff to strengthening your voice, this community knows how to elevate every word.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
Loanhead Womenâs Writing Group
Monday, July 13, 7 pm, Loanhead Library, George Avenue, Loanhead
Join this relaxed Womenâs Writing Group for a fun and inspiring Monday evening at Loanhead Library. Maybe you are looking for a new hobby, or want to share book recommendations, or have a writing project you need some time to finish?
Whether youâre a seasoned writer or just starting out, this group is the perfect place to find your unique voice, share your ideas, and connect. This is a safe and supportive space for all women to explore their creativity through writing, have fun, and meet new people.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
Creative Writing: Creative Collaboration with ATLAS Arts
Tuesday, July 14, 11 am, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
Join the team from ATLAS Arts as they bring the Making Publics Press to the National Library of Scotland. This interactive workshop invites participants to explore how publishing and collaborative writing can foster connection and knit together communities. Drawing inspiration from the Libraryâs current exhibition, âRainâ, the session will unfold through a series of guided conversations, as well as individual and collective creative writing prompts.
Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with co-creative processes. They will contribute their own responses while working together to produce a series of unique and shared perfect-bound Paperback publications using the Making Publics Press. Each publication will be shaped by individual voices and realised through collective effort. Whether you are new to creative writing or curious about making your own book, this workshop offers an accessible and supportive introduction to collaborative creation and self-publishing.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Trans Writes: Creative Writing Group
Tuesday, July 14, 6.30 pm, Glasgow Zine Library, Albert Road, Glasgow
Trans Writes is a creative writing group for anyone who identifies as trans or non-binary. Glasgow Zine Library welcomes writers of all levels, including those who want to try writing for the first time. Together you'll explore trans identity and creative expression; this is a space for you to experiment, whether youâre writing something serious, something playful, or something in-between.
Each session begins with a short reading or hands-on creative activity - no preparation required. You might look at short extracts from trans writers, explore zines from the library, or try DIY writing exercises. Time is also set aside for free writing and optional sharing. Please note: this event is for 18 years+ trans and non-binary people only.
Book free tickets on Eventbrite
An Evening with Rhiannon Grist
Thursday, July 16, 7 pm, Waterstones, Princes Street, Edinburgh
Join Rhiannon Grist to celebrate the publication of her debut novel, the masterful, wild spiral of madness and magic, Home Sick.
Book tickets on Eventbrite
Open calls for writers and writing
Frazzled Lit Short Story Award 2026
Frazzled Lit is open for submissions of fiction between 750-2,000 words for their 2026 Short Story Award judged by Donal Ryan. There is an entry fee of âŹ12 for single stories, âŹ21 for two stories, and âŹ31 for three stories. Writers submitting to this competition must be 18 years of age or over at the time of submission. Entries must not have been previously published or broadcast in any form, and must not have won any previous competitions. The prize for first place is âŹ1,000, second place âŹ500, and third place âŹ300. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Tuesday, June 30.
Read the guidelines on the Frazzled Lit website
Nairn Festival is open to submissions of fiction up to 5,000 words focused on the theme of sense of place. The competition is open internationally to writers aged 16 and over. The winners will receive ÂŁ500 for first prize, ÂŁ100 for second prize, and ÂŁ50 for third prize. Winning stories will be published on the Nairn Book & Arts Festival website and their authors will be invited to read their work at the 2026 Nairn Book & Arts Festival. There is a ÂŁ12 entry fee per story and ÂŁ5 for any subsequent entries. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Tuesday, June 30.
Read the guidelines on the Nairn Festival website
The Scottish Wildlife Trust in association with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival is open to entries of poetry, letters, short stories, essays, song lyrics, and other kinds of writing in English, Scots, or Gaelic up to 1,000 words. This yearâs Words of the Wild competition focuses on the theme of changing seasons and asks you to consider the following: What are the natural waymarkers that you look for that signal the transition from one season to the next? Which species do you most look forward to seeing at certain times of year? And what signs are you seeing that our seasons are changing as our planet warms? The deadline for submissions is midnight on Sunday, July 12.
Read the guidelines on the Scottish Wildlife Trustâs website
The Scottish Book Trust is open for applications from fiction, creative non fiction, spoken word, poetry, Scots, Gaelic, and Childrenâs and Young Adult fiction writers to the 2027 New Writers Awards. The Awards run from January 2027âJanuary 2028. During the programme, awardees receive: a ÂŁ2,500 cash award, allowing them to focus on their work; tailored personal development opportunities, which can include mentoring from writers and industry professionals; PR, performance, social media and presentation training; the opportunity to showcase work to publishers and agents; a week-long retreat offering time, space and the freedom to create new work in idyllic surroundings; and a yearâs free membership to Society of Authors as well as an SoA training session
The awards are free to apply to, all travel expenses are covered and awardees are chosen by a panel of judges. SBT has an Access Fund to help support awardees with any barriers they may face. The programme is flexible, and SBT works closely with awardees to help them participate as fully as possible. The deadline for applications is noon on Wednesday, July 27.
Read the guidelines on the Scottish Book Trust website
Thanks for reading!
This newsletter is out a little later than Iâd planned, but itâs out! And as you can see, thereâs loads going on in the writing world at the moment. Check back for more updates across the month, and if you have something to share or shout about, please submit your listings!
Make sure you come back to check out the updates and keep your eyes peeled for our August guides going live in July and August.
In the meantime, Iâm still hard at work for the final trimester of my MA. I ran away to Aberdeenshire at the start of the month to get some writing done for my major project (with great success - I hit 25K words, baby! Only another 65K until a first draft manuscript - weeeeee! And yes, my brain is scrambled eggs).
I also had a blast volunteering at Cymera festival for the first time! It was lovely to be part of a joyful and genre-focused weekend listening to fantasy, sci-fi and horror writers talking about their work, reading from their books, and chatting about writing. The best way to fill my cup!
Iâll see you for the Chicken Coop Writing Group next week, before we wrap up the summer with our latest open mic special!
Until next week, take care of each other,
Naomi
P.s. Do you know someone looking for a community of creative writers? Share this newsletter with them and kick start their writing journey today!