Scotland Archives | Publishing Scotland

The Society of Authors in Scotland

The Society of Authors in Scotland (SoAiS) is a regional group of the Society of Authors. If you have a Scottish postcode you are automatically added to the SoAiS when you join the SoA.

The SoAiS organises a varied and busy calendar of activities through a committee of volunteers. Group activities are reported in the SoA’s quarterly magazine, The Author. There is also discussion in their Facebook group.

SoAiS members can take advantage of a number of exclusive benefits, such as events and special discounts.

The SoAiS is a network member of Publishing Scotland, and together the two organisations have produced a good practice covenant between authors and publishers in Scotland. The SoAiS is also represented at meetings of the Literature Forum and the Scottish Parliamentary Cross Party Group on Culture and Media.

Booksellers Association

The Booksellers Association represents and promotes retail bookselling in the UK and Ireland and encourages best practice and excellence. Their membership ranges from bookselling chains like Waterstone’s and Blackwells, to supermarkets, academic booksellers, wholesalers, school and library suppliers, Christian and children’s booksellers and over 1100 independent bookshops.

The BA provides a wide range of products and services, ranging from National Book Tokens and the payments clearing system Batch.co.uk, advice and information on legislation, trade and retail matters, a free Business Support Helpline, marketing initiatives for the industry, such as World Book Day, and also for specific sectors, like Independent Booksellers Week.

They keep a close eye on developments in technology, and have a raft of advice and information on ebooks and all the technologies that underpin the 21st century book trade.

The BA’s website has a Bookshop Search page, where you can find all the bookshop members of the Booksellers Association in the UK & Ireland. You can search all members, or by a range of filters. You will find helpful information about all bookshops listed, as well as website and telephone numbers. You may also be interested in their Bookshop Search App, which you can find on both the Apple Store and for Android devices too.

Association of Scottish Literary Agents

The Association of Scottish Literary Agents (ASLA) is the representative body of literary agents based in Scotland.

ASLA was formed in 2009 in order for Scottish literary agents to share resources and ideas, and to liaise with other organisations in the publishing industry.

Between us, we represent a wide variety of authors and illustrators, mostly from Scotland – in both adult and children’s literature.

For unsolicited submissions from authors and illustrators, please check the submission guidelines on individual agents’ websites or, if an agency does not provide a website, please submit a brief letter of enquiry or a brief email without any attachments.

Chair: Caro Clarke
Secretary: Louise Lamont
Treasurer: Lindsey Fraser