Club News

Taking just one year in history, local history – Ayr in 1898 – Carolyn O’Hara’s delightful book, Oculeus, captures the weekly charming, amusing, newspaper commentaries of her great-grandfather, William G. Wallace (aka Oculeus) which were published within the Ayrshire Post that year. As a piece of historical research, Carolyn’s methods have recently been shared with… Read More »‘Scrapbook Time Travel’ – a British Association for Local History Article by Carolyn O’Hara

It’s a little under a year since Ayrshire Archives, the holders of almost 50 years’ worth of writing from the members of Ayr Writers’ Club, closed its doors of the Watson Peat Building in Auchincruive, Ayr. Carolyn O’Hara, our Archivist Committee Member, has been safely storing the many files, boxes, and a couple of carrier… Read More »Ayrshire Archives Moves to Old Ayr Academy Building

All members of Ayr Writers’ Club are affiliate members of the Scottish Association of Writers (SAW) and are eligible to enter any of the 10 national January competitions open to members registered for the SAW Online Writers Conference in March 2021. They are: Drama – A one act stage play (maximum of 5 characters). Approximately… Read More »Scottish Association of Writers’ Annual National Competitions Open for Submission

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart Reviewed by Marion Husband Word Count 493 Pan Macmillan, 430 pages, Fiction ISBN: 978-1-5290-1927-8 Hardback Edition £8.00 Shuggie Bain is a fictional story about the powerful and loving relationship between a young boy and his alcoholic mother. A compelling and at times painful read, the theme is of love, addiction,… Read More »Book Review by Marion Husband ~ ‘Shuggie Bain’ by Douglas Stuart

Ayr Writers’ Club members, Gill Sherry and Carolyn O’Hara, have already had amazing writing success this year, with Gill winning a staggering four AWC competition trophies (including the Dorrith Sim Trophy for Published Author of the Year), and Carolyn having her poem, By Chance, selected for inclusion within the Scottish Book Trust’s national publication, Blether,… Read More »Ayrshire Magazine Feature – AWC Club Authors, Gill Sherry and Carolyn O’Hara

Ayr Writers’ Club Membership Secretary, Marion Husband, has had the most extraordinary year. A last-minute, half-hearted decision to add a children’s short story to the Scottish Association of Writers national Under 7s Short Story Competition in January 2020, has brought the type of success writers often dream of. Competition adjudicator, Sarah Grace, just loved Marion’s… Read More »Marion Husband’s Competition-Winning Children’s Story Snapped up for International Publication

Feel Free by Zadie Smith Reviewed by Matthew Richardson Word Count 499 Penguin Books, 452 pages ISBN: 9780241971024 £9.99 Lore dictates that any exploration of… Read More »Book Review by Matthew Richardson ~ ‘Feel Free’ by Zadie Smith

The latest winter Newsletter from the Scottish Community Heritage Alliance and the Scottish Local History Forum, in association with Ayr Writers Guild, has provided a… Read More »Avenues for Research

The Nature of Spring by Jim Crumley Reviewed by Nigel Ward Word Count 490 Saraband, 2019, 240pp 9781912235377 £12.99 Woodcocks burst from the undergrowth, “broad… Read More »Book Review by Nigel Ward ~ ‘The Nature of Spring’ by Jim Crumley

  The Scottish Association of Writers (SAW) has recently announced this year’s annual writing competitions are up and running. With online closing dates of Saturday… Read More »Scottish Asssociation of Writers’ Annual Writing Competitions

Oculeus is the Ayrshire Archaeological and Natural History Society published non-fiction book from Ayr Writers’ Club Archivist, member, Carolyn O’Hara. A 6-year undertaking to research… Read More »Carolyn O’Hara’s Book Publication – Oculeus

Ayr Writers’ Club member, Damaris West, has revamped, updated, and added to her personal writing website, Damaris’ Writing. Filled with so many published poems, snippets… Read More »Damaris’ Writing – A Website Updated