Huntly Writers is open to anyone over the age of 18 years who is, or wants to be, actively engaged in creative writing. We are based in the market town of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where we usually meet on a fortnightly basis.

Anyone interested in joining the group is very welcome to join us as a visitor once or twice without payment to help them decide if the group is for them. Normally the charge for each meeting is £2 and the joining fee for the year is £10, but at present, we are meeting online via Zoom. If you are interested in joining a meeting, please check with us first, so we can add you to our Zoom contacts.

Huntly Writers is an unincorporated association of writers, which raises its own funding for the most part, with occasional help from the Scottish Book Trust with readings and workshops. It exists to support local writers by providing regular sessions where they can read their work and receive constructive criticism from fellow members. The group also arranges readings and workshops by established authors. In previous years, public performances of our work have taken place once or twice a year and we have regular collaborations with other writers and artists. We also publish anthologies of our work and details of these can be found on this website.

The group sessions have two parts; first is reading the minutes of the previous meeting and discussion of any matters arising or business that needs to be attended to. This usually takes 10–15 minutes. The rest of the time (45 minutes) is spent on listening and giving feedback on readings. Occasionally we set ourselves writing exercises, which have been agreed in advance. Because the group has an active membership it is not always possible for everyone to read on a given night, but those who miss out will read first at the next meeting. Even if a member is not able to read at a given session, because of lack of time, or not having anything ready to read, they are expected to listen actively and give feedback. This is a very important role.

The group operates through a consensus of mutual respect and support for each other. Each session is moderated and members agree to abide by the moderator’s guidance, regarding who reads, length of reading time and length of feedback time. The moderator is usually the convenor or vice-convenor.