We don’t have a specific theme this year. We’re looking for a wide-ranging view of Leith. If it helps, here’s a prompt:
TRACKS AND TRACES
Old railway tracks, new tram tracks. 30 years since Trainspotting the film launched. Do tracks always lead somewhere, who made this track, how many people have been this way before me, are there Rest stops or other places to be Thankful for on the way, are there junctions where I have to make choices, does it end or does it not? Might I want to go off-course somewhere, it that alright?
You might want to give a two- or three-sentence explainer: what lies behind your piece? Not every piece needs that – let it speak for itself.
GENERAL GUIDANCE
We welcome anything from a haiku to 3,000 words, in any genre: poetry, short story, non-fiction, a drama script, reflections. The name “Leith” does not need to be included, but Leith should be in there in some dimension, however creatively expressed. Your work could be in another language, with a translation in English. We have no objection to a bit of lingo, but anything gratuitously offensive will not be considered. We will discard anything we think may have been AI-generated.
You can include a simple illustration or picture to accompany your text.
We will welcome a graphic/cartoon strip, to occupy no more than 6 pages (see page dimensions below). You can also send creative typography, a handwritten piece, with its own calligraphy or integrated decoration.
This is primarily an anthology of writing, but there may be room for a few images, with or without caption or title.
We are always looking for new voices, but this is not a hand-and-fast rule: if we have taken your work in previous editions, you can try your luck again.
Note that all printing is monochrome. Page size is 14×20.5 cm: artists, allow room for margins. If the proportions are correct, we can size the image to fit the page.
The author’s or artist’s name of each selected piece will be given on the page.
CONDITIONS
Submissions to be sent to:
hello@leithwriting.com
by the end of June 2026.
We can only accept submissions in a Word document or as a pdf. Anything other than simple text must be in pdf: images, calligraphy, and any particular formatting.
Please include the following with each entry:
I … [name] … assert that the work above titled … [ title of work] … is my own work,and is not subject to any copyright restrictions. I give permission to Leith Writing to publish it in its forthcoming anthology edition 106 in hard copy and online. [Name] (digital signature) … [date].
If it has been published before elsewhere, you will need to assert that you have permission for us to use it. Leith Writing will make no payment for publishing your work. Leith Writing makes no copyright claim on any material we publish.
PROCEDURE
Selection will be made on the basis of
• literary / artistic merit;
• distinctiveness of ‘the voice’;
• in pursuit of a balanced anthology
Selection will be made during July and August 2026. All entrants will be informed of the selection in the first week of September.
The launch party will be on 2 November 2026, at a Leith venue. The author or artist of each piece in the anthology will be invited to present their work. Each contributor will be given copies of the book. Other copies are for free issue in Leith and beyond.
Argonaut Books, 15-17 Leith Walk is a collection point while stocks last.
Argonaut Books takes cash or card donations.
Email us for our bank details for online donations. All named donors are listed in the next edition.
We depend financially on a healthy balance between personal donations, local businesses, and funding bodies.
We welcome promotion of Leith Writing in any appropriate social media.
Leith Writing is a charity registered with OSCR: no SCO53463
