Creatives is a digital publication of writing and visual art that exists to showcase the breadth of experiences and perspectives inspired by Scotland’s landscapes. It is a celebration of the country’s natural beauty, its stories and myths, people and communities—but more than anything, Creatives is a conduit between artists and the public. Our aim is to collaborate with anyone who has found meaning in the outdoors and to help them realise their artistic vision.
Our Creatives Editor, Alexandre Marceau, discovered the Press after moving to Scotland in 2020 as a postgraduate. Lockdown in Edinburgh meant the Highlands were off-limits, so he spent his evenings thumbing the Press’s many titles and looking for contemporary stories to complement these traditional mountaineering narratives. While he succeeded in finding incredible works, they weren’t in one place—there was no single artistic platform devoted to Scotland’s outdoors. So, when Alexandre graduated, he approached the Press to discuss starting a fortnightly digital publication for fiction, poetry, nonfiction and visual art.
As a long-standing publisher of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) guidebooks, the Press and the SMC are often thought of as one, but while we recognise the importance of celebrating this history and the value of traditional narratives, they represent only a fraction of the communities that enjoy the outdoors. With this in mind, we saw an opportunity to diversify and broaden the voices and types of content we publish, and Creatives was born.
In just a few months it has become clear that Creatives offers something unique: a free-access platform which is also free to submit to and reaches a wide variety of subscribers. Every publication is reviewed by our dedicated team of professionals, with constructive feedback given regardless of whether it is published. If your work is selected to be taken forward, then you’ll receive personal communication from our Creatives Editor. Our aim is to not only elevate new voices and content but to provide emerging writers from all backgrounds with a personal editorial experience that is rare in publishing.
We welcome great ideas—your work need not be in a publishable state before submission but should be produced to the best of your ability. Writers can expect rigorous line, structural and copy edits to realise the full potential of their work, but our publication process is a two-way partnership that encourages artistic longevity, provides the Creator with sustainable tools for craft development and, being a digital platform, exposes their best work to a wide audience.
‘The communication from Creatives was extremely positive and supportive, and I especially appreciated the input from the editor. It was very much a two-way process and a sharing of ideas on how to sharpen the piece. I was under no pressure to accept the editor’s suggestions, and there was a strong sense of respect when it came to my own ideas. Through several online conversations, I believe the piece reached its full potential, and the final publication was beautifully presented.’ — Emma Mooney (Fiction)
I gained exposure from being selected as a Creat[or] that I would not have had otherwise. It has given me greater confidence in my writing. I love that my poetry sits alongside visual art, non-fiction and [fiction]; Scotland’s outdoors is varied and the work it inspires is also diverse.’ — Craig Aitchison (Poetry)
There are moments in nature that stun us into silence and demand our full attention. These experiences have the power to become uplifting, transformative stories about how we connect with our wild landscapes.
We want to hear your story.
Corvus
by Clare Yarrington
Mixed Media
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