The ASLS reached its fiftieth year in 2020 and we had been planning to celebrate the event. Sadly we were not able to – but you are invited to join us in 2021 to mark our anniversary one year on! We will celebrate our first fifty years, take stock of how far we have come, and consider the opportunities and challenges for the future. The conference programme has been themed around the various elements of the Association’s work, and we’re delighted to welcome an outstanding roster of speakers to talk about developments in their fields of expertise in the fifty (plus one) years of the ASLS’s existence. Rory Watson starts us off with an overview of the Scottish literary scene, with Maureen Farrell on schools, Marion Sinclair on publishing, Michelle Macleod and Robert McColl Millar on language issues, and Kirsteen McCue on universities, before James Robertson rounds off the event by offering us a writer’s perspective. All welcome! This event will be run via Zoom. Login details for the event will be sent out by email on Thursday 2 September. The ASLS AGM will take place shortly after the end of the conference, and is open to ASLS members only. Book your ticket via Eventbrite   Programme 10:45: Welcome 11:00: Session 1: Overview – Rory Watson (University of Stirling) 11:35: Comfort break 11:45: Session 2: Schools education – Maureen Farrell (University of Glasgow) 12:20: Session 3: Publishing – Marion Sinclair (Publishing Scotland) 12:55: Lunch 13:45: Session 4: Language matters – Michelle Macleod and Robert McColl Millar (University of Aberdeen) 14:20: Session 5: University attitudes – Kirsteen McCue (University of Glasgow) 14:55: Comfort break 15:05: Session 6: A writer’s perspective – James Robertson