Community

A Scottish Book Trust Live Literature session with S2 pupils in preparation for a Holocaust Memorial Day assembly which they would give to the rest of the school. 

The session touched on the history of antisemitism, and pupils discussed photographs depicting Jewish life in 1930s Berlin. They heard the story of Eleanor’s grandmother’s cousin, Gittel, who was one of the youngest orphaned concentration camp survivors to arrive in the UK after liberation. 

Work with P3 children and parents in North Edinburgh, and nurseries in Musselburgh, for Edinburgh International Book Festival:

Tollcross Community Portraits and Audio Trail for Edinburgh International Book Festival, working with photographer Alicia Bruce:

For 2025-2026 Eleanor is working with Dementia Friendly East Lothian.

Between 2023 and 2024, Eleanor was based in the History, Classics and Archaeology Department at The University of Edinburgh, working with the Alice Thornton’s Books project.

Previously, she was the Community Writer in Residence for The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Citizen Project for six years. She worked with communities across Edinburgh and East Lothian, and community partners included arts centres, nurseries, primary schools, adult drama groups, writing groups, family centres, local festivals, People First Scotland, Saheliya Women’s Group, and The Warblers.

More previous work with communities:

• Takeover Day with P6/P7 pupils at the Baird Institute, Cumnock, developing creative writing based on the museum and its collection
• A course on writing radio plays and podcasting with a group of young asylum seekers in Glasgow with Ankur Productions
• Multi-generational writing workshops at Timespan, Helmsdale
• Key stages 3 and 4 judge for a National Storytelling Competition, part of Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month
• Pollockshields Book Group creative writing workshop and discussion
• Workshops and an original short story based on taped interviews with local residents, part of the ‘Dennistoun – our 2014 story’ project with Impact Arts
• A talk and discussion with students at Sussex University as part of the Sussex Writing Series
• Sid Chaplin Award 2021 judging panel

 

Research