I am currently the Community Writer in Residence for The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Citizen Project. In year two of this project I will be working with communities in North Edinburgh and Musselburgh.
I have also been an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of the West of Scotland since 2012. Since 2009 I have been a member of the Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature programme. The programme works with communities to part-fund author residencies and author-led events such as readings or writing workshops in libraries, school classrooms, and other community settings.
You can view my page in the author directory here.
These are examples of work I have done with communities:
- The Citizen Project with the Edinburgh International Book Festival
- 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
