2024

I’ve been selected by the Scottish Poetry Library for this year’s New Scriptorium Residency in Arbroath, in conjunction with Abroath 2021+1 and Hospitalfield.

25 July

I’m running a workshop in Fittie focused on writing about the sea in conjunction with Open Road and Pushing Out the Boat as part of the inaugural Festival of the Sea in Aberdeen. 6.30 to 9pm, book tickets via Eventbrite.

10 August

After winning the North Heat of the 2024 Loud Poets Slam, I am taking part in the Grand Finale at Edinburgh International Book Festival. Book tickets here.

13 August

Writing Art in Edinburgh workshop at Edinburgh International Book Festival, 10.15-11.45am. Book tickets via the EIBF website
‘Groundbreaking New Poetry’ event with Yvonne Reddick at EIBF, 4.15-5.15pm, book tickets via the EIBF website

27 September

I’m performing from my collection DWAMS alongside Len Pennie as part of this year’s WayWORD Festival (University of Aberdeen) in the Cowdray Hall from 6-7pm. Book free tickets here.

2023

26 January

In my role as Scots Scriever, I hosted Eemis Stane’s second issue launch event at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

21 February

I performed at the launch of Tales fae the Doric Side, an anthology of new Doric work for which I was also on the selection panel. You can buy the anthology from Doric Books.

24 February

I hosted and performed at ‘A Night of Noir with the Scots Scriever’ as part of the Granite Noir Festival in Aberdeen.

19-22 April

Alongside Michelle Bruce and a script team, I have co-wrote and edited the 102nd Aberdeen Student Show, Ayetanic, which took place at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen. It raised a record-breaking £125, 056 for charity.

30 April

Alongside Jo Gilbert, I performed a spoken word set, followed by a panel discussion with Dr Dawn Leslie as part of the ‘Fit’s Doric aa aboot?’ at the Soutar Festival of Words in Perth.

12 May

I performed my spoken word piece, ‘DREEPIN’, at Université Paris Nanterre’s conference, ‘Independent Spirit: Dissonant Voices in Scottish Culture and Politics’ alongside a paper exploring its themes.

16 June

I performed at this year’s Doric Film Festival, held at Robert Gordon University.

24 August

I performed at Creative Scotland’s Momentum Literature showcase at the Scottish Poetry Library for international literature festival programmers alongisde Janette Ayachi and Nasim Asl.
I then performed as part of the Scottish Poetry Library’s Bards at the Barracks series at the Edinburgh Fringe.

12 September

I showcased highlights from my year as the National Library of Scotland’s 2022-23 Scots Scriever at the library in Edinburgh from 5.30-6.30pm. Book tickets here.

16 September

I performed at the Scots Language Awards in Johnstone Town Hall where I won the Scots Champion o the Year Award. Find out more Hands Up for Trad.

23 September

I performed a showcase of my Scots Scriever work at the University of Aberdeen’s WayWORD Festival at 12pm on Saturday 23rd September. I also hosted and chaired other events throughout the festival.

1 October

My final Scots Scriever showcase took place at Wigtown Book Festival on Sunday 1 October.

11 October

I gave a talk on Discovering Doric with performances at Perth Theatre from 6.45. Book here.

12 & 14 November

As part of the Being Human Festival, I delivered creative writing workshops Abbotsford in the Borders and Aberdeen Arts Centre focused on Telling and Retelling Supernatural Stories in conjunction with the Walter Scott Research Centre.

17 November

I performed as part of a Working Class Writers Showcase at Aberdeen Music Hall. This was part of Scottish Book Trust’s Book Week Scotland.

22 November

I performed as part of the Polari Prize National Showcase at the Scottish Poetry Library on Wednesday 22 November alongside Fiona Mozley, Chitra Ramaswamy and host Paul Burston.

PAST DIARIES

2022

26 January

I performed as part of The Barn’s Fundraising Celebration with a performance of Scots poetry. Book here.

3 February

I ran a Scottish Book Trust Live Literature workshop for S3 pupils at Kemnay Academy exploring the theme of ‘Environment’. You can see some pictures from the event in this tweet.

11 February

I gave a talk for Gray’s School of Art’s Guest @ Gray’s presentation series covering my creative journey and collaborations thus far.

15 March

I performed at the end-of-project celebration for Grampian Hospitals Art Trust’s Shared Collective Project for which I’ve been engaging staff, patients and visitors with the hospitals’ art collections through creative writing. You can see the outcomes of the project on GHAT’s website here.

20-24 April

Alongside writer and performer Michelle Bruce and a script team, I c0-wrote and edited the 101st Aberdeen Student Show, Dirty Danestone, take place at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen. £103,000 was raised from this production for local charities in the city.

21-24 September

I took part in the University of Aberdeen’s WayWORD festival, performing as part of the North East Writers showcase at the Blue Lamp, and also performing Doric Dwams with cellist Emily De Simone.

8 October

I performed throughout the day across Braemar as part of the inaugural Braemar Literary Festival held by the Fife Arms Hotel. More details here.

10 November

I took part in an Explorathon event at the National Decommissioning Centre in Newburgh, engaging pupils from Ellon Academy with our future environment in the Northeast through creative writing.

16 November

I delivered a workshop to Advanced Higher pupils across the North East as part of the annual #WriteFest day for Aberdeenshire School Libraries.

26 November

I performed Doric Dwams with cellist Emily de Simone and dance company, Fusion, as part of the UNI-Versal Festival at Aberdeen University.

4 December

I presented the Services to Scots Award to Anne Donavan at the Scots Trad Music Awards in Dundee’s Caird Hall, broadcast live on BBC ALBA.

20 December

I performed my own Doric translation of the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol at Aberdeen University Alumni’s event at St Marylebone Parish Church in London.

2021

21 and 28 January

I facilitated two GHAT Writing Art workshops for primary and secondary English teachers as part of GHAT’s Shared Collective Heritage project funded by Scottish Book Trust Live Literature.

24 February

I delivered a talk and performances for V&A Dundee – ‘From Farming to Fashion: the Life and Work of Bill Gibb’ online.

Until 16th May

My exhibition and film, The Bill Gibb Line, continued its display in Aberdeen Art Gallery, supported once again by Look Again, RGU Art & Heritage Collections and Gray’s School of Art. Read more about the exhibition and film’s first outing at Look Again Festival 2019 here.

30 June, 6-7.30pm

I performed as part of the University of Aberdeen’s Pride in Belonging event alongside Mae Diansangu, Lise Bos and Hanna Louise.

9 to 25 July

I supported Bajan British artist Christina Peake with her exhibition and digital engagement, Gettin’s House, which responds to the particular culture and nature of North-East Scotland, with Christina playfully intersecting her learning with stories from her own imagination and wider themes of Caribbean and Scottish diaspora. Visit The Barn’s website to learn more about the installation and to download the digital engagement pack on their website.

27 August onwards

My spoken-word installation DREEPIN opened as part of Fertile Ground’s Crude exhibition alongside new work by Ashanti Harris and Alison Scott at Look Again’s Project Space, 32 St Andrew Street, Aberdeen.

20 and 22 September

I once again took part in the University of Aberdeen’s WayWORD Festival. I was part of the Wirds an Soonds project’s online panel discussion on Monday 20th September, and then performed in-person on Wednesday 22nd in North East Voices at The Blue Lamp.

8 October

I performed at the Polari Prize Tenth Anniversary Tour at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh alongside Ian Morrison, Barbara Brownskirt, Fiona Mozley and Paul Burston.

17 November

I ran a workshop ‘Aa Aboot Doric’ as part of Aberdeen City Libraries’ Book Week Scotland events.

2020

22 February to 24 December

My exhibition and film, The Bill Gibb Line, is on display in Aberdeen Art Gallery, supported once again by Look Again, RGU Art & Heritage Collections and Gray’s School of Art. Read more about the exhibition and film’s first outing at Look Again Festival 2019 here.
Inspired by The Bill Gibb Line, I ran a fashion poem workshop on Saturday 22nd February at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
I gave a 45-minute talk on The Bill Gibb Line in the Seminar Room of Aberdeen Art Gallery on Sunday 23rd February.

29 February

In conjunction with M:ADE (Moray Arts Development Engagement) I ran a creative writing workshop at Elgin Library.

February, May and June

Inspired by Grampian Hospitals Art Trust’s collections, I ran three two ‘Writing Art’ workshops online encouraging participants to create a new piece of writing inspired by one of GHAT’s artworks. You can hear performances of poems created as part of these workshops here.

August

Throughout this month I performed work on Sundays on Wave Radio (Elgin) as part of a curated series of events presented by M:ADE. Find out more and listen for free here.

25 September

I took part in two events as part of Aberdeen University’s online Wayword Festival at 3.30pm (Queer Creators) and 7.30pm (Doric Evening). Find out more and book tickets here.

6 December, 6.30-8pm

I will be running a workshop looking at rewriting classic movie scenes in Doric for Aberdeen City Libraries, in anticipation of Aberdeen’s 2021 Local History Conference focus on film and theatre in the city. Free; booking details here.

2019

Thursday 24th January

I performed a Scots version of Julia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom as part of an Into Film Scotland screening at the Belmont Cinema in Aberdeen.

15th-17th February

Scenes from The Shelter were selected to be screened as part of Sound Thought 2019 at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow.

Friday 8th March

I performed in The Shelter, a theatre show inspired by bus shelters in Aberdeen, alongside visual artist Kate Steenhauer and musical-composer Ross Whyte. This multidisciplinary production was supported by the National Theatre of Scotland as part of their Just Start Here festival. Follow @WriteAberdeen for updates on the show’s development.

Friday 29th March

Scenes from The Shelter were selected to be screened as part of ‘Drawing in the World’ at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, in conjunction with the ‘Hand Drawn Action Packed’ exhibition at the Hunterian Gallery, curated by Hayward Gallery Touring.

Friday 24th May

I performed at the University of Aberdeen’s May Fest alongside Sheena Blackhall on Friday 24th May, 7.30–8.30pm at The Blue Lamp.

Monday 3rd June

I gave a talk and performed excerpts from Nevertheless: Sparkian Tales in Bulawayo at the Muriel Spark Society AGM in Edinburgh.

7th – 9th; 14th – 16th June

I exhibited new poems and a spoken word film, ‘The Bill Gibb Line’, as part of this year’s Look Again Festival inspired by six of Bill Gibb’s fashion shows between 1967 and 1985. The launch night took place on 6th June at the Look Again Project Space on St Andrew’s Street, Aberdeen.
I performed a spoken word set at Morag Mysercough’s installation in the Castlegate, Aberdeen on Sunday 9th June, 3.30pm
I discussed ‘The Bill Gibb Line’ with Josie Steed, Course Leader of Fashion & Textiles Design at Gray’s School of Art, on Monday 10th June in the Kino Bar, Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen, 5.30-6.30pm

Sunday 23rd June

As part of Katie Paterson’s UK-wide participatory artwork, First There is a Mountain, my Scots translation of Maria Fusco’s A Vestibular System was performed at Aberdeen Beach Ballroom.

Friday 27th September

I took part in a panel on using Scots in literature as part of Creative Scotland’s The Scots Gaitherin, chaired by James Robertson at The Piping Centre in Glasgow. The event was supported by the Scottish Government and Education Scotland.

Sunday 27th October, 10.40am to 4.30pm

I was one of four Northeast writers who supported the ‘Wirds an Soonds: Composing for text and cello’ workshop at the University of Aberdeen as part of the 2019 Sound Festival.

Wednesday 20th November, 7.30-9.30pm

I performed at a Queer Words Project Scotland and The Queer Dot event as part of Book Week Scotland at Clarks on Lindsay Street in Dundee.

2018

Thursday 8 - Sunday 11 February, nightly

As part of the 2018 SPECTRA Festival of Light, I exhibited a light and sound installation with artist Kate Steenhauer in Union Terrace Gardens, featuring work from our production 'The Shelter'. Find out more about SPECTRA here.

Friday 9 February, 12.30pm

Alongside Eliza Reid, First Lady of Iceland, and Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker, I presented on a panel about the impact of literature on place (and vice versa) at SPECTRA 2018's Catalyst Conference at The Anatomy Rooms.

Thursday 21 February, 10am

I performed a Scots reading for young people at an Into Film and Education Scotland event at the Belmont Cinema.

Saturday 24 February, 7pm

As part of the Granite Noir 2018 festival's Locals in the Limelight programme, I read an extract from a short story at the start of Chris Brookmyre's headline event in The Lemon Tree.

Tuesday 24th April - Tuesday 15th May, 1-3pm

I ran a series of four fiction writing workshops at The Barn (Woodend, Banchory). The workshops focused on the following: 1. Place and People; 2. Voice and Language; 3. Drafting and Editing; 4. Professionalism and Peer-feedback.

Thursday 26 April, 6pm

Following an initial development as part of the National Theatre of Scotland's One Day to Play in Aberdeen, I developed a new piece of theatre with visual artist Kate Steenhauer in 2018 supported by Aberdeen Performing Art's Artist Exchange programme. We shared our work-in-progress, 'The Shelter', in The Lemon Tree studio.

Friday 25 - Sunday 27 May

On the opening night of the 2018 University of Aberdeen May Festival on Friday 25 May at 7pm, I introduced a rehearsed reading of Morna Young's play 'The Stoor' written as part of her Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship in 2017, which I helped host as part of my role with Creative Learning (Aberdeen City Council).
On the final day of the May Festival, Sunday 27th May at 3pm, I performed readings as part of 'An Evening in Queer Berlin' which included a screening of the world's first pro-gay film, 'Different From the Others', hosted and introduced by Keava McMillan.

Tuesday 28 August, 7.30pm

I gave an overview of my writing career so far and previewed stories from my Muriel Spark 100 project as part of a Literary Salon at The Barn (Woodend, Banchory).

6 - 14 October and 20 October, 11.00 am to 4.30 pm daily

Fine artist Kate Steenhauer and I exhibited selected scenes from our theatre show ‘The Shelter’ as part of Haddo Arts Festival in the South Court Yard of Haddo House, Ellon. Our installation won a Haddo Arts Festival 2018 Installation Prize.

Monday 8 October, 7.00pm

As part of the inaugural Across the Grain: Festival of Doric and Traditional Music, I read a selection of my Doric writings at Inverurie Library followed by a Q&A.

Monday 29 October, 6.30pm

I launched my short fiction collection Nevertheless: Sparkian Tales in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe: amaBooks) in the Suttie Arts Space at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The collection was funded by Creative Scotland in celebration of Muriel Spark's centenary in 2018. The launch coincided with Buladeen, an exhibition of new work by Bulawayo-based artist collective BUKA who I previously worked with on an arts-in-health project in Zimbabwe. More details on the Facebook event page.

Throughout November

Throughout all of November I was on a writing residency in Grez-sur-Loing in France as part of my 2018 Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship funded by the Scottish Book Trust.

Thursday 22nd November

I read new work in Paris with Hollie McNish, Michael Pedersen and Gemma Cairney at The Highlander, 8 Rue de Nevers from 8pm.

2017

Thursday 9 - Sunday 12 February

Two of my Doric poems and a flash fiction piece formed part of a light and sound installation during the fourth annual Spectra Festival of Light in Aberdeen.

Saturday 18 February, 7pm onwards

As part of the Inspiration Point celebratory weekend, I hosted a literary salon in the Lemon Tree featuring readings by Northeast writers and the recipient of the 2017 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship.

Sunday 26 February, 10.30am-12pm

As part of Granite Noir, Aberdeen's first festival dedicated to crime fiction, I co-facilitated a Dark Doric creative writing workshop with John Bolland in Aberdeen Central Library.

Friday 10 – Sunday 12 March

I was invited to attend Regensburg's first Scottish-Bavarian Literary Festival, Aye!, across this weekend. During the festival I read some of my own short stories, some works in Scots and took part in a discussion about links between Aberdeen and Regensburg, and the Doric and Bavarian cultures.

Monday 24 April

As part of the 2017 Look Again: Visual Arts & Design Festival, I deliver a lecture and two participatory workshops alongside Sue Fairburn (Gray's School of Art) and Sally Thomson (GHAT) reflecting on our experiences working as part of #BUKA, an arts-in-health project in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 2016.

Sunday 28 May

Several works of mine were published as part of The Granite Mile, a publication edited by Peter Arnott featuring writing from the Granite Writers group, which was formed after the National Theatre of Scotland's Granite production. The book launch involved a rehearsed reading featuring actors such as Joyce Falconer and Morna young, and took place at ACT Aberdeen as part of the 2017 May Festival.

Sunday 2 July, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

As part of Aberdeen's Silver City Stories festival, some new work of mine was performed as part of Union Street at ACT Aberdeen.

Saturday 29 July, 10.30am and 2pm; Thursday 3 August, 10.30am

Alongside musician Abi Sinair, I facilitated Anchors Away!, a storytelling and music session for 3-8 year olds at Aberdeen Maritime Museum and Aberdeen Treasure Hub as part of AAGM's Say Hello to Summer programme.

Thursday 24 August, 8pm

As part of Edinburgh International Book Festival's touring programme, I hosted and read new work at Aberdeen Booked! Unbound alongside Jake Arnott, Morna Young, Leila Aboulela, John Aberdein and Esther Woolfson.

Tuesday 29 August

As part of Cumberland Lodge's 10th annual Life Beyond the PhD conference, I presented a talk on my post-PhD career inside and outside of academia. This was part of a 4-day programme for PhD students from across the UK.

Tuesday 26 September

Alongside Lesley Hart, Morna Young and Neil Cargill, I performed a new 10-minute theatre piece on the theme of 'Home' in The Lemon Tree as part of Paines Plough's Come to Where I'm From series. Find out more about the project here.

Wednesday 3 October

I was selected by the National Theatre of Scotland to take part in their One Day to Play cross art-form development opportunity alongside a visual artist, musician and dancer in The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen. The process was facilitated by NTS's Associate Director Cora Bisset and led to ‘The Shelter’ production.

Sunday 26 November

I read at the launch of the 2018 Granite Noir Festival programme, a poisoned cocktail party, alongside Stuart McBride and Dr Kathryn Harkup.

2016

Thursday 31 March – Saturday 2 April 2016

I wrote prose, poetry and script included in Granite: The Story of Aberdeen, a National Theatre of Scotland Production, Marischal College, Aberdeen

Wednesday 20 April – Saturday 23 April 2016

I wrote the lyrics for two songs that appeared in the 2016 Aberdeen Student Show, Michty Mia! at His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen

Thursday 28 April – Monday 2 May, daily 10am-5pm

I wrote five new pieces inspired by Aberdeen’s architectural heritage as part of the Unreal Estate Exhibition, Bon Accord Shopping Centre, Aberdeen. Part of the 2016 Look Again Festival of Visual Art & Design

Thursday 12 May, 7pm

I chaired a post-show discussion following a performance of Ishbel McFarlane's O is for Hoolet at The Lemon Tree

Sunday 22 May, 3pm

As part of the 2016 Coast Festival, I read at a Northeast Writers event alongside poet Jen Cooper and a talk by Professor Alison Lumsden at Banff Castle, Aberdeenshire.

Friday 27 May - Sunday 29 May 2016

Reading with Helen Lynch at the 2016 May Festival, University of Aberdeen, Saturday 28 May, 10-11am
Reading as part of the Polari Literary Salon, University of Aberdeen, Sunday 29 May, 8-10pm

Monday 29 August, 7pm

Reading at Unbound! as part of Edinburgh International Book Festival's Booked! Festival in Aberdeen Arts Centre and Theatre Café Bar.

Sunday 4 September, 7pm

Reading as part of 'An Evening with Pushing Out the Boat' at The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen. Advanced tickets available from the POTB website.

Wednesday 5 October

I read an excerpt from The Sleekit Mr Tod as part of an Into Film event for primary schools at The Belmont Cinema.
I ran a beginners' poetry workshop for adults at Aberdeen Central Library on the theme of 'messages' to celebrate National Poetry Day from 6pm to 7.30pm.

Saturday 15 October, 12-1.30pm

I ran a prose workshop for adults exploring Aberdeen City Libraries' Treasures Collection.

Friday 4 November, 7.30pm

I read with Val McDiarmid, Mari Hannah and Karen McLeod as part of the Polari Literary Salon hosted by Paul Burston at the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh.

Wednesday 14 December, 6-7.30pm

I ran a free Dickens-themed beginners' story-writing workshop at Aberdeen Central Library.