Writing career

Awards
1998 Life Drawing - winner of Macallan/Scotland on Sunday short story competition
1999 Mother’s Boy - short listed for Macallan/Scotland on Sunday short story competition
2001 Life Drawing (short story collection) – short listed for the Saltire First Book Award
2001 Awarded writing bursary from Scottish Arts Council
2005 Shortlisted for ‘Evolve’ new playwriting programme, Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland
2007 Creative Scotland Award for a series of creative essays in response to walks in a variety of locations.
2008 The Searching Glance long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short story Award
2009 Doubling Back shortlisted for the Robin Jenkins Literary Award

Publications
Life Drawing, 11:9 (Neil Wilson Publishing) 2000. Book of Short Stories (sole author – of which a number of stories previously published in magazines and anthologies or broadcast on radio). ISBN 1-903238-13-7

The Searching Glance, Salt Publishing. Second short story collection. Published March 2008, . ISBN 978-1-84471-441-4

A Wilder Vein, Two Ravens Press. Editor, anthology of non-fiction writing about the wild places of the British Isles. ISBN 978-1-906120-43-6; £10.99 Publication date November 2009

Short stories published in magazines and anthologies since 2008:
The Last Tweed, The Lost Son.

Wee green fingers fun pack. Series of 8 postcard poems for pre-school children about mini-beasts, as part of an environmental education pack distributed to 35,000 homes and nurseries. Scottish Natural Heritage Sept 2003


Writing for Radio
Short stories on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Since August 98: Life Drawing, The Fall, The smell of growth, Sneeze on Wednesday, Advent, Le Grand Jete, Night’s High Noon, The Weight of the Earth and the Lightness of the Human Heart

Face Value, BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play February 2003

Smiles, Coconuts and cha-cha-cha. Fifteen minute script on experience of living and working in Zanzibar, written and read for a Sunday morning series, Expectations. BBC Radio Scotland. May 2003

The Rainbow DH Lawrence. Ten-part abridgement. BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, June 2004

The best snow for skiing, BBC Radio 4 Afternoon play based on the life of Valda Trevlyn Grieve, wife of poet Hugh MacDiarmid. July 2005. Also given a staged reading at the Gateway Theatre in the Edinburgh Festival 2005.

Until Such Times Adaptation of short story by Jessie Kesson for BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour drama. November 2006

The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane. Abridged for BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, September 2007.

Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines. Abridged for BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, November 2008.

Non-Fiction:
· Back of beyond, open canoe trip across Rannoch Moor for ‘Canoe and Kayak’ magazine, July 2002.
· Speaking funny, seeing afresh, for Teachers and Writers magazine, New York – a discussion of my creative writing residencies in Scotland and New York. January 2004.
· First steps to Publication, for Directory of Publishing in Scotland 2004, Scottish Publishers Association.
· Epic flight to freedom from the Nazi jackboot Feature on a reconstructed mountain escape in Norway for The Scotsman, August 2004
· Restaurant reviewing for The List Eating and Drinking Guide 2006 and 2007.
· The Family Mountain was runner up in the John Muir Trust creative writing competition at the Fort William Festival of Mountain Culture 2007
Cailliche, an extract from a longer piece about a 15 day walk following a drove road, anthologised in Cleave: New writing by women in Scotland, Two Ravens Press, June 2008
The Beat of Heart Stones, essay inspired by walking an ancient dyke that climbs Schiehallion. John Muir Trust Journal 46, Spring 2009
Doubling Back - Ten paths trodden in memory - non-fiction essays on a series of walks in pursuit of stories


Readings, residencies and teaching include:

Writer in residence. Brownsbank Cottage, last home to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid, Biggar. Responsible for encouraging creative writing in South Lanarkshire, including running workshops for school and community groups, organising visiting writer events, supporting writing groups and individuals, and overseeing small publishing initiatives for new writers such as poetry postcards and an anthology ‘Biggar Little Stories’. November 2002-2005

SpeyGrian project Creative writing workshop leader on west coast Scotland journey under sail, bringing together science and arts for professional development of educators. August 2003

Crossing Borders: African Creative Writing Mentor to a number of up-and-coming writers in African countries on a British Council/University of Lancaster initiative. Included a week of workshops delivered in-country to Kenyan writers in March 2005. September 03 – March 2006

Wigtown Book Festival Reading and talk September 2004

Residencies in New York City, and Maine. Guest of Hanging Loose Press, Teachers and Writers Collaborative and Bar Harbor community. Readings and workshops in schools, writing groups and libraries. May 2003 & 2004

Writing Zanzibar December 2005 and April 2006 Devised and tutored residential course in creative writing in Zanzibar, East Africa.

Residency in schools in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway. Arts Across the Curriculum. Working collaboratively with teachers and other artists to bring creative approaches to the curriculum in two primaries and one high school. January – March and September –December 2006.

In arts team developing activities about stars and constellations in schools and writing a personal piece accompanied by children’s work, Walking Through Stars In Northern Skies And Northern Scotland for the Highland Constellation Project, May-July 2007.

Tutor, Arvon Foundation Writing for Radio course, Moniack Mhor Writers Centre, August 07

Tutor, Writing Short Fiction. Four part workshop at The Watermill bookshop, Aberfeldy, Autumn 07.

‘Walking and Writing’ workshops at Drovers’ Tryst walking Festival October 07 and Fort William Mountain Festival February 2008. To encourage the enhancement of walking through creative writing and writing through walking.

Produced words for Annandale Way guide book and interpretative signage with five Dumfriesshire schools along the route , Summer 2009


Other positions:
Steering group member words@work – a writers’ professional development initiative run by Scottish Book Trust 2003 – 2006
Convenor, Writers in Exile committee, Scottish PEN. Autumn 2005 – present time


Employment

9/1995 – 11/2002
WWF - the global environment network
Education Officer.
Responsible for establishing an environmental education programme including professional development for teachers, advocacy work and demonstration projects.

4/1991 - 9/1995
Scottish Development Education Centre, Edinburgh
Coordinator.
Responsible for overall management of SDEC and its projects in providing services and support to teachers in Scotland on global development and environmental issues. Included publication of educational materials and in-service training of teachers.

3/1992 & 7/1991
Overseas Development Office, Strathclyde Regional Council
Consultant
Two 3-week contracts at an adult training institution in Zanzibar, Tanzania as part of a British Council project. Responsible for devising and delivering training of trainers programme and making recommendations to contribute to organisational development for English teaching.

10/1990 - 3/1991
Glasgow College of Commerce
Temporary lecturer in Communications

7/1989 - 8/1990
English as a Foreign Language Unit, University of Exeter
Lecturer and Deputy Director (Summer courses)

9/1987 - 8/1988
Institute of Kiswahili and Foreign Languages, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Teaching and curriculum development for courses in English for teachers in training.

11/1986 - 8/1987
Exeter International School
Teacher of English as a foreign language.

2/1982 - 11/1985
Coldharbour Mill Working Museum, Devon
Education Officer
Responsible for establishing and developing an education service for a new museum.


Further & Higher Education
11/1995 – 11/1999
Open College of the Arts
Creative writing courses (Starting to write; Storylines; Advanced)

11/1993 - 5/1994
Open University
Managing Voluntary and Non Profit Enterprises

9/1988 - 6/1989
Institute of Education, London
Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Secondary – Teaching English to speakers of other languages)

10/86
International Language Institute, Paris
RSA certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign language

9/1978 - 6/ 1981
University of Exeter
Combined Honours English Literature/Fine Art - 2:1

9/1977 - 6/1978
West Surrey College of Art & Design
Foundation course in art and design




Ends