I’m a queer Scottish author who writes novels, poems and short stories. I’ve lived in Berlin since 2012 and when I’m not writing, I spend my days sweating in saunas, ice swimming in Teufelssee, and organising writing retreats in Greece.
Consultation language:
English
Typical questions during consultations:
What opportunities are there in Berlin for English-speaking writers?
How can I build a literary network without doing an MFA?
I want to publish a book—help?!
What does a literary career look like in practice?
How do I write a successful grant proposal/residency application?
Where I can be found online:
What professional experience do you have in your field of consultation?
I’ve been a creative writing teacher and mentor for 13 years, working with writers at every stage of their careers. Authors I’ve worked with have gone on to publish in major literary journals, attend fully funded MFAs, sign with agents, and sell novels to the Big Five publishers.
Alongside teaching and mentoring, I’ve also worked extensively in the editorial and curatorial sides of things: serving on the editorial board of Forest Publishing, as poetry editor for Leopardskin & Limes, and managing distribution and events for SAND Journal.
I didn’t attend an MFA, but instead focussed on building my own literary community in various DIY ways. This has been essential to my sanity as a writer, and now one of my favourite things is to help other writers find their people.
What are some of your professional achievements?
My debut novel, FREAKSLAW, was published in 2024 (Penguin/Zando). It was a USA Today Bestseller and described by CrimeReads as “possibly one of the defining novels of the century.” My second novel, WELCOME TO THE CHAOSKAMPF, will be published by Penguin in 2026.
My poetry has been published widely, including in Poetry Magazine and The Best British Poetry, and my fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio.
I’ve been awarded writing residencies in Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Finland, Latvia, and the United States, and I’m a recipient of the Berlin Senate stipend for non-German literature.
What were your greatest challenges in the early years of your career?
I always knew intellectually that most writers go through years of rejection before getting a book published, but to be honest, I assumed it would be different for me because I’m normally quite good at things I put my mind to. How wrong I was! My path involved so many setbacks, including my first novel being rejected everywhere by everyone and having to change agents four times before I finally got a book deal. There were many, many years in which it seemed like my manuscripts would only ever exist as docx files on a computer. It turns out publishing a book didn’t change as many things as I thought it would, but it has silenced the voice that kept asking “what if you never publish a book?” and for that I am very grateful.
What advice would you give to those interested in working in your field?
No one ever feels like they’ve “made it” as a writer. The goalposts of success are always shifting, the future is always uncertain, and there’s always someone else doing better than you. In the end, the only thing you have that matters is the weird pleasure of playing inside your brain and making up stories. So you should really enjoy that part of it.