Brave New Words

Jeda Pearl

Supporting In Conversation with N.K. Jemisin

Jeda Pearl (she/her) is a Scottish Jamaican writer and artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her work often traverses/reflects the ‘in between’ and explores the intersections of be/longing, (intergenerational) memory, illness and disability, secrecy and survival. Her work examines the histories, cultures, folklores and languages of her ancestral islands, at times exploring grief and nature writing, often creating magical realist or science-fictional worlds. In 2022, she was shortlisted for the Sky Arts RSL Award and longlisted for the Women Poets’ Prize. Jeda is published/commissioned by Collective, Rhubaba, New Writing Scotland, Shoreline of Infinity, Aesthetica, and most recently in Glimpse – Peepal Tree Press’ first anthology of speculative fiction by Black British writers.

Jeda will be reading from her story published in Glimpse

Find her online on Twitter or her website jedapearl.com.

Kat Miller

Supporting Tales from the Dark with Joanna Corrance, John Lees and Mathew West

Kat Miller grew up on an avocado orchard in coastal California, far from the horrors inside these pages. Aside from stories in high school and uni literary journals, this is Kat's first time being published. As a final year veterinary student, she spends her days studying drugs, yearning for the California sun, and dreaming of the alternate universe where all she ever does is write. She currently lives in Edinburgh with her husband and her cat, Archimedes.

Kat will be reading an excerpt from her story that was published in the collection Ship of Horrors: A Manifest of Nightmares.

Greg Michaelson

Supporting Ungodly Beginnings with RJ Barker, Hannah Kaner and Ed McDonald

Greg Michaelson is an Edinburgh based writer, and his fiction, mainly short stories, has been published since 2001. Venues include Scottish Book Collector, Textualities, New Writing Scotland, Valve Journal, Takahe, Free State,The Grind Journal, Firewords Quarterly, The Eildon Tree, unsafe space/Earlyworks, Citizens of Nowhere/Cinnamon, Blue Nib Literary Magazine, Postbox/Red Squirrel and Crowvus/Hooded.

His novel The Wave Singer (Argyll, 2008), set in a primitive communist, post apocalypse Scotland, was shortlisted for a Scottish Arts Council/Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust First Book Award. Subsequently he was awarded a Scottish Art Council Writer’s Bursary.

Equinox, a novel jointly written with Ruth Aylett, was published by Stairwell Books of York in March 2023.

Greg likes to write about how things aren’t and how they might be.

Greg will be reading an excerpt from his novel Equinox.

Find Greg on his website, or on Twitter.

Yvonne Hendrie

Supporting The Epic’s New Clothes with Sharon Emmerichs, Juliet McKenna and Claire North

In her forties, after a career as a hospice chaplain and parish minister, Yvonne Hendrie went full circle back to her childhood as a response to Life, Middle Age, Creaking Limbs and Responsibility. The love of books had been with her all her days, and she reconnected with the fairy stories she had adored. This led to an outpouring of poetry and short prose, and finally to a Young Adult Fantasy novel, "The Water Bailiff's Daughter". Yvonne is to be found surrounded by notebooks and the natural landscape of her native Scotland, frequently accompanied on outings by the dolls she collects (whose shenanigans among the hills and heather she likes to photograph for the sheer fun and joy of it). Yvonne holds degrees in arts and theology and has been a freelance writer for thirteen years.

Yvonne will be reading from her novel The Iron Brooch, published by Stairwell Press.

Lucy Elizabeth Allan

Supporting Haunted and Hunted with Fiona Barnett, Anya Bergman and Catriona Ward

Lucy Elizabeth Allan received a Master's in creative writing from Trinity College Dublin in 2018, and is currently studying towards a DFA at the University of Glasgow, specialising in unnatural creation and queer embodiment. Lucy's debut novella SKIN GROWS OVER was published in 2022, and she is working on her first full-length novel.

Lucy will be reading from her novella Skin Grows Over.

Find Lucy on her website or on Twitter.

Lindz McLeod

Supporting The Price You Pay with C.L. Clark and Samantha Shannon

Lindz McLeod is a queer, working-class, Scottish writer and editor who dabbles in the surreal. Her prose has been published by prestigious lit mags such as Apex, Catapult, Pseudopod, and many more. Her longer work includes the short story collection TURDUCKEN (republished by Spaceboy, 2023), the novelette LOVE, HAPPINESS, AND ALL THE THINGS YOU MAY NOT BE DESTINED FOR (Assemble Media, 2022), and her debut novel BEAST (Brigids Gate Press, 2023). She is a full member of the SFWA, the Competition Secretary of the Edinburgh Writers Club, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing with Manchester University. Her work has been taught in schools and universities, has been adapted for avant garde opera, and is currently being pitched for film adaptation.

Lindz will be reading from her collection Turducken.

Find Lindz on her website and on Twitter.

Robin C.M. Duncan

Supporting Connection, Interrupted with Nina Allan, Cory Doctorow and Ian McDonald

Robin C.M. Duncan is a Scot born and living in Glasgow. He has written for decades, but seriously only for the last ten years. Robin’s debut novel 'The Mandroid Murders' was published in August 2022. His stories appear in Space Wizard Science Fantasy’s Distant Gardens, Farther Reefs and Juno anthologies. He reviews and slush reads for the BFS, writes articles for the BSFA, volunteers with Glasgow 2024 worldcon, and belongs to the Glasgow Science Fiction Writers’ Circle, and the Reading Excuses critique group.

Robin will be reading from The Mandroid Murders, his debut novel.

Find Robin on his website, Facebook and on Twitter.

Jim Alexander

Supporting CyberJunk with M.R. Carey, Dave Cook and Ever Dundas

Jim Alexander is the writer of the novels GoodCopBadCop, the sequel Good Cop, and the Light.

He was first published in 1992 as writer of Calhab Justice, a post-apocalyptic view of Scotland set in the future that is the Judge Dredd Universe. He has worked for DC Comics and Marvel, and other books, include Raven Chronicles, The Ripper Legacy, Deathwatch, Plague Ship; Oban for Shinsei Shinsei/Star Trek Manga; Samurai Jack Classics Vols. 1&2 (IDW); and Truth or Consequences, a short story appearing in The Phantom Chronicles, published by Moonstone Books. Two of his comic strips for French publisher Humanoids were adapted for the TV series Metal Hurlant Chronicles.

Jim also founded small press publisher Planet Jimbot, which is responsible for publishing Wolf Country, Gabriel, and Amongst the Stars.

Recent comic book credits include Birds of Prey: Fighters By Trade from DC Comics and Ororo: Before the Storm from Marvel Comics. The Graphic Novel Savant, published in March 2022, introduces Lode from the planet Savant.

Jim will be reading from his short story called Insignificance of Time Travel from his forthcoming collection Rerun to Eden

Jim can be found via his website.

Ricky Monahan Brown

Supporting Life and Death with C.E. McGill, Melinda Salisbury and Angie Spoto

Ricky Monahan Brown suffered a massive haemorrhagic stroke in 2012. The resulting memoir, Stroke: A 5% chance of survival, was one of The Scotsman’s Scottish Nonfiction Books of 2019. Ricky’s novella Little Apples was released by Leamington Books in 2022. His short fiction has been widely published, and the live literature and music series he co-founded, Interrobang, won the Saboteur Award for the Best Regular Spoken Word Night in Britain for 2017.

Ricky will be reading from his novella Little Apples, published by Leamington Books.

Find Ricky on his website, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Lyndsey Croal

Supporting Future Perfect with Louise Carey, Kate Dylan and Temi Oh

Lyndsey Coal is an Edinburgh-based author of strange and speculative fiction, with work published in several magazines and anthologies. She’s a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, British Fantasy Award Finalist, former Hawthornden Fellow, and a Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant Recipient. Her debut novelette “Have You Decided on Your Question” was published in April 2023 with Shortwave Publishing, and she's currently working on a number of longer projects.

Lyndsey will read an excerpt from her 2023 novelette Have You Decided on Your Question.

Find Lyndsey on Twitter as @writerlynds or via her website.

Lach

Supporting Cityscapes with E.C. Hibbs, Adrian Tchaikovsky and J.L. Worrad

Lach has been called “New York’s living legend” by Time Out London as well as "The roots of modern songwriting: Bob Dylan, Syd Barrett, The New York Dolls, Nick Drake and Lach!" High praise indeed but not uncommon for the founder of Antifolk, the international phenomenon that’s been cited as a main inspiration for such acts as Beck, Regina Spektor, Laura Marling and hundreds of others.

With six critically acclaimed albums (“5 stars. Splendid, best of its kind!”-Mojo Magazine), a sold-out book of poetry (“Outstandingly beautiful.” - stirlingwriter.com) and a hit BBC Radio 4 comedy series ‘The Lach Chronicles’ (Top Radio Pick Hit from The London Times, The Observer, The Independent, The Telegraph and RadioTimes!) Lach has now entered the field of literature with his debut YA/Children's Fantasy Novel, “Langdimania”

Langdimania is a land that only exists in the imagination of a twelve year old boy named army. Or does it? Army has a lot on his plate (travelling between two worlds, learning the truth about time from a talking pig, trying to save the floating girl from impending doom) all while trying to get the lead in the school musical. Join the adventure as Army tries to figure it all out, while juggling the day-to-day struggles of junior high school.

Lach will be reading from Langdimania.

Lach can be found on Facebook, on Instagram, on Twitter and on Bandcamp.

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Praise for Langdimania

"Lach is incredibly bright, influential, funny, smart, with his own counter-culture charm. He’s become part of New York folklore." - Suzanne Vega

"Lach’s great” - Bob Dylan

"Lach creates a wildly vivid and magical world, deftly conjuring an alternative reality with his customary wit and lightness of touch. So enjoyable!" - Zoë Howe, author

LoveReading4Kids’ Debut Novel of The Month! - "This zany fantasy adventure takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the wild imagination of its 12-year-old hero. It’s fast, it’s funny!" - Joanne Owen

"Langdimania, like Lach’s songwriting, is sharp, funny and filled with fantastic imagery. Imagine if Jack Kerouac and John Hughes had collaborated on a book together and you start to get the idea of how much fun Langdimania is for kids and grown-ups alike. Buy this book and read it to your kid. Hell, read it to the punk next door. You’ll be aces in their book forever!" - Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman - New York Times Bestselling Author

"There are many reasons to read Langdimania. A few include diving into subjects such as; adventure, not fitting in, magic, the power of being different, imagination, love, other worlds and courage. Plus, there are talking animals. I mean, who doesn’t love talking animals? I wish I had this to read when I was a kid!”- Sophie Sparham (award-winning writer and radio producer)

"Langdimania is funny, original, exciting, and an absolute page-turner!" - Jeff Zycinski, Former Head of BBC Scotland

"Lach's sly, illuminating, genre-defying take on existence, and his ingenious wit and extraordinary ability with words and language, make Langdimania a treat for the world from this enormous talent.” - Geoff Notkin (IPPY Award-wining writer, host of the award-winning adventure series Meteorite Men, and the Emmy Award-winning STEM Journals)

“A real page-turner!” - East Coast FM Scotland