Projects, Podcasts, Pecha Kucha...

Gallimaufry

noun, plural gal·li·mau·fries. Chiefly Literary.

a hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.
a ragout or hash.

These are all the fun things I've been fortunate enough to be involved with over the years that don't fit neatly into any other category. I think they're still worth mentioning because they're usually thanks to Aberdeen's creative scene and the amazing people who work within it.

Artroom

Artroom is a project run by Grampian Hospitals Art Trust across a number of different facilities in Aberdeen. I work on the project as Writer-in-Residence at Roxburghe House - I've been in the role for nearly five years.

My experiences with Artroom have had a profound influence on my practice as a writer and arts practitioner. I've learned so much from my colleagues, and I cannot wait to get back to working face-to-face when this pandemic is over!

Look Again: Pecha Kucha

In May 2018 I was asked to take part in a Pecha Kucha event as part of the Look Again festival. I really enjoyed the challenge of putting the presentation together, but I also met loads of other cool creatives that night!

Novella-in-Flash

In February 2021 I started Michael Loveday's Novella-in-Flash course. The first lockdown was challenging in terms of my creativity - I was working on a novel but found that long-form writing wasn't allowing me to meet any short term goals or feel like I was achieving much. I returned to my love for flash fiction and also began writing about the farm again. All of that culminated in me taking this course, which I have found helpful in terms of accountability.

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Aberdeen Writers' Studio

After the Writers' Room CPD pilot course ran through summer 2016, we - the participants - founded the Aberdeen Writers' Studio. Though nearly half of us have relocated outside the city, we continue to support each other and a core group of us (including a few members from the second cohort of Writers' Room participants) continue to meet and share work.

Chris Henderson: 365 Portraits

Aberdeen photographer, Chris Henderson, started a project back in 2018 where he photographed local Aberdeen residents (one for each day of the year) and posted them to his Instagram. I volunteered to get my photo taken and had a really nice chat with Chris about all the people he'd met. This ended up being a really cool networking opportunity.

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Creative Me Podcast

Not only was I lucky enough to be featured on the Creative Me Podcast back in March 2018, but after getting to know Ica through the expanding creative scene here in Aberdeen he asked if I would be one of three guest hosts to cover the show while he was on paternity leave!

Listen to Ica interview me here.

Find my guest host episodes here and here.

XPO North: Pitch to Publishers

In June of 2017 I was accepted to pitch my first novel, Wedgewood, to a panel of publishers at XPO North, the creative industries conference. It was a totally overwhelming, but positive, experience and although it never led directly to any further opportunities it was still a worthwhile exercise. I also got to hang with the AWS crew for the day.

NHSG Palliative Care Conference

In November of 2019 I attended the NHS Grampian Palliative Care conference at Pitodrie Stadium. Alongside a few of my teammates from the day unit, I got to chat to attendees about Artroom and the writing I help facilitate at Roxburghe House.

Look Again: Pecha Kucha

Moniack Mhor

Thanks to funding from Aberdeen City Council's 'Creative Funding' Award, I've been able to attend two retreats at Scotland's Creative Writing Centre, Moniack Mhor.

The first time I attended a week-long course 'Experimental Fiction' and the second time I went purely to work on my second novel (WIP). It's truly a very special place.

Writers' Room CPD

Following the completion of my PhD in Creative Writing in 2016, I was accepted onto a pilot CPD course for emerging and established writers that was run through Creative Learning. Based on the Sustaining Life as a Creative course, the Writers' Room catered to the unique professional and industrial needs of the writer - from fees and freelance, to running workshops and cultivating your craft - to creating a collective, which we ultimately did.