Writers on attachment

Ellen Renton is a poet from Edinburgh whose work varies in form and has included film, installation, music, and theatre. She released the pamphlet An Eye For An Eye For An Eye with Stewed Rhubarb Press, and the album My Noise is Nothing with electronic musician and DJ Lord of the Isles. 

Julie McNeill is a poet and facilitator based in Glasgow. She’s the Poet-in-Residence for St Mirren Football Club Charitable Trust and the Gaffer of The Hampden Collection, set up to preserve and protect Scotland’s footballing heritage. Julie is the author of the award-winning non-fiction books for children Mission Dyslexia, and three poetry collections. The latest, Love Goes North, was published by Luath Press in August 2025. Her work has been commissioned by BBC Sport Scotland, BBC Learn, Edinburgh City of Literature, the Scottish Poetry Library, Push the Boat Out festival, Kirkcudbright Fringe, and Edinburgh International Book Festival. Her poem ‘War’ was named one of the Best Scottish Poems in 2023 and she won the Burrell Collection Hidden Gems Poetry Competition in 2024. She is an Open Book Lead Reader and edits for Drunk Muse Press and the Poets’ Republic magazine. 

Ken Cockburn is a poet and translator based in Edinburgh. After several years at the Scottish Poetry Library, since 2004 he has freelanced, working in education, care and community settings, and often collaborating with visual artists. He also runs Edinburgh Poetry Tours, guided walks with readings of poems in the city’s Old Town. 

Xana Marwick is an award-winning writer and participation specialist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. After leaving school aged fifteen, she later went on to study at the Royal Conservatoire for Scotland, and has been nominated for (and sometimes even won!) various awards and residencies, including the highly competitive BBC Writersroom, Dramaroom scheme. Xana’s theatre work has been seen throughout the UK and internationally: and she has written across a variety of television productions, including all five series of BAFTA-nominated Molly and Mack. Xana has a particular interest in finding the magic and humour in stories about people who have been let-down, left-behind or left-out, often inspired by the people she has met through her work with socially excluded communities, and by her own life.

Lucy Lauder (she/her) is a writer originally from the Scottish Borders now living in Glasgow, her work has previously been published by Gutter Magazine, Discount Guillotine and Crisp Packet Poetry. Lucy studied at the University of Glasgow from 2019-2024, gaining an MA in Scottish and English Literature, and an MLitt in Modernities. Lucy was recently awarded a scholarship to undertake a 250 hour Yoga Facilitation Training with Form! and RESET, with an eye to developing her creative practice for therapeutic uses with diverse audiences. Lucy is also an editor of the DIY publishing project, BigRedCat Zine. 

Huw Turnbull (he/him), is an Edinburgh-based playwright, drama facilitator, and Playwriting MSc graduate. His work focuses on grief, masculinity, mental health, belonging, community and the climate crisis. Folklore, mythology, literature and pop-culture often form the springboard for his writing, creating pieces that play with these existing narratives and themes. He is interested in intersecting “popular” genres with theatre’s propensity for socio-political commentary and community building. Community is not only a central theme of Huw’s work, but also a core value of his artistic and facilitatory practice. As his conception of theatre is grounded in community, he strongly believes that theatre should be for everyone, not a privileged few. Huw’s work has recently been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Duns Playfest and the Gateway Festival. 

Ryan Van Winkle is an award-winning poet and producer based in Edinburgh. 

He is the Artistic Director of StAnza: Scotland's International Poetry Festival and the Citizen School's Writer in Residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

He has been Writer in Residence at the University of Edinburgh, and the Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library.

His third poetry collection, Get Closer, was released in 2026. His second book, The Good Dark, won the Saltire Society’s 2015 Poetry Book of the Year award. His poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review, Modern Poetry in Translation and New Writing Scotland.

Owen Sutcliffe is a writer, musician and youth worker based in Glasgow. Holder of an Mlitt in Creative Writing he was awarded the 2011 Sorley MacLean National Poetry Prize; was a winner of the Little Stories of Kindness micro-fiction competition 2024; has had work appear in Northwords Now magazine and as a hip-hop artist has performed across the UK and Europe. Among his commissioned works are modern adaptations of the poetry of Robert Burns and the play Òran, award-winner at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe, which transferred to London in November ‘24 and toured the UK in 2025. Owen spent August 2024 in residence with the Hugo Burge Foundation.